Not Philosophy but Christ

For I want you to know what a great (A)conflict[a] I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, [b]both of the Father and of Christ, (B)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Now this I say (C)lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For (D)though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [c]to see (E)your good order and the (F)steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

(G)As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, (H)rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [d]in it with thanksgiving.

Beware lest anyone [e]cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to (I)the tradition of men, according to the (J)basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For (K)in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [f]bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the (L)head of all [g]principality and power.

Not Legalism but Christ

11 In Him you were also (M)circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by (N)putting off the body [h]of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 (O)buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through (P)faith in the working of God, (Q)who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 (R)having wiped out the [i]handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 (S)Having disarmed (T)principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 So let no one (U)judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a [j]festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 (V)which are a shadow of things to come, but the [k]substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has [l]not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to (W)the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, (X)grows with the increase that is from God.

20 [m]Therefore, if you (Y)died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, (Z)why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 (AA)“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—(AB)according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 (AC)These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and [n]neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 2:1 struggle
  2. Colossians 2:2 NU omits both of the Father and
  3. Colossians 2:5 Lit. and seeing
  4. Colossians 2:7 NU omits in it
  5. Colossians 2:8 Lit. plunder you or take you captive
  6. Colossians 2:9 in bodily form
  7. Colossians 2:10 rule and authority
  8. Colossians 2:11 NU omits of the sins
  9. Colossians 2:14 certificate of debt with its
  10. Colossians 2:16 feast day
  11. Colossians 2:17 Lit. body
  12. Colossians 2:18 NU omits not
  13. Colossians 2:20 NU, M omit Therefore
  14. Colossians 2:23 severe treatment, asceticism

You Are Built Up in Christ

For I want you to know how great a (A)struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at (B)Laodicea, and for all those who have not [a]personally seen my face, that their (C)hearts may be encouraged, having been (D)knit together in love, and that they would attain to all (E)the wealth [b]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a (F)true knowledge of (G)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all (H)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (I)I say this so that no one will deceive you with (J)persuasive arguments. For even though I am (K)absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing [c]to see [d]your (L)orderly manner and the (M)stability of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you have received (N)Christ Jesus the Lord, so [e](O)walk in Him, having been firmly (P)rooted and now being (Q)built up in Him and (R)established [f]in [g]your faith, just as you (S)were instructed, and overflowing [h]with gratitude.

(T)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through (U)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the (V)elementary principles of the world, [i]rather than in accordance with Christ. For in Him all the (W)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been (X)made [j]complete, and (Y)He is the head [k]over every (Z)ruler and authority; 11 and in Him (AA)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of (AB)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been (AC)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also (AD)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who (AE)raised Him from the dead. 13 And [l]when you were (AF)dead [m]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He (AG)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, 14 having canceled (AH)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and (AI)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had [n](AJ)disarmed the (AK)rulers and authorities, He (AL)made a public display of them, having (AM)triumphed over them through [o]Him.

16 Therefore, no one is to [p](AN)act as your judge in regard to (AO)food and (AP)drink, or in respect to a (AQ)festival or a (AR)new moon, or a (AS)Sabbath [q]day— 17 things which are only a (AT)shadow of what is to come; but the [r]substance [s]belongs to Christ. 18 Take care that no one keeps [t](AU)defrauding you of your prize by (AV)delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, [u]taking his stand on visions he has seen, [v](AW)inflated without cause by his (AX)fleshly mind, 19 and not holding firmly to (AY)the head, from whom (AZ)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and [w]ligaments, grows with a growth [x]which is from God.

20 (BA)If you have died with Christ [y]to the (BB)elementary principles of the world, (BC)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to (BD)decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer (BE)to things destined to perish [z]with use)—in accordance with the (BF)commandments and teachings of man? 23 These are matters which do have the [aa]appearance of wisdom in [ab](BG)self-made religion and humility and (BH)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against (BI)fleshly indulgence.

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 2:1 Lit in the flesh
  2. Colossians 2:2 Lit of the full assurance
  3. Colossians 2:5 Lit and seeing
  4. Colossians 2:5 Or your good order
  5. Colossians 2:6 Or lead your life
  6. Colossians 2:7 Or by
  7. Colossians 2:7 Or the faith
  8. Colossians 2:7 One early ms in it with
  9. Colossians 2:8 Lit and not
  10. Colossians 2:10 Lit full
  11. Colossians 2:10 Lit of
  12. Colossians 2:13 Or although
  13. Colossians 2:13 Or by reason of
  14. Colossians 2:15 Or divested Himself of
  15. Colossians 2:15 Or it; i.e., the cross
  16. Colossians 2:16 Lit judge you
  17. Colossians 2:16 Or days
  18. Colossians 2:17 Lit body
  19. Colossians 2:17 Lit of Christ
  20. Colossians 2:18 Or deciding against you
  21. Colossians 2:18 Or going into detail about
  22. Colossians 2:18 Or conceited
  23. Colossians 2:19 Lit bonds
  24. Colossians 2:19 Lit of God
  25. Colossians 2:20 Lit from
  26. Colossians 2:22 Or by being consumed
  27. Colossians 2:23 Lit report; Gr logos
  28. Colossians 2:23 Or would-be religion

You Are Built Up in Christ

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those [believers] at [a]Laodicea, and for all who [like yourselves] have never seen me face to face. [For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] [b]love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the [c]mystery of God, that is, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God]. I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments. For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, [d]delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established [e]in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the [f]elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God]. 10 And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power]. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature], 12 having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the [g]certificate of debt consisting of [h]legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through [i]the cross.

16 Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 Such things are only a shadow of what is to come and they have only symbolic value; but the substance [the reality of what is foreshadowed] belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one defraud you of your prize [your freedom in Christ and your salvation] by insisting on mock humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about visions [he claims] he has seen [to justify his authority], puffed up [in conceit] by his unspiritual mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head [of the body, Jesus Christ], from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth [that can come only] from God.

20 If you have died with Christ to the [j]elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as, 21 “Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!”? 22 (these things all perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men.(A) 23 These practices indeed have the appearance [that popularly passes as that] of wisdom in self-made religion and mock humility and severe treatment of the body (asceticism), but are of no value against sinful indulgence [because they do not honor God].

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 2:1 Along with Colossae, Laodicea was located in the valley of the Lycus River and is one of the seven churches mentioned in Rev 1-3.
  2. Colossians 2:2 See note 1:4.
  3. Colossians 2:2 See note 1:26.
  4. Colossians 2:5 Lit rejoicing and seeing.
  5. Colossians 2:7 Or by.
  6. Colossians 2:8 Perhaps a reference to ancient philosophies based on the belief that only the material world is real.
  7. Colossians 2:14 This term refers to a debtor’s handwritten note acknowledging the debt.
  8. Colossians 2:14 I.e. the requirements found in the Mosaic Law which were violated. The debt is the punishment due for the violator’s sins. Gentiles were never directly liable to the Law, but as Paul explains in Rom 2:12-16, God holds them responsible for violating the principles of the Law that they acknowledge of their own volition.
  9. Colossians 2:15 Lit it or Him.
  10. Colossians 2:20 See note v 8.