A literal rendering of see to it may suggest a positive value. It may, therefore, be necessary to alert the reader as to something which should not happen by introducing verse 8 by “beware of” or “be sure not to let happen that.”

Enslaves translates a verb found only here in the NT (sulagōgeō) which means to lead away into slavery, an unusually vivid expression (Moule). The Colossians had been rescued from the realm of darkness and had been transferred to the kingdom of Christ (1.13), and now they were in danger of being made slaves again. Jerusalem Bible “traps you and deprives you of your freedom” is good. Enslaves involved essentially a causative relationship, and therefore, one may translate “that no one causes you to become slaves” or “… makes you slaves.”

The worthless deceit of human wisdom represents “the philosophy and empty deceit” (compare Revised Standard Version). It is improbable that Paul is here referring to two different things; it is likely that “empty deceit” characterizes “the philosophy” he is talking about (one definite article governs the whole phrase). The Greek word philosophia appears only here in the NT (see “philosophers” in Acts 17.18). Here it means what is merely human wisdom, as contrasted with the divine wisdom in the Christian message. The word for “deceit” appears also in Matt 13.22, Mark 4.19, Eph 4.22, 2 Thes 2.10, Heb 3.13, 2 Peter 2.13.

Various translations try, in different ways, to bring out the connotation of the phrase: Moffatt “theosophy which is specious make-believe,” Phillips “intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense,” New International Version “hollow and deceptive philosophy,” Barclay “arid and misleading intellectualism,” New English Bible “hollow and delusive speculations,” Beare “humbug masquerading as philosophy.” For languages which do not have technical terms for philosophy and intellectualism, it may be appropriate to speak of “the kind of thinking that people do which is worthless and deceives.” In this way all of the components of the worthless deceit of human wisdom are introduced but grammatically redistributed.

This kind of “philosophy” is characterized as coming from the teachings handed down by men (Good News Translation) or “human tradition” (Revised Standard Version). In other passages in the NT, wrong teachings are similarly characterized (compare Matt 15.2, 3, 6; Mark 7.3, 5, 8, 9, 13; Gal 1.14; 1 Peter 1.18), in contrast to the Christian tradition, which is of divine origin.

It is rare that one can translate literally teachings handed down by men. An equivalent may be “the way in which generation after generation of people teach each other” or “the traditions which different generations teach to those who follow.” Sometimes the reference to succeeding generations is made quite specific by saying “what fathers teach their sons” or “what grandfathers teach young men.”

This “philosophy” is further characterized as coming from the ruling spirits of the universe. There is much controversy over the meaning of this phrase (which appears also in verse 20, and Gal 4.3, 9), ta stoicheia tou kosmou. The noun stoicheion means, primarily, the basic unit of which a series is composed, such as a letter of the alphabet, a basic element of matter, a fundamental principle of doctrine. In Heb 5.12, for example, it means (plural) “elementary teachings,” in 2 Peter 3.10, 12 it refers to the elements of matter (air, water, earth, and fire, in Greek speculation). In general two possible meanings are seen here: (1) “elementary teachings” either of a Jewish or pagan origin, with various beliefs and rituals (Lightfoot, Moule), which were in sharp contrast to the Christian way of life; this is variously expressed in translations (see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy New International Version Barclay; Phillips “man’s ideas of the nature of the world,” Goodspeed “material way of looking at things”). (2) Spiritual powers, “elemental beings,” of the same species as demons and evil spirits, which were thought to rule the universe in general or the stars and planets in particular (Lohse, Beare; Translator’s New Testament Moffatt New American Bible New English Bible Jerusalem Bible Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The majority of modern commentaries and translations favor the “elemental forces” interpretation, but it must be conceded (as Moule points out) that as yet no example of the phrase with this meaning has been found in literature contemporary with or earlier than the writings of the NT.

The interpretation of “elementary teachings about the universe” may be expressed as “those ideas which people have about the universe” or even “widespread concepts about the world.” If, however, the second interpretation is employed, then one may speak of “those spirits that rule the universe” or “those powerful spirits in the universe.”

And not from Christ is added for emphasis; whatever comes from human tradition and from the cosmic powers cannot be from Christ. (Whether or not Paul believed that the “ruling spirits” were real is of no concern to the translator; in this passage he speaks of them as if they were, and the translator must faithfully represent this.) The final phrase and not from Christ is so far separated from human wisdom and is so relatively elliptical that it may be necessary to employ a complete clause, for example, “and this kind of wisdom does not come from Christ” or “these deceitful ideas do not come from Christ.” In a number of languages, it is appropriate to employ a negative before the positive. Therefore, it may be important to introduce not from Christ immediately after the worthless deceit of human wisdom, for example, “this kind of wisdom does not come from Christ but from the tradition which one generation after another tells each other….”

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 .