Colossians 2:21

Colossians 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)(Touch not; taste not; handle not;
• New International Version (NIV)“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”

Context of Colossians 2:21

19False teachers like that do not receive their message from Christ. As God's people, we are like a body and Christ is like our head. He is the one who causes the whole body to be strong. He helps us to work well together, like the different parts of a body. Then we can all grow properly, because it is God who is helping us to grow. 20Remember that your old nature has died with Christ. So the powerful spirits that rule this world no longer have any authority over you. You do not need to serve them, because you do not belong to this world now. You do not need to obey their rules. They teach, ‘Do not touch things like that!’ Or, ‘Do not eat that kind of food!’ Or, ‘Keep away from that thing!’ 22Rules like that are only about things that spoil when you use them. They are rules that come from human ideas. 23They teach you ideas about what you must do to worship God. They teach you to serve other people like a slave. They say that you must hurt yourself. You must show that you control your body. Rules like that may seem to be wise, but really they are not worth anything. They cannot stop our weak human nature from doing the bad things that we want to do.

Colossians 2:21 word by word

μὴ ἅψῃ μηδὲ γεύσῃ μηδὲ θίγῃς·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Touchἅπτωhaptomai · to touchG680
• notμήmē · notG3361
• tasteγεύωgeuomai · to tasteG1089
• notμηδέmēde · norG3366
• handleθιγγάνωthigganō · to touchG2345

Cross-references for Colossians 2:21

• Genesis 3:3But God said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it. If you do that, you will die.” ’
• Isaiah 52:11Leave! Leave! Go out from there. Do not touch anything that is unclean. Leave that foreign place! The people who carry the Lord's special things must keep themselves pure.
• 2 Corinthians 6:17And so, the Lord says: ‘Come out from among them and be separate. Do not touch anything that is disgusting. Then I will accept you.’
• 1 Timothy 4:3They say that it is wrong for anyone to marry. They tell people not to eat certain kinds of food. But God made those foods for people to eat! We should understand God's true message and trust him. Then we will receive the food that he has given us and we will thank him for it.

Commentaries on Colossians 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Touch not; taste not; handle not - These are forms of expression very frequent among the Jews. In Maccoth, fol. xxi. 1: "If they say to a Nazarite, Don't drink, don't drink; and he, notwithstanding, drinks; he is guilty. If they say, Don't shave, don't shave; and he shaves, notwithstanding; he is guilty. If they say, Don't put on these clothes, don't put on these clothes; and he, notwithstanding, puts on heterogeneous garments; he is guilty." See more in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Tough not; taste not; handle not - These words seem intended as a specimen of the kind of ordinances which the apostle refers to, or an imitation of the language of the Jewish teachers in regard to various kinds of food and drink. “Why are ye subject to ordinances of various kinds, such as this - Touch not, taste not, handle not?” That is, such as prohibit you from even touching certain kinds of food, or tasting certain kinds of drink, or handling certain…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 It looked like humility to apply to angels, as if men were conscious of their unworthiness to speak directly to God. But it is not warrantable; it is taking that honour which is due to Christ only, and giving it to a creature. There really was pride in this seeming humility. Those who worship angels, disclaim Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man. It is an insult to Christ, who is the Head of the church, to use any intercessors…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-23Paul rejects the false teachers and their demands, explaining that their ideas come from human teachings (see 2:8). They advocated various rules of conduct that had no basis in Christ.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Compare Col 2:16, "meat ... drink." He gives instances of the "ordinances" (Col 2:20) in the words of their imposers. There is an ascending climax of superstitious prohibitions. The first Greek word (hapse) is distinguished from the third (thiges), in that the former means close contact and retention: the latter, momentary contact (compare 1Co 7:1; Joh 20:17, Greek, "Hold me not"; cling not to me"). Translate, "Handle not, neither taste, nor even…Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 2:21

• Asceticism
• Commandments
• Doctrines
• Law
• Ordinance
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Complete
• Conflict
• Subject
• Treasure
• Trespass
• Apocryphal Gospels
• Apostolic Age
• Astrology
• Colossians, Epistle to the
• Fable

Commentaries on Colossians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings