Colossians 2:16-23

Common English Bible

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. ¹⁷ These religious practices are only a shadow of what was coming—the body that cast the shadow is Christ. ¹⁸ Don’t let anyone who wants to practice harsh self-denial and worship angels rob you of the prize. They go into detail about what they have seen in visions and have become unjustifiably arrogant by their selfish way of thinking. ¹⁹ They don’t stay connected to the head. The head nourishes and supports the whole body through the joints and ligaments, so the body grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰ If you died with Christ to the way the world thinks and acts, why do you submit to rules and regulations as though you were living in the world? ²¹ “Don’t handle!” “Don’t taste!” “Don’t touch!” ²² All these things cease to exist when they are used. Such rules are human commandments and teachings. ²³ They look like they are wise with this self-made religion and their self-denial by the harsh treatment of the body, but they are no help against indulging in selfish immoral behavior.