| English Standard Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, | 1For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. |
| 2that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, | 2I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery--Christ. |
| 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. | 3In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. |
| 4I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. | 4I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable. |
| 5For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. | 5For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ. |
| 6Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, | 6So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, |
| 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. | 7being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. |
| 8See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. | 8Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. |
| 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, | 9For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ, |
| 10and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. | 10and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. |
| 11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, | 11You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, |
| 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. | 12when you were 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. |
| 13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, | 13And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. |
| 14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. | 14He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. |
| 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. | 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. |
| 16Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. | 16Therefore, don't let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. |
| 17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. | 17These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ. |
| 18Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, | 18Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. |
| 19and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. | 19He doesn't hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God. |
| 20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— | 20If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: |
| 21“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” | 21"Don't handle, don't taste, don't touch"? |
| 22(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? | 22All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. |
| 23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. | 23Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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