Knox Bible

1

Risen, then, with Christ, you must lift your thoughts above, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God.

2

You must be heavenly-minded, not earthly-minded;

3

you have undergone death, and your life is hidden away now with Christ in God.

4

Christ is your life, and when he is made manifest, you too will be made manifest in glory with him.

5

You must deaden, then, those passions in you which belong to earth, fornication and impurity, lust and evil desire, and that love of money which is an idolatry.

6

These are what bring down God’s vengeance on the unbelievers,

7

and such was your own behaviour, too, while you lived among them.

8

Now it is your turn to have done with it all, resentment, anger, spite, insults, foul-mouthed utterance;

9

and do not tell lies at one another’s expense.✻ You must be quit of the old self, and the habits that went with it;

10

you must be clothed in the new self, that is being refitted all the time for closer knowledge, so that the image of the God who created it is its pattern.

11

Here is no more Gentile and Jew, no more circumcised and uncircumcised; no one is barbarian, or Scythian, no one is slave or free man; there is nothing but Christ in any of us.

12

You are God’s chosen people, holy and well beloved; the livery you wear must be tender compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

13

you must bear with one another’s faults, be generous to each other, where somebody has given grounds for complaint; the Lord’s generosity to you must be the model of yours.

14

And, to crown all this, charity; that is the bond which makes us perfect.

15

So may the peace of Christ, the very condition of your calling as members of a single body, reign in your hearts. Learn, too, to be grateful.

16

May all the wealth of Christ’s inspiration have its shrine among you;✻ now you will have instruction and advice for one another, full of wisdom, now there will be psalms, and hymns, and spiritual music, as you sing with gratitude in your hearts to God.

17

Whatever you are about, in word and action alike, invoke always the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, offering your thanks to God the Father through him.

18

Wives must be submissive to their husbands, as the service of the Lord demands;

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and you, husbands, treat your wives lovingly, do not grow harsh with them.

20

Children must be obedient to their parents in every way; it is a gracious sign of serving the Lord;

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and you, parents, must not rouse your children to resentment, or you will break their spirits.

22

You who are slaves, give your human masters full obedience, not with that show of service which tries to win human favour, but single-mindedly, in fear of the Lord.

23

Work at all your tasks with a will, reminding yourselves that you are doing it for the Lord, not for men;

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and you may be sure that the Lord will give the portion he has allotted you in return. Be slaves with Christ for your Master.

25

Whoever does wrong will be requited for the wrong done; there are no human preferences with God.