“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
King James Version (KJV)
2:8 Through philosophy and empty deceit - That is, through the empty deceit of philosophy blended with Christianity. This the apostle condemns, Because it was empty and deceitful, promising happiness, but giving none. Because it was grounded, not on solid reason, but the traditions of men, Zeno, Epicurus, and the rest. And, Because it was so shallow and superficial, not advancing beyond the knowledge of sensible things; no, not beyond the first rudiments of them.
Col 2:8 Spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. Make spoil of you and carry you off as booty through some philosophical speculation, or empty deceit. After the tradition of men. By appealing, not to the Scriptures, but to human traditions. These traditions probably referred mainly to the matters spoken of in Col 2:18 below. After the rudiments of the world. Paul uses this expression elsewhere of Jewish ordinances (Ga 4:3). Col 2:16 shows what it refers to is shown in