God’s Word Translation
Colossians 2:11
11In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ.
Colossians 2:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
- New International Version (NIV)In 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,
- English Standard Version (ESV)In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
- New King James Version (NKJV)In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
Context of Colossians 2:11
9All of God lives in Christ’s body, 10and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. 12This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God, who brought him back to life. 13You 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.
Read all of Colossians 2Colossians 2:11 word by word
ἐν ᾧ καὶ περιετμήθητε περιτομῇ ἀχειροποιήτῳ ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαρκός, ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
- ye are circumcisedπεριτέμνωperitemnō · to circumciseG4059
- with the circumcisionπεριτομήperitomē · circumcisionG4061
- made without handsἀχειροποίητοςacheiropoiētos · not man-madeG886
- putting offὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- putting offἀπέκδυσιςapekdusis · removalG555
- the bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
- of the sinsἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
- of the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
- of ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
Cross-references for Colossians 2:11
- Deuteronomy 10:16So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don’t be impossible to deal with any longer.
- Deuteronomy 30:6The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will live.
- Jeremiah 4:4Be circumcised by the Lord, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.
- Romans 2:29Rather, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is something that happens in a person’s heart. Circumcision is spiritual, not just a written rule. That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.
- Philippians 3:3We are the ⌞true⌟ circumcised people ⌞of God⌟ because we serve God’s Spirit and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don’t place any confidence in physical things,
- Mark 14:58“We heard him say, ‘I’ll tear down this temple made by humans, and in three days I’ll build another temple, one not made by human hands.’ ”
- Acts 7:48“However, the Most High doesn’t live in a house built by humans, as the prophet says:
- Acts 17:24The God who made the universe and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by humans,
- 2 Corinthians 5:1We know that if the life we live here on earth is ever taken down like a tent, we still have a building from God. It is an eternal house in heaven that isn’t made by human hands.
- Ephesians 2:11Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.”
- Hebrews 9:11But Christ came as a chief priest of the good things that are now here. Christ went through a better, more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not part of this created world.
- Colossians 3:8Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins.
- Romans 6:6We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin.
- Ephesians 4:22You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you.
- Luke 2:21Eight days after his birth, the child was circumcised and named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
Commentaries on Colossians 2:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11In whom also ye are circumcised - All that was designed by circumcision, literally performed, is accomplished in them that believe through the Spirit and power of Christ. It is not a cutting off of a part of the flesh, but a putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, through the circumcision of Christ; he having undergone and performed this, and all other rites necessary to qualify him to be a mediator between God and man; for, being made under the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11In whom - In connection with whom, or in virtue of whose religion. Ye are circumcised - You have received that which was designed to be represented by circumcision - the putting away of sin; Notes, Philemon 3:3. With the circumcision made without hands - That made in the heart by the renunciation of all sin. The Jewish teachers insisted on the necessity of the literal circumcision in order to salvation (compare Ephesians 2:11); and hence, this subject is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-17Verses 8-17 There is a philosophy which rightly exercises our reasonable faculties; a study of the works of God, which leads us to the knowledge of God, and confirms our faith in him. But there is a philosophy which is vain and deceitful; and while it pleases men's fancies, hinders their faith: such are curious speculations about things above us, or no concern to us. Those who walk in the way of the world, are turned from following Christ. We have in Him…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11the circumcision performed by Christ: Spiritual conversion to Christ is equivalent to physical circumcision to the body. the putting off of your sinful nature (literally the cutting away of the body of the flesh): Just as Jewish boys have their foreskin removed to join the people of God, believers have their metaphorical flesh (translated sinful nature) removed when they become Christians.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Implying that they did not need, as the Judaizers taught, the outward rite of circumcision, since they had already the inward spiritual reality of it. are--rather, as the Greek, "Ye were (once for all) circumcised (spiritually, at your conversion and baptism, Ro 2:28, 29; Php 3:3) with a (so the Greek) circumcision made without hands"; opposed to "the circumcision in the flesh made by hands" (Ep 2:11). Christ's own body, by which the believer is…Read the comment
Topics related to Colossians 2:11
In the dictionaries
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
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