Colossians · Free Bible Version
Colossians 2 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
FBV Free Bible Version
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
PT1904 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
1 I want you to know how hard I'm working for you, and for those at Laodicea—in fact for all those who haven't met me personally—
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;
1 Θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω περὶ ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ καὶ ὅσοι οὐχ ἑωράκασι τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐν σαρκί,
2 so that you may be encouraged. May you be bound together in love, experiencing the great benefit of being completely sure in your understanding, for this is what the true knowledge of God brings. May you know the revealed mystery of God, which is Christ!
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,
2 ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν, συμβιβασθέντων ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰς πάντα πλοῦτον τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
3 In him you can discover all the rich wisdom and knowledge of God.
3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
3 ἐν ᾧ εἰσι πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι.
4 I'm telling you this so that no one will fool you by spinning you a tale.
4 Now I say this that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.
4 Τοῦτο δὲ λέγω ἵνα μή τις ὑμᾶς παραλογίζηται ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ·
5 Even though I'm not physically there with you, I'm with you in spirit. I'm so happy to see the way you stick together and how firm you are in your trust in Christ.
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.
5 εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄπειμι, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι σὺν ὑμῖν εἰμι, χαίρων καὶ βλέπων ὑμῶν τὴν τάξιν καὶ τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως ὑμῶν.
6 Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, go on following him,
6 As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,
6 Ὡς οὖν παρελάβετε τὸν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Κύριον, ἐν αὐτῷ περιπατεῖτε,
7 grounded in him and built up by him. May your trust in him continue to grow strong, following what you were taught, full of gratitude to God.
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.
7 ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ ἐποικοδομούμενοι ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ βεβαιούμενοι ἐν τῇ πίστει καθὼς ἐδιδάχθητε, περισσεύοντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ.
8 Watch out that nobody enslaves you through their philosophy and worthless delusions, following human traditions and concepts of this world, and not following Christ.
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.
8 Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς ἔσται ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης, κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν·
9 For the fullness of God's divine nature lives in Christ in bodily form,
9 For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily,
9 ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς,
10 and you have been made full in him. He is supreme over every ruler and authority.
10 and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power.
10 καὶ ἐστὲ ἐν αὐτῷ πεπληρωμένοι, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας,
11 You were “circumcised” in him but not by human hands. You have been set free from sinful human nature by the “circumcision” Christ performed.
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,
11 ἐν ᾧ καὶ περιετμήθητε περιτομῇ ἀχειροποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τῆς σαρκός, ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
12 You were buried with him in baptism, and you were raised with him through your trust in what God did by raising him from the dead.
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.
12 συνταφέντες αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι, ἐν ᾧ καὶ συνηγέρθητε διὰ τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν.
13 And even though you were dead because of your sins and being physically “uncircumcised,” he brought you to life together with him. He has forgiven us all our sins.
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,
13 καὶ ὑμᾶς, νεκροὺς ὄντας [ἐν] τοῖς παραπτώμασι καὶ τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν, συνεζωοποίησεν ὑμᾶς σὺν αὐτῷ, χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα,
14 He wiped out the record of our debts according to the Law that was written down against us; he took away this barrier by nailing it to the cross.
14 wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.
14 ἐξαλείψας τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον τοῖς δόγμασιν ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν, καὶ αὐτὸ ἦρεν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου προσηλώσας αὐτὸ τῷ σταυρῷ·
15 He stripped away the power of spiritual rulers and authorities, and having publicly revealed what they were truly like, he led them captive behind him in victory.
15 Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
15 ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησίᾳ, θριαμβεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ.
16 So don't let anyone criticize you for what you eat or what you drink, or regarding which religious festival, new moon ritual, or ceremonial sabbaths you choose to observe.
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,
16 Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει ἢ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νουμηνίας ἢ σαββάτων,
17 These are just a shadow of what was to come, for the physical reality is Christ.
17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
17 ἅ ἐστι σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα Χριστοῦ.
18 Don't let anyone cheat you out of your prize by insisting you have to beat yourself, or worship angels. They think they are better than anyone else because of visions they say they've had, and become ridiculously conceited in their sinful minds.
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,
18 μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ μὴ ἑώρακεν ἐμβατεύων, εἰκῆ φυσιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
19 Such people are not connected to the head that directs the body, nourished and joined together through the body's sinews and muscles. As the body is united together it grows the way God wants it to grow.
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.
19 καὶ οὐ κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν, ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων ἐπιχορηγούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
20 If you died with Christ to the religious demands that this world insists upon, why would you make yourself subject to such demands as if you were still part of this world?
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,
20 Εἰ οὖν ἀπεθάνετε σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσμου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσμῳ δογματίζεσθε,
21 Things like: don't handle that, don't taste that, don't touch that!
21 “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”
21 μὴ ἅψῃ μηδὲ γεύσῃ μηδὲ θίγῃς —
22 These commands refer to things that don't last since they're used up, and they're based on man-made requirements and teachings.
22 (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?
22 ἅ ἐστι πάντα εἰς φθορὰν τῇ ἀποχρήσει — κατὰ τὰ ἐντάλματα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων;
23 Such rules may make some kind of sense to those who practice self-centered piety, who are so proud of being humble, and who “mortify the body;” but in reality they don't help at all in dealing with sinful desires.
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.
23 ἅτινά ἐστι λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος, οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός.
Cross references (23)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Colossians 1:29; Philippians 1:30; Revelation 3:14–22; Colossians 4:12–13; Revelation 1:11
- 2 Colossians 1:27; Colossians 4:8; Romans 16:25; Colossians 3:14; Ephesians 6:22
- 3 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 2:6–8; 2 Timothy 3:15–17
- 4 1 John 4:1; Ephesians 4:14; Romans 16:18–19; Matthew 24:4; 2 John 7
- 5 1 Corinthians 5:3–4; 1 Thessalonians 2:17; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Peter 3:17–18; 1 Peter 5:9
- 6 Colossians 1:10; 1 John 2:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; Ephesians 5:1–2; Galatians 2:20
- 7 Ephesians 3:17; Jeremiah 17:8; Ephesians 2:20–22; John 15:4–5; Colossians 1:23
- 8 1 Timothy 6:20; Ephesians 5:6; Matthew 7:15; Galatians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 3:18–19
- 9 Colossians 1:19; John 1:14; John 10:30; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 14:9–10
- 10 Ephesians 3:19; Colossians 1:16–18; 1 Corinthians 1:30–31; 1 Peter 3:22; Ephesians 1:20–23
- 11 Romans 2:29; Philippians 3:3; Romans 6:6; Deuteronomy 30:6; Galatians 5:24
- 12 Romans 6:3–5; Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:4–6; Colossians 3:1–2
- 13 Ephesians 2:5–6; Romans 8:11; Ephesians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Hebrews 9:14
- 14 Ephesians 2:14–16; Isaiah 44:22; Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:13; 1 Peter 2:24
- 15 Hebrews 2:14; Ephesians 4:8; Matthew 12:29; John 12:31–32; Isaiah 53:12
- 16 Romans 14:5–6; Romans 14:10; Galatians 4:10; Romans 14:13–17; Romans 14:2–3
- 17 Hebrews 10:1; Hebrews 8:5; John 1:17; Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 4:1–11
- 18 Colossians 2:8; 1 John 4:1–2; Colossians 2:23; 1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Timothy 1:7
- 19 Ephesians 4:15–16; John 15:4–6; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; Romans 12:4–5; 1 Peter 3:8
- 20 Colossians 2:8; Colossians 2:14; Colossians 2:16; Galatians 4:3; Romans 7:4–6
- 21 1 Timothy 4:3; Isaiah 52:11; Genesis 3:3; 2 Corinthians 6:17
- 22 Isaiah 29:13; Titus 1:14; 1 Corinthians 6:13; Mark 7:18–19; Mark 7:7–13
- 23 1 Timothy 4:8; Colossians 2:8; Colossians 2:22; Colossians 2:18; Matthew 23:27–28
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Again, he takes hold on them beforehand with their own testimony, saying, "As therefore ye received." We introduce no strange addition, he saith, neither do ye. "Walk ye in Him," for He is the Way that leadeth to the Father: not in the Angels; this way leadeth not thither.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 13 (1889)
And they state that it was clearly on this account that Paul said, "And He Himself is all things;" and again, "All things are to Him, and of Him are all things;" and further, "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead;" and yet again, "All things are gathered together by God in Christ." Thus do they interpret these …
… Thy Spirit, by Thy good and pious servant: "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: for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And since at that time (as Thou, O Light of my heart, knowest) the words …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
For not otherwise than by the cross did He effect this; as Paul likewise said: "And the handwriting which was contrary to us, even it He took out of the way, nailing it to His cross." And his saying too, "He shall baptize you with the Spirit," is that of one who was foretelling the events after the resurrection.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
A most precious possession therefore is the knowledge of doctrines: also there is need of a wakeful soul, since there are many that make spoil through philosophy and vain deceit.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)