Colossians 2:3-21
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments. 5For even though I am absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your orderly manner and the stability of your faith in Christ.
6Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
8See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.
9For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;
11and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,
12having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings,
14having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
16Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day—
17things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
18Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
19and not holding firmly to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
King James Version
Chapter 2
3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Christian Standard Bible
4I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable.
5For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.
6So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.
8Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.
9For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,
10and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ,
12when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.
14He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.
16Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.
17These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
18Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind.
19He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.
New Living Translation
4I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.
5For 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.
6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.
7Let 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.
8Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11When 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.
12For 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.
13You 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.
14He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
15In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
16So 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.
17For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
18Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,
19and 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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
16Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
18Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
19and not 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.
New International Version
Chapter 2
3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,
12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
19They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
New King James Version
4Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
5For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14having wiped out the 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.
15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
