for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] love which you have for all the saints (God’s people);

He has now, in His human body, reconciled to God by His death, to bring you, holy and faultless and irreproachable, into His presence;

For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.

In union with him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without human hands by stripping off the corrupt nature by the circumcision performed by the Messiah.

Do not let any one defraud you of the reality by affecting delight in so-called 'humility' and angel-worship. Such a man busies himself with his visions, and without reason is rendered conceited by his merely human intellect.

"Hands off this!" "Taste not that!" "Touch not this!" ??22 referring to things that perish by being used? These rules are determined by human precepts and tenets;

(these things all perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men.

Slaves, obey your {human} masters in everything, not {while being watched}, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.