Colossians 4:18

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I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.
Colossians 4:18 · New American Standard Bible

Parallel translations

WEB The salutation of me, Paul, with my own hand: remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
KJV The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
BSB This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
NKJV This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.
NLT Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul. Remember my chains. May God’s grace be with you.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul closes in his own hand, asking them to remember his imprisonment, and prays grace upon them. It matters because the letter ends, as it lives, in the grace of God in Christ.

Overview

Paul authenticates the letter with his personal signature and a poignant request: 'remember my bonds.' His final word is 'grace,' the keynote of the whole gospel he has proclaimed. Fittingly, the letter that exalts the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ ends by commending its readers to the grace that flows from him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

Heb 13:3Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.
1 Tim 6:21which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
2 Tim 4:22The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
1 Cor 16:21This greeting is by me, Paul, with my own hand.
Heb 13:25Grace be with you all. Amen.
2 Tim 1:8Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
Phil 1:7It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
Titus 3:15All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Rom 16:20And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Col 4:3praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;
2 Th 3:17The greeting of me, Paul, with my own hand, which is the sign in every letter: this is how I write.
Rom 16:23Gaius, my host and host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother.
2 Cor 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

SALUTATIONS

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 4:18YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 4:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.

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