"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
— Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
Colossians 3:12 is Paul's list of five things to "put on" like clothing, given to people God already calls chosen, holy, and dearly loved. This page gives the verse, what the key Greek words mean, where it sits in Colossians 3, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about compassion, Bible verses about kindness, and Bible verses about gentleness.
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The verse
The King James reads: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering."
"Put on" is endyō (G1746), to dress in or clothe yourself. "Chosen" or "elect" is eklektos (G1588), "holy" is hagios (G40), and "dearly loved" is from agapaō (G25).
The five garments: "compassion" ("bowels of mercies") pairs splanchna (G4698), the inner parts where deep feeling was pictured, with oiktirmos (G3628), mercy or pity. "Kindness" is chrēstotēs (G5544). "Humility" is tapeinophrosynē (G5012), lowliness of mind. "Gentleness" or "meekness" is praotēs (G4236). "Patience" or "longsuffering" is makrothymia (G3115), being slow to anger.
Where it sits in Colossians 3
Just before this, Paul tells the church what to take off: "anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips" (Colossians 3:8). He says they "have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:9-10).
Verse 12 is the new wardrobe. Verse 13 shows it in use: "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:13). Verse 14 puts the outer layer on top: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14).
What the verse is saying
The order matters. Paul names who the readers already are, chosen, holy, and dearly loved, before he tells them what to wear. These virtues are not a way to earn God's love; they are how people who already have it dress.
Clothing is something you put on on purpose, every day. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience will not appear on their own in a hard week or a tense church meeting, so Paul says to put them on. Ephesians 4:2 gives almost the same list, and Ephesians 4:32 sums it up: "Be kind and compassionate to one another."
Questions people ask
What does Colossians 3:12 say?
In the NIV it says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." The KJV says, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering."
What are the five virtues in Colossians 3:12?
Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. The KJV words are bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering.
What does "bowels of mercies" mean?
It is the KJV's literal wording. The Greek pictured deep feeling as coming from the inner organs, so "bowels of mercies" means heartfelt compassion. Newer translations render it "compassion" or "a heart of compassion."
Why does Paul say "clothe yourselves"?
He has just told the readers to take off the old self and its habits, like anger and slander. Putting on these virtues is the other half: a deliberate, daily choice to dress in a new way of treating people.
What verses go with Colossians 3:12?
Colossians 3:14 (over all these put on love), Ephesians 4:2 (be humble, gentle, and patient), and Ephesians 4:32 (be kind and compassionate) are close companions.
