the first-born of all creation;
for in him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or principalities or authorities
all things were created through him
and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning,
the first-born from the dead,
that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
For in him all the fulness of God
was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
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