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I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.

Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers[a] of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.[b] 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.[c] 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed[d] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels,[e] saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Footnotes

  1. 2:8 Or the spiritual principles; also in 2:20.
  2. 2:9 Or in him dwells all the completeness of the Godhead bodily.
  3. 2:11 Greek the cutting away of the body of the flesh.
  4. 2:15 Or he stripped off.
  5. 2:18 Or or worshiping with angels.

(A)Njagala mumanye nga bwe nfuba ennyo okubasabira mmwe n’ab’omu Lawodikiya, era n’abo abatandabangako mu mubiri. (B)Ekyo nkikola mbazzeemu amaanyi era bagattibwe wamu mu kwagalana, ne mu kutegeerera ddala obugagga bwonna obuli mu kumanya ekyama kya Katonda, ye Kristo. (C)Mu Kristo mwe mukwekeddwa eby’obugagga byonna eby’amagezi n’okumanya. (D)Ebyo mbibategeeza waleme kubaawo n’omu ababuzaabuza. (E)Kubanga wadde siri wamu nammwe mu mubiri, naye mu mwoyo ndi wamu nammwe, era nsanyuka okumanya nti mutambula nga bwe muteekwa okutambula mu Kristo era nti n’okukkiriza kwammwe mu Kristo kunywevu.

Obulamu obujjuvu mu Kristo

(F)Nga bwe mwaweebwa Kristo Yesu Mukama waffe, mutambulirenga mu ye, (G)nga musimbibwa era nga mukuzibwa mu ye, era nga munywezebwa mu kukkiriza nga bwe mwayigirizibwa, nga mujjudde okwebazanga.

(H)Mwekuumenga walemenga kubaawo n’omu ku mmwe abuzibwabuzibwa mu bufirosoofo ne mu by’obulimba ebitaliimu, okugobereranga obulombolombo obw’abantu n’ebiyigirizibwa abantu. Munywererenga ku biyigirizibwa ku Kristo. Kubanga mu Kristo okutuukiriza kwonna okw’Obwakabaka mwe kulabikira mu mubiri, 10 (I)era mmwe nga muli mu ye, mwatuukirira mu ye, oyo Kristo omutwe gw’obufuzi bwonna n’obuyinza bwonna. 11 (J)Mu ye mwakomolebwa, bwe mwaggibwako okwegomba kw’omubiri, naye si okukomolebwa okw’engalo z’abantu, wabula mu kukomolebwa okwa Kristo. 12 (K)Bwe mwabatizibwa, mwaziikibwa wamu naye, ate ne muzuukizibwa wamu naye olw’okukkiriza kwammwe mu maanyi ga Katonda eyamuzuukiza mu bafu.

13 (L)Mwali mufudde olw’ebyonoono byammwe ne mu butakomolebwa bwammwe obw’okwegomba kw’omubiri. Katonda n’abafuula balamu wamu ne Kristo, ffenna bwe yatusonyiwa ebyonoono byaffe byonna. 14 (M)Bwe yasazaamu era n’aggyawo ebiragiro ebyawandiikibwa mu mateeka ebyatwolekeranga, n’abikomerera ku musaalaba, 15 (N)n’aggya ebyokulwanyisa ebyo ku bafuzi n’ab’obuyinza ab’omu bbanga, n’abaswaza mu lwatu, n’abawangulira ddala.

16 (O)Noolwekyo waleme kubaawo muntu n’omu abasalira musango ku bye mulya ne bye munywa, oba okubasalira omusango olw’embaga z’Ekiyudaaya oba ez’omwezi ogubonese wadde olwa Ssabbiiti. 17 (P)Kubanga ebyo kisiikirize eky’ebyo ebyali bigenda okujja, naye ekirimu ensa ye Kristo. 18 (Q)Omuntu yenna tabalimbalimbanga n’abanyagako ekirabo kye mwaweebwa, nga yeesigama ku kwewombeeka okw’obulimba n’okuwa bamalayika ekitiibwa ekingi, ng’anywerera mu bintu bye yalaba, nga yeenyumiririza mu butaliimu obw’amagezi ag’omubiri gwe. 19 (R)Ab’engeri eyo baba tebakyali mu Kristo, omutwe gw’omubiri gwonna. Omubiri ogwo gugattibwa mu nnyingo ne mu binywa era ne gugattibwa wamu nga gukula, Katonda nga y’agukuza.

20 (S)Obanga mwafiira wamu ne Kristo ne musumululwa okuva mu magezi ag’ebintu ebyangu eby’ensi, lwaki mufugibwa ebiragiro ng’ab’omu nsi? 21 Bino bye bimu ku biragiro ab’omu nsi bye bawa: Tolya kino, tokwata ku kiri oba nti tokomba ku kino. 22 (T)Ebyo byonna ku nkomerero biriggwaawo kubanga biriba tebikyalina mugaso. 23 Birabika ng’eby’amagezi mu ngeri ey’okusinza, abantu gye beegunjirawo bokka mu kwewombeeka ne mu kubonyaabonya omubiri, songa tebiriiko kye bigasa n’akatono mu kufuga okwegomba kw’omubiri.