2 For I want you to know ^(A)how great a ^(B)struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that ^(C)their hearts may be encouraged, being ^(D)knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of ^(E)God's mystery, which is Christ, ^3 (F)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I say this in order ^(G)that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. ⁵ For ^(H)though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your ^(I)good order and ^(J)the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

^6 (K)Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ^7 (L)rooted and ^(M)built up in him and ^(N)established in the faith, just ^(O)as you were taught, abounding ^(P)in thanksgiving.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive by ^(Q)philosophy and ^(R)empty deceit, according to ^(S)human tradition, according to the ^(T)elemental spirits^[a] of the world, and not according to Christ.

Let No One Disqualify You

¹⁶ Therefore let no one ^(A)pass judgment on you ^(B)in questions of food and drink, or with regard to ^(C)a festival or ^(D)a new moon or a Sabbath. ^17 (E)These are a shadow of the things to come, but ^(F)the substance belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one ^(G)disqualify you, ^(H)insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, ^(I)going on in detail about visions,^{[a] (J)}puffed up without reason by ^(K)his sensuous mind, ¹⁹ and ^(L)not ^(M)holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰ If with Christ ^(N)you died to the ^(O)elemental spirits of the world, ^(P)why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ^21 (Q)“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ²² (^(R)referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to ^(S)human precepts and teachings? ²³ These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in ^(T)promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are ^(U)of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.