2:17a

a shadow of the things to come: This is a figure of speech. A person’s shadow shows something about what that person is like. In a similar way, the Jewish laws about food and the celebration of religious festivals helped the Jews to know, before he came, something about the Messiah, the Savior whom God had promised to send them.

2:17b

but the body that casts it belongs to Christ: This phrase continues the figure of speech from 2:17a. All the rules and customs were like a “shadow,” but Christ is like the body that makes the shadow.

General Comment about 2:17

If you need to explain this figure of speech in your translation, you could say something like:

These regulations are like a shadow that is cast by someone who is approaching; that is, they only represent the spiritual blessings that Christ himself has now given to you (adapted from SSA of 2:17).

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