Passage

Colossians 2.14-15

Book: Colossians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

12. having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13. And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;

14. having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; 15. having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: 17. which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's. (Colossians 2:12-17, ASV)

WEB

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. 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,

14. wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, 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.

Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, 17. which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s. (Colossians 2:12-17, WEB)

KJV

12. Buried 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. 13. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14. Blotting 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; 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. ^{in it: or, in himself}

Let 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: ^{in meat: or, for eating and drinking} ^{respect: or, part} 17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Colossians 2:12-17, KJV)

YLT

12. being buried with him in the baptism, in which also ye rose with [him] through the faith of the working of God, who did raise him out of the dead. 13. And you, being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made alive together with him, having forgiven you all the trespasses,

14. having blotted out the handwriting in the ordinances that is against us, that was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross; 15. having stripped the principalities and the authorities, he made a shew of them openly, having triumphed over them in it.

Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, 17. which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ; (Colossians 2:12-17, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, with "Timothy our brother" named in the greeting (1:1), writing as a prisoner (4:3, 18). Many critical scholars hold that a follower of Paul wrote the letter in his name; others defend Paul's authorship, pointing to its close personal ties with Philemon.
Audience: the church at Colossae in the Lycus valley of Phrygia, founded by Epaphras (1:7) and largely Gentile (2:13). The teaching pressing on them gave honor to heavenly powers, including "worshipping of the angels" (2:18), and imposed rules about food and sacred days (2:16).
Location: an imprisonment, traditionally Rome, with Ephesus and Caesarea as the main alternatives.
Time period: about AD 60-62 if Paul wrote from Rome, or the mid-50s if from Ephesus. Scholars who read the letter as written after Paul's death place it later in the first century.
Literary context: the end of Paul's answer to the false teaching (2:8-15). Verse 13 described forgiveness and new life; these verses show what happened at the cross to the debt against us and to the powers. Verse 16 then applies it: "Let no man therefore judge you."

Theological reading

The debt cancelled. "Bond" (cheirographon) was a handwritten acknowledgment of debt, "written in ordinances" and standing "against us." God "blotted out" the record and "hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." The cross is where the charge against God's people was settled.

The powers disarmed. Verse 15 turns from the debt to the powers. "Having despoiled the principalities and the powers": the verb can mean stripping off or stripping away, and here it describes the powers stripped of their arms and their claim. These are the same categories named in 1:16, created through Christ; now the hostile among them are defeated by him. If the debt has been cancelled, the powers have nothing left to accuse with.

A public triumph. "He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them." The image is a Roman triumph, in which a victorious general paraded his captives through the streets. Paul uses the same verb in 2 Corinthians 2:14. What looked like Christ's defeat, a public execution, was in fact his victory parade.

In it, or in him. "In it" (ASV, KJV) most naturally means the cross, just named in verse 14; the Greek can also be read "in him." Either way, the victory was won at Calvary. For the Colossians this means no angelic or cosmic power is to be feared or courted (2:18); the powers have been led captive by the Christ who made them.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G0746 - arche, arche, Strong's G0746

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

African Traditional Religion and Christianity, via Colossians 2.15
Are There Other Gods, via Colossians 2.15
Atheism, via Colossians 2.14-17
Atonement
Atonement Theory Spread, via Colossians 2.15
Authority to Cast Out Demons, via Colossians 2.15
Biblical Forgiveness, via Colossians 2.13-14
Chaos Magic, via Colossians 2.15
Christology, via Colossians 2.15
Demonology, via Colossians 2.15
Demons, via Colossians 2.15
Eschatology, via Colossians 2.15
Karma, via Colossians 2.14
Mosaic Law, via Colossians 2.14-17
Nephilim and the Sons of God, via Colossians 2.15
Polytheism, via Colossians 2.15
Prayers Against Scoffing and Mockery, via Colossians 2.15
Repentance of Fallen Angels, via Colossians 2.15
Ritual Purity Laws Objection, via Colossians 2.14-17
Sabbath, via Colossians 2.14
Satan, via Colossians 2.15
Spiritual Warfare, via Colossians 2.15
The Devil, via Colossians 2.15

People:

Goliath, via Colossians 2.15

Lexicon:

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.