| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. | 1I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. |
| 2My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, | 2My goal 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, |
| 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. | 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. |
| 4I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments that sound reasonable. | 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. |
| 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ. | 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. |
| 6Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, | 6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, |
| 7rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. | 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. |
| 8Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. | 8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. |
| 9For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form, | 9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, |
| 10and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. | 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. |
| 11In him you also were circumcised--not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ. | 11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, |
| 12Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. | 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. |
| 13And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. | 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, |
| 14He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. | 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. |
| 15Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. | 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. |
| 16Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days-- | 16Therefore 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. |
| 17these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! | 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. |
| 18Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. | 18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. |
| 19He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. | 19They have 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. |
| 20If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? | 20Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: |
| 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" | 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? |
| 22These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. | 22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. |
| 23Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body--a wisdom with no true value--they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. | 23Such 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. |
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