Colossians 2:21
New International Version
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?

New Living Translation
“Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?

English Standard Version
“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”

Berean Standard Bible
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?

Berean Literal Bible
"You should not handle! You should not taste! You should not touch!"?--

King James Bible
(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

New King James Version
“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”

New American Standard Bible
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

NASB 1995
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

NASB 1977
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

Legacy Standard Bible
“Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch”?

Amplified Bible
“Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!”?

Christian Standard Bible
“Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch"?

American Standard Version
Handle not, nor taste, nor touch

Contemporary English Version
"Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this."?

English Revised Version
Handle not, nor taste, nor touch

GOD'S WORD® Translation
People will tell you, "Don't handle this! Don't taste or touch that!"

Good News Translation
"Don't handle this," "Don't taste that," "Don't touch the other"?

International Standard Version
"Don't handle this! Don't taste or touch that!"

Majority Standard Bible
“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?

NET Bible
"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"

New Heart English Bible
"Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch"

Webster's Bible Translation
(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

Weymouth New Testament
"Do not handle this;" "Do not taste that;" "Do not touch that other thing" --

World English Bible
“Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
you may not touch, nor taste, nor handle—

Berean Literal Bible
"You should not handle! You should not taste! You should not touch!"?--

Young's Literal Translation
-- thou mayest not touch, nor taste, nor handle --

Smith's Literal Translation
(Touch not; neither taste; neither shouldest thou handle;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Touch not, taste not, handle not:

Catholic Public Domain Version
Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle these things,

New American Bible
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”

New Revised Standard Version
“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Do not touch; do not taste; do not follow;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Namely, “Do not touch”, “Do not taste”, “Do not hold”,
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Touch not, taste not, handle not,

Godbey New Testament
Touch not, taste not, handle not,

Haweis New Testament
eat not, nor talk, nor touch,

Mace New Testament
"don't eat this, don't taste that, nor touch it:"

Weymouth New Testament
"Do not handle this;" "Do not taste that;" "Do not touch that other thing" --

Worrell New Testament
"Handle not, taste not, touch not,"

Worsley New Testament
(such as "touch not, taste not,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Alive in Christ
20If 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“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”? 22These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.…

Cross References
Galatians 4:9-10
But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? / You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 4:3
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Hebrews 9:10
They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

Mark 7:18-19
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, / because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

Matthew 15:11
A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

Romans 14:2-3
For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. / The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.

1 Corinthians 8:8
But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

Acts 10:14-15
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” / The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Romans 14:14
I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

Ephesians 2:15
by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

Hebrews 13:9
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.

Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.

Isaiah 1:11-14
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. / When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? / Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ...


Treasury of Scripture

(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

Genesis 3:3
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Isaiah 52:11
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

2 Corinthians 6:17
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

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Handle Hands Mayest Taste Tasting Touch Touching
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Handle Hands Mayest Taste Tasting Touch Touching
Colossians 2
1. Paul still exhorts them to be constant in Christ;
8. to beware of philosophy, and vain traditions;
18. worshipping of angels;
20. and legal ceremonies, which are ended in Christ.














Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!
Do not handle
This phrase reflects the ascetic practices that were being promoted by false teachers in Colossae. The Greek word used here is "ἅπτω" (haptō), which means to fasten to or adhere to. In the context of Colossians, Paul is addressing the legalistic restrictions that were being imposed on the believers, which were not based on the gospel of grace. Historically, such prohibitions were common in various religious and philosophical systems of the time, including Gnosticism and certain Jewish traditions. Paul is emphasizing that these man-made rules are not necessary for spiritual growth and are, in fact, a distraction from the true freedom found in Christ.

do not taste
The Greek word for "taste" is "γεύομαι" (geuomai), which means to partake of or experience. This phrase likely refers to dietary laws and restrictions that were being enforced by the false teachers. In the Jewish context, there were numerous dietary laws that were part of the Old Covenant. However, Paul is making it clear that in Christ, believers are no longer bound by these regulations. The historical context shows that early Christians struggled with the transition from Jewish customs to the new covenant of grace. Paul is urging the Colossians to focus on their relationship with Christ rather than on external observances.

do not touch
The word "touch" comes from the Greek "θιγγάνω" (thigganō), which means to handle or touch lightly. This prohibition is similar to the previous ones and likely refers to ritual purity laws. In the ancient world, many religions had strict rules about what could and could not be touched, often to avoid ceremonial defilement. Paul is challenging the Colossians to see beyond these superficial rules and to understand that true purity comes from a heart transformed by Christ. The emphasis is on the internal rather than the external, aligning with Jesus' teaching that it is not what goes into a person that defiles them, but what comes out of their heart (Mark 7:15).

(21) Touch not; taste not; handle not.--The first and last of these renderings should be inverted. There is in the commands a climax of strictness. "Handle not" (the unclean thing), "taste it not," "touch it not" with one of your fingers. It will be noted that all these commands are negative, not positive. They are marked by the ordinary ascetic preference of spiritual restraint to spiritual energy.

Verse 21 gives examples of the decrees which the Colossians are blamed for regarding and in this respect more than in any other they seem to have yielded to the demands of the false teacher. Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch' (vers. 16, 23; 1 Corinthians 6:12, 13; 1 Corinthians 8:8; 1 Corinthians 10:25-27, 30; Romans 14:14-17; 1 Timothy 4:3-5; Titus 1:15). These rules form part of a prohibitory regimen by which sinful tendencies to bodily pleasure were to be repressed (ver. 23), and spiritual truths symbolically enforced (ver. 17; see note on "circumcision," ver. 11): comp. Philo, 'On Concupiscence;' also 'On Victims,' § 3. Θίγης the last of the three verbs, appears to be the strongest, forbidding the slightest contact. Αψῃ is better rendered "handle" (comp. John 20:17); by itself it will scarcely bear the meaning it has in 1 Corinthians 7:1. The next verse seems to imply that all three verbs relate to matters of diet. Ambrose and other Latin Fathers of ascetic tendencies put these prohibitions into the mouth of St. Patti himself, reversing his meaning.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
“{Do}
Μὴ (Mē)
Adverb
Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.

not handle,
ἅψῃ (hapsē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 680: Prop: I fasten to; I lay hold of, touch, know carnally. Reflexive of hapto; properly, to attach oneself to, i.e. To touch.

{do}
μηδὲ (mēde)
Conjunction
Strong's 3366: And not, not even, neither…nor. From me and de; but not, not even; in a continued negation, nor.

not taste,
γεύσῃ (geusē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1089: (a) I taste, (b) I experience. A primary verb; to taste; by implication, to eat; figuratively, to experience.

{do}
μηδὲ (mēde)
Conjunction
Strong's 3366: And not, not even, neither…nor. From me and de; but not, not even; in a continued negation, nor.

not touch!”?
θίγῃς (thigēs)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2345: A prolonged form of an obsolete primary thigo; to manipulate, i.e. Have to do with; by implication, to injure.


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NT Letters: Colossians 2:21 Don't handle nor taste nor touch (Coloss. Col Co)
Colossians 2:20
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