Colossians 2:16–23

Freedom From Human Rules

¹⁶Therefore do not let anyone judge you^d by what you eat or drink,^e or with regard to a religious festival,^f a New Moon celebration^g or a Sabbath day.^{h 17}These are a shadow of the things that were to come;ⁱ the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸Do not let anyone who delights in false humility^j and the worship of angels disqualify you.^k Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. ¹⁹They have lost connection with the head,^l from whom the whole body,^m supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.ⁿ

²⁰Since you died with Christ^o to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,^p why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:^{q 21}“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish^r with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.^{s 23}Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility^t and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.