---
title: Colossians 2:16
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/colossians-2-16/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/colossians-2-16.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Colossians 2:16
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Colossians 2:16

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.

## JW Usage

JWs apply this verse narrowly to Mosaic Law observances — sabbaths, festivals, and food laws — arguing that Christians are freed from the Mosaic code. However, the Watchtower replaces these with its own set of prohibitions (birthdays, holidays, flag salutes, toasts) that Paul's broader principle in this passage would equally forbid.

## Protestant Usage

Paul writes: "let no one judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath." The principle extends beyond Mosaic specifics — Paul forbids any external authority imposing "do not handle, do not taste, do not touch" regulations (Colossians 2:21). Romans 14:5–6 explicitly permits day-observance "to the Lord." The Watchtower's birthday ban is built on two pagan tyrants (Pharaoh, Herod) and the incidental fallacy — two evil men at feasts proves the tyranny and the oath are evil, not the cake. Jeremiah 20:14, Job 3:1, and Luke 1:14 all presuppose birth-days are normally blessed. If Paul permits day-observance and forbids judging others on festivals, the Watchtower cannot forbid without claiming authority Paul did not have.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Certificate of Debt — Erased, Not Replaced](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/certificate-of-debt-nailed.md) — Colossians 2:13-15 [Salvation]
- [The Birthday Ban — A Rule Generalised From Two Pagan Tyrants](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/birthday-ban-extrabiblical-canon.md) — Romans 14:5-6 / Jeremiah 20:14 / Job 3:1 [Practice]
- [Holidays Are Not Pagan — Read Jeremiah 10 to Verse 5](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/holidays-pagan-origin-engagement.md) — Romans 14:5-6 / Colossians 2:16-17 / Jeremiah 10:5 [Practice]