having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!
Parallel translations
- WEB wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;
- KJV Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
- NKJV having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
- NASB having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
- NLT He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God cancelled the record of debt against us and nailed it to the cross. Our condemnation was paid and removed by Christ's death.
Overview
The 'handwriting in ordinances which was against us' is the record of our guilt under God's law. God 'wiped out' this charge and took 'it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.' The legal debt that condemned us was discharged in Christ's crucifixion, leaving believers free from accusation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Isa 44:22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Eph 2:14–16For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility
- Isa 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Heb 8:13By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
- 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Col 2:20If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
- Heb 7:18So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless
- Heb 10:8–9In the passage above He says, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (although they are offered according to the law).
- Heb 9:9–10It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
- Acts 3:19Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Isa 57:14And it will be said, “Build it up, build it up, prepare the way, take every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
- Gal 4:1–4What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
- Ps 51:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- Ps 51:9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.
- Luke 1:6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Num 5:23And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
- 2 Th 2:7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.
- Esth 8:8Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”
- Dan 5:7–8The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- Esth 3:12On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.
- Neh 4:5Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.
How Colossians 2:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.