Colossians 2

1 For I desire to have you know how greatly I struggle for you and for those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,

2 that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,

3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 Now I say this that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.

I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.

5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

6 As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,

Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him,

7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.

rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

8 Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elemental spirits of the world, and not after Christ.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

9 For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily,

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.

10 and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.

And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ,

In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.

12 having 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.

And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,

14 wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.

having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

15 Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

16 Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,

Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.

17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

18 Let no one rob you of your prize by self-abasement and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.

19 and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth.

He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.

20 If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,

If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:

21 “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”

“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?

22 (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?

These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

23 These things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, humility, and severity to the body, but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.