Read the Bible

¹ Poul, apostle of `Crist Jhesu, bi the wille of God,² and Tymothe, brother, to hem that ben at Colose, hooli and feithful britheren in Crist Jhesu,

³ grace and pees to you of God oure fadir and of the Lord Jhesu Crist. We don thankyngis to God, and to the fader of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, euermore preiynge for you, herynge youre feith in Crist Jhesu,⁴ and the loue that ye han to alle hooli men,⁵ for the hope that is kept to you in heuenes. Which ye herden in the word of treuthe of the gospel,⁶ that cam to you, as also it is in al the world, and makith fruyt, and wexith, as in you, fro that dai in which ye herden and knewen the grace of God in treuthe.⁷ As ye lerneden of Epafras, oure felawe most dereworthe, which is a trewe mynystre of Jhesu Crist for you;⁸ which also schewide to vs youre louyng in spirit.

⁹ Therfor we fro the dai in which we herden, ceessen not to preye for you, and to axe, that ye be fillid with the knowing of his wille in al wisdom and goostli vndurstondyng;¹⁰ that ye walke worthili to God plesynge bi alle thingis, and make fruyt in al good werk, and wexe in the science of God,¹¹ and ben coumfortid in al vertu bi the miyt of his clerenesse, in al pacience and long abiding with ioye,

¹² that ye do thankyngis to God and to the fadir, which made you worthi in to the part of eritage of hooli men in liyt.¹³ Which delyueride vs fro the power of derknessis, and translatide in to the kyngdom of the sone of his louyng,¹⁴ in whom we han ayenbiyng and remyssioun of synnes.¹⁵ Which is the ymage of God vnuysible, the first bigetun of ech creature.¹⁶ For in hym alle thingis ben maad, in heuenes and in erthe, visible and vnuysible, ether trones, ether dominaciouns, ether princehodes, ethir poweris, alle thingis ben maad of nouyt bi hym, and in hym,¹⁷ and he is bifor alle, and alle thingis ben in hym.¹⁸ And he is heed of the bodi of the chirche; which is the bigynnyng and the firste bigetun of deede men, that he holde the firste dignyte in alle thingis.¹⁹ For in hym it pleside al plente to inhabite,²⁰ and bi hym alle thingis to be recounselid in to hym, and made pees bi the blood of his cros, tho thingis that ben in erthis, ether that ben in heuenes.²¹ And whanne ye weren sumtyme aliened, and enemyes bi wit in yuele werkis,²² now he hath recounselid you in the bodi of his fleisch bi deth, to haue you hooli, and vnwemmyd, and with out repreef bifor hym.²³ If netheles ye dwellen in the feith, foundid, and stable, and vnmouable fro the hope of the gospel that ye han herd, which is prechid in al creature that is vndur heuene. Of which Y Poul am maad mynystre,²⁴ and now Y haue ioye in passioun for you, and Y fille tho thingis that failen of the passiouns of Crist in my fleisch, for his bodi, that is the chirche.²⁵ Of which Y Poul am maad mynystre bi the dispensacioun of God, that is youun to me in you,²⁶ that Y fille the word of God, the priuyte, that was hid fro worldis and generaciouns. But now it is schewid to his seyntis,²⁷ to whiche God wold make knowun the richessis of the glorie of this sacrament in hethene men, which is Crist in you, the hope of glorie.²⁸ Whom we schewen, repreuynge ech man, and techinge `ech man in al wisdom, that we offre ech man perfit in Crist Jhesu.²⁹ In which thing also Y trauele in stryuynge bi the worching of hym, that he worchith in me in vertu.