What You Can’t do to The Covenants
What you cannot do to a covenant would necessarily apply to the commandments. The commandments are just the instructions from an amalgamation of covenants. You can also have the same commandments in multiple covenants i.e. the law of pouring out blood for slaughter is in the Gen 9 covenant and the Sinai covenant of Leviticus 17.
27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
. . .
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 3:1-4:13)
Romans 3:31 uses “law” to speak of the Sinai covenant https://studybible.info/compare/Romans%203:31 uses καταργέω https://studybible.info/strongs/G2673 to say “the law do we render useless through faith? May it not be” in the following tense (note “law” is singular)
Tense: Present
https://studybible.info/mac/V-PAI-1P
Number: Plural
Ephesians 2:14 https://studybible.info/compare/Ephesians%202:14 uses λύω https://studybible.info/strongs/G3089 in parallel with the word καταργέω https://studybible.info/strongs/G2673 λύω in this form:
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAP-NSM
Number: Singular
Galatians 3:17 https://studybible.info/compare/Galatians%203:17 states that the promises of Abraham cannot be nullified by Sinai. However, this may be because the promises of Abraham have not fulfilled their purpose yet (there are ways you could exclude this verse from the evidence) it uses the same word καταργέω https://studybible.info/strongs/G2673
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAN
Mood: iNfinitive
Romans 3:31 says positively that they “establish” https://studybible.info/strongs/G2476 the law (Sinai covenant) this is viewed as being opposed to καταργέω and “establish” is in this tense (note “law” is singular):
Tense: Present
https://studybible.info/mac/V-PAI-1P
Number: Plural
Hebrews 10:9 uses the same word as in Romans 3:31 for “uphold” https://studybible.info/strongs/G2476 for “he does away with the first to establish the second” https://studybible.info/compare/Hebrews%2010:9 in this tense:
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAS-3S
Number: Singular
In Hebrews 10:9 the “does away with” https://studybible.info/strongs/G337 is in this form (and seems to be opposed to “establish”)
Tense: Present
https://studybible.info/mac/V-PAI-3S
Number: Singular
Covenant Conclusions
Based on Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:17 it is hard to make the argument that Sinai can be λύω or καταργέω. Galatians 3:17 also says that a covenant cannot be made void G208 so to καταργέω the promise. This I think indicates that G208 has a similar meaning to καταργέω.
Romans 3:31 seems to be talking about properly interpreting the law . . . that is to say, they do not throw down Sinai but they establish it by proper interpretation since an improper interpretation would make it broken down. This idiom of interpretation only works if it is in parallel with the actual state of the law. If the law is broken down or in the process of being broken down Paul’s statements don’t make sense. The fact that it is used in this interpretive idiom can be evidenced by observing the parallels here: https://studybible.info/search-interlinear/strongs/G208 Matthew 15:6 and Mark 7:13 use G208 as an idiom for properly interpreting or practicing and Galatians 3:17 uses G208 in parallel with καταργέω
What You Can’t do to The Commandments:
Matthew 5:17 https://studybible.info/interlinear/Matthew%205:17 says you can’t https://studybible.info/strongs/G2647 καταλύω the law. However this is just derived from “down” κατά and “break” λύω i.e. “break down”
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAN
Mood: iNfinitive
Mathew 5:19 https://studybible.info/compare/Matthew%205:19 says you cannot λύω https://studybible.info/strongs/G3089 the commandments:
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAS-3S
Number: Singular
John 10:35 says the same https://studybible.info/compare/John%2010:35 in the following tense:
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-APN
Mood: iNfinitive
Hence Ephesians 2 when it uses the same word λύω to speak of the “barrier” that “barrier” cannot be the commandments (or Sinai as we have seen previously): https://studybible.info/compare/Ephesians%202:14
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAP-NSM
Number: Singular
Ephesians 2:15 uses καταργέω in parallel with Ephesians 2:14 to speak of the same barrier: https://studybible.info/compare/Ephesians%202:15
Tense: Aorist
https://studybible.info/mac/V-AAP-NSM
Number: Singular
Conclusion for Commandments
It looks like all the same restrictions that apply to covenants apply to commandments not just through the restrictions on covenants but specifically by their own restrictions as well.