These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
- KJV Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
- NKJV which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
- NASB things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
- NLT For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
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
Those observances were a shadow; the substance belongs to Christ. The realities they foreshadowed are found in Him.
Overview
The food laws and festivals were 'a shadow of the things to come,' true previews that pointed beyond themselves. 'But the body (substance) is Christ's'—He is the reality they anticipated. Once the reality has come, clinging to the shadow as if it were ultimate misses the point of the law itself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Heb 10:1For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
- Heb 8:5The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- Heb 9:9It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
- Heb 4:1–11Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.
- Matt 11:28–29Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:17 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.