complete verse (Colossians 2:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 2:22:

  • Uma: “Rules like that do not carry goodness [salvation] to us, because they talk about food and things that do not last forever, they are just used a short time and finally are gone. Those laws come from the commands and teachings of men.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “All these things that they forbid, when they are finished being used na, are no longer existent. Those commandments are only man-made.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “So, brothers, since it is like we (incl.) died along with Christ and we can no longer be controlled by incorrect doctrines, it’s necessary that you no longer obey the rules of people who are God’s enemies. These are commands made by mere people. They say that there are goods which God will not allow us to eat, and He won’t even allow us to touch or taste them. Brethren, don’t you obey things like this, for there is no value in their restrictions, because if we eat food, it’s just removed (no longer exists).” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because all foods and other-things that those rules are talking-about, God made (them) for people to use so they will be used-up. The source moreover of those rules and what they are teaching, it’s the minds of people and that’s-all.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “These teachings, (they’re) just stories of people. They really don’t have any usefulness, because these things that they are forbidding, if they’ve now been eaten or drunk, the only outcome is that they will be removed from our body.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But all the things there are, they are good for eating, and what a person eats just is temporary. Therefore these words that the people teach are just their own thoughts.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Colossians 2:22

All these refer: the regulations have to do with certain material things, not otherwise specified, which cease to exist once they are used. The language strongly supports the idea that food and drink are meant. Become useless translates the phrase “into destruction”; they are perishable and are meant by God to used, to be consumed.

All these refer to things which become useless may require certain modifications in order to communicate essentially the same meaning. For example, all these must be translated somewhat more specifically in some languages, for example, “all these regulations” or “all these statements about what one must not do.” The verb refer may be translated often as “talk about” or “are concerned with.” In translating things, one must be careful to identify the right types of objects; for example, things is too often translated simply as “artifacts,” that is to say, things that are manufactured. Here, however, the reference is primarily to food and drink, and therefore, it may be necessary to simply say “about what is eaten and drunk.”

Which become useless must often be expressed as “which are no longer of any value” or “which cannot be used again.” The meaning is also reinforced by the final clause once they are used, and thus one may say “which can only be used once” or “which are no longer of any value if they have been used once.” However, a literal translation of used may likewise be misleading, since it might refer only to manufactured objects; therefore, it may be more satisfactory to be slightly more specific about the nature of the objects included in such regulations and therefore to speak of “consumed” or even “eaten and drunk.”

They are only man-made rules and teachings: this clause refers to the “rules” in verse 20. The phase is strongly reminiscent of Isa 29.13 (Septuagint), quoted in Matt 15.9. It characterizes the rules as being of purely human origin, and not based on the gospel.

There is danger in a literal translation of they, since it may refer to those things which become useless. It may, therefore, be better to introduce a noun expression such as “these regulations” or “these laws.”

Man-made rules and teachings can often be best expressed as “rules which people make and what they teach.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Colossians 2:22

2:22–23

In 2:22–23, Paul gave the basis for why the Colossian believers did not need to obey the regulations he wrote about in 2:20–21.

2:22a

These will all perish with use: The word These refers to the things these rules talk about, such as food. It does not refer to the rules themselves. Paul was saying that to obey rules about these sorts of things would not help the Colossians to grow spiritually because such rules only talk about things that are used for a short time, and then wear out or are discarded.

2:22b

because they are based on human commands and teachings: The Greek translated literally says “according to the commands and teachings of people.” This refers to the regulations in 2:20. Paul was saying that the Colossians did not need to obey these rules because they were not God’s law, but only rules invented by people.

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