Colossians 2:16

Colossians 2:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
• New International Version (NIV)Therefore 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

Context of Colossians 2:16

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. 15Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – 17these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is 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.

Colossians 2:16 word by word

Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει καὶ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νεομηνίας ἢ σαββάτων,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Letκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• noμήmē · notG3361
• manτιςtis · oneG5100
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• youσύsu · youG4771
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• meatβρῶσιςbrōsis · eatingG1035
• orἤē · orG2228
• drinkπόσιςposis · drinkG4213
• respectμέροςmeros · partG3313
• of an holydayἑορτήheortē · festivalG1859
• of the new moonνουμηνίαnoumēnia · New MoonG3561
• of the sabbathσάββατονsabbaton · SabbathG4521

Cross-references for Colossians 2:16

• Romans 14:3The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him.
• 1 Corinthians 10:28But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience –
• Galatians 2:12Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.
• James 4:11Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.
• Leviticus 11:2“Tell the Israelites: ‘This is the kind of creature you may eat from among all the animals that are on the land.
• Leviticus 17:10“‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,
• Deuteronomy 14:3You must not eat any forbidden thing.
• Ezekiel 4:14And I said, “Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth.”
• Matthew 15:11What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.”
• Acts 11:3saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and shared a meal with them.”
• Acts 15:20but that we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.
• Romans 14:2One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables.
• 1 Corinthians 8:7But this knowledge is not shared by all. And some, by being accustomed to idols in former times, eat this food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, because it is weak, is defiled.
• 1 Timothy 4:3They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
• Hebrews 9:10They served only for matters of food and drink and various washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came.
• Hebrews 13:9Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them.

Commentaries on Colossians 2:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Let no man - judge you in meat, or in drink - The apostle speaks here in reference to some particulars of the hand-writing of ordinances, which had been taken away, viz., the distinction of meats and drinks, what was clean and what unclean, according to the law; and the necessity of observing certain holydays or festivals, such as the new moons and particular sabbaths, or those which should be observed with more than ordinary solemnity; all these had been…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Let no man, therefore, judge you - compare Romans 14:10, note, 13, note. The word judge here is used in the sense of pronouncing a sentence. The meaning is, “since you have thus been delivered by Christ from the evils which surrounded you: since you have been freed from the observances of the law, let no one sit in judgment on you, or claim the right to decide for you in those matters. You are not responsible to man for your conduct, but to Christ; and no…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. 16what you eat or drink: Many ancient religions had rules about what foods and drinks they allowed. The Old Testament does not prohibit alcohol, but some devout Jews chose not to drink it, especially those who lived in non-Jewish cultures (see Daniel 1:8–16). Many ancient religious groups, including Jews, held ceremonies to celebrate the new moon (see Numbers 10:10; Psalm 81:3; Isaiah 1:13). The Jewish Sabbath was part of the law of Moses and essential in…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. therefore--because ye are complete in Christ, and God in Him has dispensed with all subordinate means as essential to acceptance with Him. meat ... drink--Greek, "eating ... drinking" (Ro 14:1-17). Pay no regard to any one who sits in judgment on you as to legal observances in respect to foods. holyday--a feast yearly. Compare the three, 1Ch 23:31. new moon--monthly. the sabbath--Omit "THE," which is not in the Greek (compare Note, see on Ga 4:10)…Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 2:16

• Commandments
• Law
• Philosophy
• Sabbath
• Types

In the dictionaries

• New Moon
• Complete
• Conflict
• Subject
• Treasure
• Trespass
• 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