Colossians 2
Lexham English Bible
Christ, the Mystery of God
2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on behalf of you, and those in Laodicea, and all those who have not seen my face in person[a], 2 so that their hearts may be encouraged, united in love and into all the wealth of the full assurance of insight into the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, 3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. 4 I say this in order that no one will deceive you with persuasive speech, 5 for even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
Made Alive in Christ
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in him, 7 firmly rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding with thankfulness. 8 Beware lest anyone take you captive[b] through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition[c], according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ, 9 because in him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you are filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority, 11 in whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by the removal of the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And although you were dead[d][e] in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 having destroyed the certificate of indebtedness in ordinances against us, which was hostile to us, and removed it out of the way by[f] nailing it to the cross. 15 When he[g] had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a display of them in public, triumphing over them by it.[h]
Do Not Be Judged by Human Religious Rules
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or[i] drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath, 17 which are a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ. 18 Let no one condemn you, taking pleasure in humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about the things which he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by the ligaments and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as if living in the world? 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch,” 22 which things are all meant for destruction by consuming according to human commandments and teachings, 23 which things although they have[j],[k] to be sure, an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and unsparing treatment of the body, do not have any value[l] against the indulgence of the flesh.
Footnotes
- Colossians 2:1 Literally “in the flesh”
- Colossians 2:8 Literally “anyone be the one who takes captive you”
- Colossians 2:8 Literally “the tradition of men”
- Colossians 2:13 Literally “and you being dead”
- Colossians 2:13 Here the participle (“being”) is understood as concessive
- Colossians 2:14 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“nailing”) which is understood as means
- Colossians 2:15 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had disarmed”) which is understood as temporal
- Colossians 2:15 Or “in him”
- Colossians 2:16 Some manuscripts have “and”
- Colossians 2:23 Literally “having”
- Colossians 2:23 *Here the participle (“having”) is understood as concessive
- Colossians 2:23 Literally “are not with any value”
Colossians 2
Tree of Life Version
2 I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those in Laodicea, as well as for those who have still not seen me face to face. 2 My purpose is that their hearts, joined together in love, may be encouraged. May they have all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, leading to a true knowledge of the mystery of God—that is, Messiah. 3 In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. [a] 4 I am telling you this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive-sounding arguments. 5 For even though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit—rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your trust in Messiah.
Living Out the Mystery
6 Therefore as you received Messiah Yeshua as Lord, so continue to walk in Him— 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in your faith just as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men and the basic principles of the world rather than Messiah. 9 For all the fullness of Deity lives bodily in Him, 10 and in Him you have been filled to fullness. He is the head over every ruler and authority.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision done not by hand, in the stripping away of the body of the flesh through the circumcision of Messiah. 12 You were buried along with Him in immersion, through which you also were raised with Him by trusting in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Him when He pardoned us all our transgressions. 14 He wiped out the handwritten record of debts with the decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 After disarming the principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.[b]
The Danger of False Wisdom
16 Therefore, do not let anyone pass judgment on you in matters of food or drink, or in respect to a festival or new moon or Shabbat. [c] 17 These are a foreshadowing of things to come, but the reality is Messiah. [d] 18 Let no one disqualify you by insisting on false humility and worship of angels—going into detail about what he has seen, puffed up without cause by his fleshly mind. 19 He is not holding fast to the Head. It is from Him that the whole body, nourished and held together by its joints and tendons, grows with a godly increase. 20 If you died with Messiah to the basic principles of the world, why—as though living in the world—do you subject yourselves to their rules? 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!” 22 These all lead to decay with use, based as they are on man-made commands and teachings. [e] 23 Indeed, these are matters that have an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and self-denial of the body—yet none are of any value for stopping indulgence of the flesh.
Footnotes
- Colossians 2:4 cf. Prov. 3:19; Isa. 11:2; 45:3.
- Colossians 2:15 Lit. in it or in Him.
- Colossians 2:17 cf. Lev 23:2-4, 2 Chr. 23:31; 2 Chr. 31:3; Neh. 10:33; Ps. 81:3; Isa. 66:23; Ezek. 46:1, etc.
- Colossians 2:18 Lit. the body is of Messiah.
- Colossians 2:23 cf. Isa. 29:13.
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Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.