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Colossians 2:13-3:4 GNB . . .You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins; (14) he canceled the unfavorable record of our debts with its binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross. (15) And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession. (16) So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath. (17) All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ. (18) Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all, such people are all puffed up by their human way of thinking (19) and have stopped holding on to Christ, who is the head of the body. Under Christ's control the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow. (20) You have died with Christ and are set free from the ruling spirits of the universe. Why, then, do you live as though you belonged to this world? Why do you obey such rules as (21) "Don't handle this," "Don't taste that," "Don't touch the other"? (22) All these refer to things which become useless once they are used; they are only human rules and teachings. (23) Of course such rules appear to be based on wisdom in their forced worship of angels, and false humility, and severe treatment of the body; but they have no real value in controlling physical passions.
Colossians 3:1-4 GNB You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. (2) Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. (3) For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!
Colossians 2:13-3:4 ESV . . .And 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, (14) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (15) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (16) Therefore 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. (17) These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. (18) Let 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, (19) and 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. (20) If 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-- (21) "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (22) (referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? (23) These 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.
Colossians 3:1-4 ESV If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (3) For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 2:13-3:4 GW . . .You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. (14) He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross. (15) He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ. (16) Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. (17) These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ. (18) Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels tell you that you don't deserve a prize. Such a person, whose sinful mind fills him with arrogance, gives endless details of the visions he has seen. (19) He doesn't hold on to Christ, the head. Christ makes the whole body grow as God wants it to, through support and unity given by the joints and ligaments. (20) If you have died with Christ to the world's way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It's as though you were still under the world's influence. (21) People will tell you, "Don't handle this! Don't taste or touch that!" (22) All of these things deal with objects that are only used up anyway. (23) These things look like wisdom with their self-imposed worship, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body. But they have no value for holding back the constant desires of your corrupt nature.
Colossians 3:1-4 GW Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above-where Christ holds the highest position. (2) Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. (3) You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 2:13-3:4 CEV . . .You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God's people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins. (14) God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. (15) There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory. (16) Don't let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don't let them say that you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. (17) These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real! (18) Don't be cheated by people who make a show of acting humble and who worship angels. They brag about seeing visions. But it is all nonsense, because their minds are filled with selfish desires. (19) They are no longer part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body. Christ gives the body its strength, and he uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God. (20) You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, (21) "Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this."? (22) After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? (23) Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don't really have any power over our desires.
Colossians 3:1-4 CEV You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side. (2) Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. (3) You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. (4) Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
Bishops - 1568 Bishop's Bible
Calvin - 1856 by Calvin Translation Society
CEV - Contemporary English Version
Coverdale - 1535 Miles Coverdale Bible
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
ESV - English Standard Version
GNB - Good News Bible
GW - God's Word Bible
ISV - International Standard Version
KJV - 1769 King James Version
KJV-1611 - Old King James Version from 1611
LitNT - Literal New Testament
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
MKJV - 1962 Modern King James Version
Murdock - 1851 James Murdock New Testament
MWT - Modern World Translation
NWT - New World Translation
RV - Revised Version
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
WTNT - 1525-26 William Tyndale New Testament
Wycliffe - 1394 Wycliffe Bible
YLT - 1862/1898 Young's Literal Translation
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