μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑόρακεν ἐμβατεύων, εἰκῇ φυσιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, initiatory visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,
The Greek that is typically translated as “mind” in English is translated in Warao as obojona, a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions.” (Source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. )
In Elhomwe it is often translated as “heart,” “because all thoughts come from heart in Elhomwe thought.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.
The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .
Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 2:18:
Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this record (“sky”).
“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)
“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.
“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.
“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.
“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)
“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).
“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)
“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”
In some languages, such as Yagaria, a term that was originally used as “sky” (gokudana) was adopted by the Christian community as “heaven.” This resulted in a language shift so that now all communities uses “empty space / air” (galogina or hakalogina) as “sky” and gokudana is exclusively used for the Christian concept of heaven. (Source: Renck 1990, p. 133)
In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)
Under the auspices of the Dhama Mate Swe Association , a new Burmese translation of the New Testament was published in 2024 which uses terminology that attempts to overcome “insurmountable barriers to the Buddhist world.” One term that this version uses is ရွှေမြို့တော် (shway myahoettaw) or “Golden City” for “heaven,” referring it to the golden city described in Revelation 21 but at the same time using a Buddhist term for a desired destination that does not have the Buddhist connotation of ကောင်း ကင် (kaungg kain) as being the Trāyastriṃśa (တာဝတိံသာ) heaven, home of Śakra/Indra. This Burmese translation formed the basis of translations of parts of the New Testament into other languages spoken in Burma, including Sumtu Chin, Ekai Chin, Songlai Chin, Danau, Kadu, Kanan, Khün, Lahta Karen, Rakhine, Marma (Northern Rakhine), Riang Lai, Samtao, Shwe Palaung, Tai Laing, Taungyo, and Chak (Thet). (Source: Jay Pratt)
The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
To be condemned translates the Greek katabrabeuō (compare brabeuō in 3.15, see brabeion, “prize,” in 1 Cor 9.24, Phil 3.14), which appears only here in the NT. It means “to give an adverse decision” or “to deprive of the rightful prize,” and is formed from brabeus, the judge or umpire at athletic contests. This expression has been handled in several ways: “disqualify you for the prize” (New International Version), “rob you of your reward” (Translator’s New Testament), “cheat you out of your joy” (Phillips), “do not allow yourselves to be deprived of victory” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).
In view of the figurative meaning of the Greek katabrabeuō, one can readily see why and how a number of different English translations have employed quite different figures of speech, in contrast with the Good News Translation which reads Do not allow yourselves to be condemned. One might also employ “do not permit anyone else to take away from you what is rightfully yours,” or “… what really belongs to you,” or “… what should be your reward.”
The description that follows of these “umpires” is not easy to understand, and several interpretations are possible. It is expressed by three participial clauses, “insisting … taking his stand … being puffed up.” The first clause is translated by Revised Standard Version “insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels.” The verb used here (thelō) ordinarily means “to wish,” but here, with the preposition en “in,” it is taken to be the Greek equivalent of a Hebrew expression meaning “to take pleasure in” (so Lohse, A&G 4b, Lightfoot, Moule; compare Translator’s New Testament New International Version Barclay Bible en français courant Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); others translate “of his own will” (Abbott, so Beare “as he wills,” not as God wills); Goodspeed has “persisting,” and Revised Standard Version Good News Translation New American Bible have “insist on.”
There may be complications involved in a translation of who insists on, since this could mean “insists on for his own use” or “insists on other persons being involved in something.” Since Paul is here condemning false teachers, it is important to indicate that these are individuals who “insist on others displaying false humility and worshiping angels.”
The word “humility” is here used in a bad sense, that is, humility which is only superficial, not genuine; so Good News Translation Phillips New International Version have false humility; some take the word as a technical term for “fasting” (Moule, Moffatt); Translator’s New Testament Barclay have “asceticism” and New English Bible “self mortification.”
The worship of angels: in this phrase angels are the object of worship. The worship of angels may be expressed as “bowing down before angels,” or “praying to angels as though they were gods,” or “treating angels as though they are gods.”
Claims to be superior because of special visions translates a relative clause for which there are the most varied explanations possible. (Later manuscripts add the negative adverb; so King James Version “intruding into those things which he hath not seen.”) Commentaries should be consulted for possible meanings and suggested emendations of the text. Many base their interpretation on the use of the verb embateuō (see A&G for four meanings) in the mystery rites, which refers to entering the sanctuary after initiation, and so in this passage it describes those false teachers at Colossae as people who pride themselves on their superior status by virtue of the visions they had had. Lohse understands it to mean “as he has had visions of them (that is, the angels) during the mystery rites,” Moffatt “presuming on his vision,” Translator’s New Testament “insists on the importance of his visions,” Jerusalem Bible “are always going on about some visions they have had.” Following this line of interpretation, it would seem that these false teachers were claiming superior status as the result of mystical visions in which they had apprehended reality, something which is denied to those who have not been similarly initiated into the cult.
Claims to be superior may be rendered as “says that he is better than other people,” or “says that he is more important than others,” or perhaps “says that he knows more then others.”
In some languages, no distinction is made between dreams and visions, but in general there is a distinction between those particular visual forms which appear at night and those which come in the daytime or as the result of some particular ecstatic experience. Sometimes visions are spoken of as “dreams in the daytime.” In other instances, they may be called “dreams which reveal” or “dreams which have truth.” At any rate, one must avoid a term which simply suggests a nightmare.
Puffed up (see also 1 Cor 4.6, 18, 19; 5.2; 8.1; 13.4) is used metaphorically, “to puff up with pride,” that is, “to be vain, conceited, proud.” For no reason at all, such a person is all puffed up may be rendered as “such a person is all puffed up, but he has no reason for being so” or “… he cannot justify his being puffed up.” In general, however, one cannot reproduce the figurative expression “puffed up,” since this may very well be taken literally. However, one can often employ an equivalent type of idiom, for example, “they beat their breasts” (an expression often used in Africa to express pride and conceit), or “they pat themselves on the back,” or even “they say they are great.”
Human way of thinking is literally “the mind of his flesh.” New English Bible has “worldly minds,” New International Version “unspiritual mind,” Moule “his materialistic or sensuous outlook,” Beare “a mind which lacks spiritual enlightenment.” By his human way of thinking may be rendered as “because of the way he thinks just like all other people” or “because he is just like everyone else in the way in which he thinks.” The unspiritual aspect of such thinking may be expressed in some languages as “because in his thinking he never thinks about God.” In some instances, it may be important to indicate quite clearly the fact that the phrase by his human way of thinking is essentially an aspect of means, and this may be introduced sometimes as the subject of a verb of cause, for example, “his thinking just like all other people think causes him to be very proud, but there is no real reason at all for him being proud.” This type of restructuring of relationships within the sentence may seem rather radical, and yet it expresses clearly the meaning of the underlying text.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
2:18a
anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels: There are several problems with this part of the verse.
anyone who delights in: There are two ways to understand the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates delights in:
(1) It means, “insists on.” Paul was referring to people who insisted that other people must also show this false humility and must worship angels, like they did. That is, “these people insist that you humble yourselves…”
(Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, SSA)
(2) It means, “enjoys” or delights in, as in the Berean Standard Bible. Paul was referring to people who enjoyed making themselves humble and worshiping angels.
(New International Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)
In 2:16 Paul had already discussed the religious rules these people were telling the Colossians to obey, so it is likely that he was continuing to write about this in 2:18. Therefore it is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).
false humility: The Greek word literally means “humble-minded.” The word can also be used about true humility (see Acts 20:19), but here in 2:18 Paul used it with a negative meaning. These people said that they were humble, but in fact, they were very proud of all they did.
It may also imply that they practiced strict fasting and denying themselves luxuries to make their bodies suffer. In 2:23 the same Greek word is used, and it clearly means this. They thought that they could make themselves acceptable to God by their own efforts.
the worship of angels: Apparently in Colossae some people in the church believed they should worship angels and were telling other Christians that they should do so also.
2:18b
disqualify you: This phrase in the Berean Standard Bible is translated from a single Greek word that has two meanings:
(1) It means, “to deprive someone of their rights or of the prize they deserve.” So Paul meant, “Do not let anyone cheat/rob you and take away your prize”.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, King James Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible)
(2) It means, “to pass judgment on.” So Paul meant: “Do not let anyone act as your judge and say that you are not worthy to get the prize,” or more simply, “Do not let anyone condemn you.”
(Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004))
The Display uses the first meaning (1), although the second meaning is also possible. If you want to follow the second meaning in your translation, you could translate 2:18a–b like this:
Do not allow anyone to condemn you because you do not humble yourselves and worship angels ⌊like they do⌋.
2:18c
with speculation: The Greek word embateuō that the Berean Standard Bible translates as with speculation does not occur anywhere else in the NT. Its primary meaning is “to step on” or “to frequent.” However, it can also mean:
(1) “To take a stand on.” That is, these people claimed that they had authority to teach these things because of the visions they had seen. For example:
anyone who claims to be superior because he has seen special visions (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, SSA)
(2) “To investigate,” and therefore to continue to give many details about what they had seen.
(New International Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version)
Both these meanings are possible. The Display uses the first option (1), which fits the context well.
about what he has seen: Paul was referring to the visions that these false teachers said they had seen.
2:18d
Such a person: As he did in 2:16a and 2:18a, Paul was not writing about only one person, but about any person or group of people who taught these false teachings. You can use either a singular or a plural here, whichever is natural in your language.
is puffed up: This means “to be proud” but in a negative way, that is, it means “to think of oneself as better than other people.”
without basis: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates without basis means “at random, for no purpose/reason.” It means these people were proud even though there was no reason for them to be proud.
his unspiritual mind: Paul said that this kind of person became proud because of his unspiritual mind (literally: “the mind of his flesh”). This can be interpreted in two ways:
(1) The phrase his unspiritual mind means “his human way of thinking”. In other words, these people were proud because of ideas they thought up themselves.
(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, New Century Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible)
(2) “Flesh” means “sinful nature.” So this phrase means that these people were proud “because of their sinful thoughts”.
(Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), SSA)
Both these interpretations are acceptable. The Display follows the first one (1). Paul’s point was that these people were proud because of their own thoughts, thoughts that came from their own worldly minds, not from God.
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