Col.2.1
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;
Col.2.1
I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone.
Col.2.1
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 personally.
Col.2.1
For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,
Col.2.1
I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other friends who have never known me personally.
Col.2.2
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;
Col.2.2
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery.
Col.2.2
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
Col.2.2
that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
Col.2.2
My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God's secret plan, which is Christ himself.
Col.2.3
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col.2.3
All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery!
Col.2.3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col.2.3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col.2.3
In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col.2.4
And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
Col.2.4
I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."
Col.2.4
I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
Col.2.4
Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
Col.2.4
I am telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments.
Col.2.5
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.
Col.2.5
I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.
Col.2.5
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Col.2.5
For 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.
Col.2.5
For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as you should and because of your strong faith in Christ.
Col.2.6
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col.2.6
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.
Col.2.6
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
Col.2.6
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
Col.2.6
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him.
Col.2.7
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col.2.7
You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
Col.2.7
rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Col.2.7
rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Col.2.7
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
Col.2.8
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.
Col.2.8
Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.
Col.2.8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Col.2.8
Beware 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.
Col.2.8
Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ.
Col.2.9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Col.2.9
Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.
Col.2.9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
Col.2.9
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
Col.2.9
For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,
Col.2.10
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col.2.10
When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
Col.2.10
and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
Col.2.10
and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Col.2.10
and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.
Col.2.11
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:
Col.2.11
Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders-not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.
Col.2.11
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,
Col.2.11
In 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,
Col.2.11
When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure--the cutting away of your sinful nature.
Col.2.12
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.
Col.2.12
If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.
Col.2.12
having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Col.2.12
buried 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.
Col.2.12
For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
Col.2.13
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col.2.13
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive--right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven,
Col.2.13
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
Col.2.13
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Col.2.13
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.
Col.2.14
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;
Col.2.14
the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross.
Col.2.14
having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
Col.2.14
having 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.
Col.2.14
He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.
Col.2.15
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col.2.15
He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
Col.2.15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Col.2.15
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Col.2.15
In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
Col.2.16
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:
Col.2.16
So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days.
Col.2.16
Therefore 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.
Col.2.16
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
Col.2.16
So 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.
Col.2.17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Col.2.17
All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
Col.2.17
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Col.2.17
which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Col.2.17
For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself.
Col.2.18
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,
Col.2.18
Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are.
Col.2.18
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
Col.2.18
Let 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,
Col.2.18
Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don't let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud.
Col.2.19
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.
Col.2.19
They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
Col.2.19
He has 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.
Col.2.19
and 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.
Col.2.19
But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.
Col.2.20
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,
Col.2.20
So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it?
Col.2.20
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
Col.2.20
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--
Col.2.20
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as,
Col.2.21
Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col.2.21
"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!"
Col.2.21
"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?
Col.2.21
"Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
Col.2.21
"Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch."
Col.2.22
Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Col.2.22
Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?
Col.2.22
These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.
Col.2.22
which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
Col.2.22
Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them.
Col.2.23
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.
Col.2.23
Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.
Col.2.23
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Col.2.23
These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Col.2.23
These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires.
