Colossians 2:16

Let no one judge you

(μη τις υμας κρινετω). Prohibition present active imperative third singular, forbidding the habit of passing judgment in such matters. For κρινω see on Matthew 7:1. Paul has here in mind the ascetic regulations and practices of one wing of the Gnostics (possibly Essenic or even Pharisaic influence). He makes a plea for freedom in such matters on a par with that in Colossians 2:1; Colossians 2:14; Colossians 2:15. The Essenes went far beyond the Mosaic regulations. For the Jewish feasts see on Galatians 4:10. Josephus (Ant. III. 10, 1) expressly explains the "seventh day" as called "sabbata" (plural form as here, an effort to transliterate the Aramaic sabbathah).