The Nugget:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (KJV)
Col 1:13 Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love; (BBE, Bible in Basic English)
Col 1:13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. (ERV, Easy to Read Version)
Col 1:13 For God has rescued us from the tyranny of Darkness, and has removed us into the Kingdom of his Son, who is the embodiment of his love, (TCNT, Twentieth Century New Testament)
Col 1:13 who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate us into the reign of the Son of His love, (YLT, Young’s Literal Translation)
Col 1:13 God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. (GW, God’s Word translation)
Col 1:13 It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dearly loved Son, (Williams NT)
Col 1:13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, (CEV, Contemporary English Version)
My Comment:
I have shared above the text of Colossians 1:13 from eight different English translations. Reading more than one English translation can help each reader get a fuller understanding of what the text says and means.
I decided to devote this post to Colossians 1:13 because I shared Colossians 1:12 just recently in Daily Bible Nugget #890.
Here are both verses together:
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (KJV)
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, (ESV, English Standard Version)
Colossians 1:13 involves our present condition involving spiritual warfare with the promise of our future inheritance in the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
One important aspect of defeating Satan in our life is to follow the promise and directions found in the book of James, where we are told “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded” (James 4:7, 8).
There is much more instruction in the Bible about these important matters. One way to begin to learn more from the Bible about these subjects is to carefully consult the cross references (the links to other verses throughout the Bible on these subjects) for Colossians 1:13 which I share below from The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
Colossians 1:13
hath delivered. or, rescued. Gr. rhuomai (S# G4506, Mat 6:13). Isa 49:9, Zec 9:11, Mat 6:13, Mar 5:15, Luk 4:18, Rom 7:24, +*2Ti 2:26.
us from. +*Psa 71:20; Psa 86:13, Isa 49:24, 25; *Isa 53:12, Mat 12:29, 30, Luk 8:27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, +*Act 26:18, *Gal 4:5, +*1Th 1:10, *Heb 2:14; *Heb 2:15.
the power. Col 2:15, Mat 12:26, *Luk 22:53, *+Joh 12:31; *+Joh 12:32; Joh 14:30, **2Co 4:4, Eph 4:18; *Eph 5:8; *Eph 6:12, *1Pe 2:9, 1Jn 2:8, 9; **1Jn 3:8, %Rev 12:10.
of darkness. or, of the darkness. *Job 10:21; *Job 10:22, Psa 88:18; Psa 143:3, Ecc 6:4, Mic 7:8, +*Luk 22:53, Joh 12:27, 1Th 5:4.
and hath. FS96C6, +Mat 2:4. Here, future blessings are spoken of as present (as glorification, Rom 8:30), for this kingdom is declared by Paul to be future, **2Ti 4:1. The reference to the “inheritance” in the immediate context (Col 1:12) verifies the reference to be future. As the inheritance is certainly future, so the kingdom with which it is associated must be future. +*Luk 13:24, **Joh 5:24, Rom 6:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, +**1Co 6:9, 10, 11, 2Co 6:17, 18, *Eph 2:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1Th 2:12, Tit 3:3, 4, 5, 6, +**2Pe 1:11, 1Jn 3:14.
translated. Gr. methistēmi (S# G3179, Act 13:22). Eph 2:13.
into the kingdom. *Psa 2:6; *Psa 2:7; Psa 97:1, +*Isa 9:6; +*Isa 9:7, +**Dan 7:13; +**Dan 7:14, *Zec 9:9, Mat 3:2; +**Mat 6:10; +**Mat 6:33; Mat 12:26; Mat 12:28; +*Mat 25:34, Luk 22:18, **Joh 18:36, Act 1:3, *+Rom 14:17, 1Co 15:23, 24, 25, Eph 1:22, **2Pe 1:11, Rev 3:21.
his dear Son. Gr. the Son of his love. FS24B, +Gen 9:5. Col 1:15, Psa 2:7; Psa 2:12, Pro 8:30; Pro 30:4, **Isa 42:1, **+Mat 3:17; Mat 12:18; **Mat 17:5, Mar 1:11, Luk 3:22, *Joh 3:16; *Joh 3:35; *Joh 17:24, Rom 1:3, Eph 1:6, 1Jn 1:3.