Colossians 1:9-14, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Colossians 1:9-14
Prayer Seeks Knowledge That Bears Worthy Fruit
The prayer asks for knowledge that can walk, not trivia that can boast.
Paul keeps asking that they be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so they may walk worthy of the Lord, bear fruit in every good work, and increase in the knowledge of God. Strength from God's glorious might is aimed at endurance and patience with joy.
The Father has already qualified them to share the saints' inheritance, rescued them from the domain of darkness, and transferred them into the Son's kingdom. In him they have redemption, the forgiveness of sins — a completed rescue, not a password for insiders.
How this should shape us
Pray for someone by name that they would know what God wants in a decision they face this week, then ask for endurance to do the next faithful thing without hunting secret signs.
Teach it back
Explain Colossians 1:9-14 in your own words. Include its place in Colossians, one exact textual observation, one important uncertainty or alternative, one older-English clarification, and one conclusion the unit does not permit.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters differ over punctuation around joy and thanksgiving and over the precise force of 'spiritual.' The prayer clearly refuses a split between knowledge and life and grounds both in the Father's rescue through the Son.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup for Colossians 1:9-14.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Colossians 1:9-14; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Official Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Col.txt, Colossians 1:9-14.
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes; contextual meaning remains controlled by the unit.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Colossians 1:9-14.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
NET Bible official Colossians chapter 1, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Colossians 1:9-14.
Supports: A current pro-Pauline commentary check on literary flow, theology, pastoral purpose, and major interpretations.
Alistair I. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “Colossians,” TGC Prayer That the Colossians Will Bear Fruit and Grow (1:9-12) and Reminder (1:13-14).
Supports: A modern historical-critical and Jewish-context check on authorship, setting, calendar, ethics, slavery, and textual questions.
Peter Zaas, “Colossians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print pp. 364-365.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup for Colossians 1:9-14.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Colossians 1:9-14; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Exact location: Official Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Col.txt, Colossians 1:9-14.
Open the Colossians Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes; contextual meaning remains controlled by the unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Colossians 1:9-14.
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - Colossians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible official Colossians chapter 1, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Colossians 1:9-14.
Open NET Colossians 1 notesmodern open commentary
Colossians
Alistair I. Wilson
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A current pro-Pauline commentary check on literary flow, theology, pastoral purpose, and major interpretations.
Exact location: Alistair I. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “Colossians,” TGC Prayer That the Colossians Will Bear Fruit and Grow (1:9-12) and Reminder (1:13-14).
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
Colossians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Peter Zaas; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: A modern historical-critical and Jewish-context check on authorship, setting, calendar, ethics, slavery, and textual questions.
Exact location: Peter Zaas, “Colossians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print pp. 364-365.
Open source ↗