Colossians 1:17

Good News Translation

Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He is before all things,and by him all things hold together.

King James Version (1611)
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

King James Version
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

English Standard Version
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

New American Standard Bible
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

New Century Version
He was there before anything was made, and all things continue because of him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Legacy Standard Bible
And He is before all things,And in Him all things hold together.

Berean Standard Bible
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Contemporary English Version
God's Son was before all else, and by him everything is held together.

Complete Jewish Bible
He existed before all things, and he holds everything together.

Darby Translation
And *he* is before all, and all things subsist together by him.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Son was there before anything was made. And all things continue because of him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee is before all things, and in him all things consist.

George Lamsa Translation
And he is before all things, and by him all things are sustained.

Lexham English Bible
and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together,

Literal Translation
And He is before all things, and all things have subsisted in Him.

Amplified Bible
And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]

American Standard Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

Bible in Basic English
He is before all things, and in him all things have being.

Hebrew Names Version
He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

International Standard Version
He himself existed before all things, and byin">[fn] him all things hold together.John 1:1,3; 17:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and he is before all, and every thing by him subsisteth.

Murdock Translation
and he was prior to all, and by him every thing exists.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he is before all thynges, and in hym all thynges consist.

English Revised Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

World English Bible
He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist, And he is the head of his body the church;

Weymouth's New Testament
And HE IS before all things and in and through Him the universe is a harmonious whole.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he is bifor alle, and alle thingis ben in hym.

Update Bible Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

New English Translation
He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

New King James Version
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

New Living Translation
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

New Life Bible
Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him.

New Revised Standard
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, he, is before all, and, they all, in him, hold together;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he is before all: and by him all things consist.

Revised Standard Version
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and he is before all thinges and in him all thynges have their beynge.

Young's Literal Translation
and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and he is before all thinges, and in him all thinges haue their beynge.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and by him all things consist.

Simplified Cowboy Version
We were made with his hand and still he holds all things together.

Contextual Overview

¹³ He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴ by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. ¹⁵ Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. ¹⁶ For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. ¹⁷ Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. ¹⁸ He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. ¹⁹ For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. ²⁰ Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven. ²¹ At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. ²² But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he: Colossians 1:15, Proverbs 8:22, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 43:11-13, Isaiah 44:6, Micah 5:2, John 1:1-3, John 8:58, John 17:5, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 1:11, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 2:8

and by: 1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms 75:3, John 5:17, John 5:18, Acts 17:28, Hebrews 1:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:1 - God 1 Chronicles 16:30 - stable 2 Chronicles 2:12 - that made heaven Nehemiah 9:6 - preservest Psalms 33:9 - and it stood Psalms 55:19 - even Psalms 78:69 - earth Isaiah 40:26 - who hath Isaiah 44:24 - by myself Isaiah 66:2 - For all those Jeremiah 51:15 - hath made John 1:3 - General John 1:15 - he was 2 Corinthians 5:18 - all 2 Corinthians 8:9 - though Ephesians 3:9 - created Hebrews 1:2 - appointed Hebrews 2:10 - for 2 Peter 3:5 - standing Revelation 4:11 - for thou

Cross-References

Genesis 9:13
I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world.

Job 38:12
Job, have you ever in all your life commanded a day to dawn?

Psalms 8:1
O Lord , our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens;

Psalms 8:3
When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places—

Acts 13:47
For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.'"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he is before all things,.... Not only in dignity, being preferable to angels and men in his nature, names, offices, and works, and worthy of more honour than all creatures; but he is before them in existence, as he must needs be, since they are all made by him; he was not only before John the Baptist, his forerunner, before Abraham who saw his day and was glad, before the first man was made, but before the angels were in being, or the heavens and the earth, or any creature were formed; and therefore must be God, who is from everlasting to everlasting:

and by him all things consist; he upholds all things by the word of his power; the heavens have their stability and continuance from him; the pillars of the earth are bore up by him, otherwise that and the inhabitants of it would be dissolved; the angels in heaven are confirmed in their estate by him, and have their standing and security in him; the elector God are in his hands, and are his peculiar care and charge, and therefore shall never perish; yea, all mankind live and move, and have their being in him; the whole frame of nature would burst asunder and break in pieces, was it not held together by him; every created being has its support from him, and its consistence in him; and all the affairs of Providence relating to all creatures are governed, directed, and managed by him, in conjunction with the Father and the blessed Spirit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he is before all things - As he must be, if he created all things. Those who regard this as referring to a moral creation, interpret it as meaning that he has the pre-eminence over all things; not as referring to his pre-existence. But the fair and proper meaning of the word “before” (πρὸ pro) is, that he was before all things in the order of existence; compare Matthew 8:29; John 11:55; John 13:1; Acts 5:36; Acts 21:38; 2 Corinthians 12:2. It is equivalent to saying that he was eternal - for he that had an existence before any thing was created, must be eternal. Thus, it is equivalent to the phrase, “In the beginning;” Genesis 1:1; compare the notes at John 1:1.

And by him all things subsist - Or are sustained; see the notes at Hebrews 1:3. The meaning is, that they are kept in the present state; their existence, order, and arrangement are continued by his power. If unsupported by him, they would fall into disorder, or sink back to nothing. If this be the proper interpretation, then it is the ascription to Christ of infinite power - for nothing less could be sufficient to uphold the universe; and of infinite wisdom - for this is needed to preserve the harmonious action of the suns and systems of which it is composed. None could do this but one who is divine; and hence we see the reason why he is represented as the image of the invisible God. He is the great and glorious and everactive agent by whom the perfections of God are made known.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 17. :-