Colossians 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ¹  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

Galatians 4:3

4:3 So also we, when we were minors, ²  were enslaved under the basic forces ³  of the world.

Galatians 4:9

4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ⁴  basic forces? ⁵  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ⁶ 

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ⁷  you formerly lived ⁸  according to this world’s present path, ⁹  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹⁰  of the air, the ruler of ¹¹  the spirit ¹²  that is now energizing ¹³  the sons of disobedience, ¹⁴ 

[2:20]  ¹ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.

[4:3]  ² tn See the note on the word “minor” in 4:1.

[4:3]  ³ tn Or “basic principles,” “elemental things,” or “elemental spirits.” Some interpreters take this as a reference to supernatural powers who controlled nature and/or human fate.

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ⁵ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[2:2]  ⁷ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ¹² sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.