Passage

Colossians 2

Book: Colossians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. For I would have you know how greatly I strive for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2. that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ, 3. in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. 4. This I say, that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech. 5. For though I am 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. 6. As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7. rooted and builded up in him, and established in your faith, even as ye were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8. Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: 9. for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, 10. and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power: 11. in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; 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. 16. 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. 18. Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19. and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increasing with the increase of God. 20. If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances, 21. Handle not, nor taste, nor touch 22. (all which things are to perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men? 23. Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2:1-23, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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; 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, 3. in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. 4. Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech. 5. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6. As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, 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. 8. Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. 9. For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, 10. and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power; 11. in whom 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; 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. 16. 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. 18. Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly 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. 20. If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, 21. “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch” 22. (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men? 23. Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2:1-23, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; ^{conflict: or, fear, or, care} 2. That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ^{In whom: or, Wherein} 4. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5. For 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. 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8. Beware 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. ^{rudiments: or, elements} ^{make a prey: or, seduce you, or, lead you astray} 9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11. In 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: 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} 16. 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. 18. Let 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, ^{beguile: or, judge against you} ^{in a: Gr. being a voluntary in humility} 19. And 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. 20. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, ^{rudiments: or, elements} 21. (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22. Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23. Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. ^{neglecting: or, punishing, or, not sparing}" (Colossians 2:1-23, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. For I wish you to know how great a conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2. that their hearts may be comforted, being united in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of the understanding, to the full knowledge of the secret of the God and Father, and of the Christ, 3. in whom are all the treasures of the wisdom and the knowledge hid, 4. and this I say, that no one may beguile you in enticing words, 5. for if even in the flesh I am absent, yet in the spirit I am with you, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in regard to Christ; 6. as, then, ye did receive Christ Jesus the Lord, in him walk ye, 7. being rooted and built up in him, and confirmed in the faith, as ye were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving. 8. See that no one shall be carrying you away as spoil through the philosophy and vain deceit, according to the deliverance of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ, 9. because in him doth tabernacle all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, 10. and ye are in him made full, who is the head of all principality and authority, 11. in whom also ye were 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 the Christ, 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. 16. 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; 18. let no one beguile you of your prize, delighting in humble-mindedness and [in] worship of the messengers, intruding into the things he hath not seen, being vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh, 19. and not holding the head, from which all the body, through the joints and bands gathering supply, and being knit together, may increase with the increase of God. 20. If, then, ye did die with the Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? 21., thou mayest not touch, nor taste, nor handle, 22. which are all for destruction with the using, after the commands and teachings of men, 23. which are, indeed, having a matter of wisdom in will-worship, and humble-mindedness, and neglecting of body, not in any honour, unto a satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2:1-23, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

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.