Greek Manuscripts of Colossians

Explore the index of every known Greek manuscript witness to Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, drawn from the Münster Institute’s working research database and other sources. Each entry records the manuscript’s Gregory-Aland designation, its date, writing material, and the precise extent of Colossians it preserves, together with links to digital images and, where one exists, a published diplomatic transcription.

Extents are given for Colossians only. “Complete” indicates that the manuscript preserves the whole epistle; all other entries list the surviving verses. Lectionary entries list the pericopes drawn from Colossians in the order the manuscript presents them, which is liturgical rather than canonical.

Manuscript Types

Papyri (2)
Majuscules (25)
Lectionaries (14)
Minuscules (232)

P46, Images © The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

Papyri

Two papyri preserve text from Colossians. P46, the oldest surviving witness to the epistle, is also by a wide margin the most extensive of the two.

GA	Century	Material	Colossians preserved	Resources
P46	3rd	Papyrus	1:1–2, 5–13, 16–24, 27–29; 2:1–19, 23; 3:1–11, 13–24; 4:3–12, 16–18	Images · Transcript
P61	8th	Papyrus	1:3–7, 9–13; 4:15	Images · Transcript

Majuscules

Twenty-five majuscules attest Colossians, ranging from the fourth-century great codices to ninth- and tenth-century witnesses. Several are fragmentary; the extent column gives the surviving text in each case.

GA	Century	Material	Colossians preserved	Resources
01 א	4th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
02 A	5th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
03 B	4th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
04 C	5th	Parchment	All except 1:1–2	Images · Transcript
06 D	6th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
010 F	9th	Parchment	All except 2:1–8	Images · Transcript
012 G	9th	Parchment	All except 2:1–8	Images · Transcript
015 H	6th	Parchment	[1:23–26] 1:26–29; 2:1–8, [9–11], [17–19], 20–23; 3:1–13	Images · Transcript
016 I	5th	Parchment	1:1–4, 10–12, 20–22, 27–29; 2:7–9, 16–19; 3:5–8, 15–17, 25; 4:1–2, 11–13	Images · Transcript
018 K	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images
020 L	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
025 P	9th	Parchment	All except 3:16–4:8	Images · Transcript
044 Ψ	9th/10th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
048	5th	Parchment	1:20–2:8, 11–14, 22–23; 3:7–8; 3:12–4:18	Images · Transcript
049	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
056	10th	Parchment	Complete	Images
075	10th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
0142	10th	Parchment	Complete	Images
0150	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images · Transcript
0151	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images
0198	6th	Parchment	3:15–16, 20–21	Images · Transcript
0208	6th	Parchment	1:29–2:10, 13–14	Images · Transcript
0278	9th	Parchment	1:17–3:13; 3:21–4:18	Images · Transcript
0289	5th	Parchment	3:21–22; 3:25–4:2, 6–7, 10–11	Images · Transcript
0319	9th	Parchment	Complete	Images

Lectionaries

Lectionaries transmit Colossians as a series of liturgical readings rather than as a continuous text. The pericopes below are listed in manuscript order.

GA	Century	Pericopes from Colossians	Resources
l23	11th	1:2–6, 12–18; 2:8–12; 3:4–16; 4:5–9, 14, 18	Images · Transcript
l60	11th	1:2–6, 12–18; 2:8–12; 3:4–16; 4:5–10, 14, 18	Images · Transcript
l156	10th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–25; 4:1–18	Images · Transcript
l169	13th	1:1–2:12; 2:13–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l587	12th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l809	12th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l1126	12th	4:5–18; 2:8–12	Images · Transcript
l1159	14th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l1178	11th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l1188	13th	1:1–2:7; 2:8–23; 3:1–16; 3:17–4:18	Images · Transcript
l1298	11th	1:2–6; 1:12–22; 2:8–12; 3:4–16; 4:5–18	Images · Transcript
l1440	13th	1:6–2:7; 2:13–23; 3:1–3; 3:17–4:18; 1:12–18; 3:12–16; 1:1–6; 4:5–18; 2:8–12	Images · Transcript
l2010	15th	1:1–2:7; 2:13–23; 3:1–3; 3:17–4:18; 1:12–18; 3:4–16; 1:1–6; 2:8–12; 3:12–16; 4:5–18; 3:4–11; 1:24–2:1	Images · Transcript
l2058	17th	1:1–2:7; 2:13–23; 3:1–3; 3:17–4:18; 1:12–18; 3:4–16; 1:1–6; 3:12–16; 1:24–2:1; 4:5–18; 2:8–12	Images · Transcript

Minuscules

The 232 minuscule witnesses to Colossians are the largest body of Greek evidence for the epistle. Because of their number they are catalogued separately, grouped by century: see the full list of minuscules.

Sources and acknowledgements

Manuscript images are hosted by the New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung, Münster) and the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. Transcriptions are those published by the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing at the University of Birmingham as part of the Epistulae Paulinae project. Links open the original repositories; the Institute for Colossians Studies claims no rights in the linked materials.

Last updated 31 August 2026. Generated from the Institute’s Colossians manuscripts database.