Colossians 2:7–8

¹⁷That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

⁸For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

²⁰And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

²¹In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

²²In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

²³If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

¹⁷Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

¹⁸But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

¹⁷Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

¹²Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

²⁴¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

²⁵And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

²⁰Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

³To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

³And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

¹³Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

²⁵Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

¹⁰But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

¹⁵By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

²⁴Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

¹⁷And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

¹⁸Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

⁹For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

¹⁰According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

¹¹For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

¹²Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

¹³Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

¹⁴If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

¹⁵If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

¹⁸In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

¹⁷And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

²³In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.

⁴⁸He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

²¹If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

⁴To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

⁵Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

⁶Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

²¹Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

¹²These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

²⁰But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

²⁰O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

⁶Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

¹⁵¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

⁹But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

¹⁸Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

²¹Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

²²Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

²⁰Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

⁹Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

⁸¶ For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

⁸Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

⁵Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

¹⁷Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

¹⁸Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

²⁰But ye have not so learned Christ;

³Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

¹⁸Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

²Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

³But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

⁴For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

⁵But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

⁶And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

⁷Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

⁸This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

⁹But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

²²Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

¹²Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

⁶¶ Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

¹⁷Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

¹⁸Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

¹⁴And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

³For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

⁴And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

⁵Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

⁶He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

⁷Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

⁸For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

⁹And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

¹⁰For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

¹¹But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

¹²And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

¹³Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

²Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

¹⁷But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

²⁰Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

²²For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

²³But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

³²¶ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

³⁵But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

³⁶Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

¹⁷And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenæus and Philetus;

¹⁸Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

¹⁵Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.