Colossians 2:14

2:14 He has destroyed ¹  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ²  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ³  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

[2:14]  ¹ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ² tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:20]  ³ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.