Purity in the Camp

5 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Command Bnei-Yisrael to send out from the camp everyone with tza’arat, who has some kind of discharge, or any contaminated by a dead body. ³ Whether male or female, you are to send them outside the camp so as not to defile the camp where I am dwelling among them.” ⁴ This Bnei-Yisrael did, sending them outside the camp. Just as Adonai spoke to Moses, so Bnei-Yisrael did.

⁵ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ⁶ “Say to Bnei-Yisrael: Whenever a man or woman commits any sins against any person, thus breaking faith with Adonai, that soul bears guilt. ⁷ That person is to confess the sin he has committed, make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it to the one he wronged. ^{[a] 8} But if that person has no close relative to whom to pay the restitution, the restitution belongs to Adonai. It is to be given to the kohen along with the ram of atonement with which he is to make atonement for him.

⁹ “Every contribution from all the sacred things that Bnei-Yisrael brings to the kohen will belong to him. ¹⁰ Each one’s sacred holy gifts are his own, but whatever each man gives to the kohen belongs to that kohen.”

Parable of Eagles and Branches

17 The word of Adonai came to me saying, ² “Son of man, propose a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel.” ³ Say, thus says Adonai Elohim: “A great eagle with large wings and broad wings, full of feathers which had varied colors, came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of the cedar. ⁴ He plucked off its topmost twigs, carried them to the land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. ⁵ Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine, with its branches turned toward him, but its roots grew under him. So it became a vine, produced branches and sent out shoots.

⁷ “There was also another great eagle with large wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good soil by much water, so it would bring forth branches, bear fruit and be a glorious vine.”

⁹ Say, thus says Adonai Elohim: “Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so it withers? All its new roots will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by its roots. ¹⁰ Behold, though planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes it? In the beds where it grew it will wither.”

¹¹ Then the word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹² Say now to the rebellious house, “Do you not know what these things mean?” Tell them: “Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took the king and the princes and brought them with him to Babylon. ¹³ He took one of the royal offspring, cut a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the leading men of the land, ¹⁴ so the kingdom might be lowly, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so it would hold up.

¹⁵ “However, he rebelled against him in sending his messengers into Egypt, so they might give him horses and many people. Will he succeed? Will one doing such things escape? Will he break a covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“surely in the place of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, within Babylon he will die. ¹⁷ Pharaoh with his mighty army and great throng will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege towers erected, to cut off many lives.

¹⁸ “Since he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he had given his hand yet did all these things, he will not escape. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: “As I live, surely I will bring on his head My oath that he has despised and My covenant that he has broken. ²⁰ I will spread My net over him and he will be caught in My snare. Then I will bring him to Babylon, and judge him there for his treachery that he committed against Me. ²¹ All the fugitives of all his armies will fall by the sword. Those that remain will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken.”

²² Thus says Adonai Elohim: “I, even I, will take from a sprig from the top of the lofty cedar and will plant it. I will crop off a tender twig from the topmost of its young shoots, and I will plant it on a tall and prominent mountain. ²³ I will plant it on Israel’s high mountain. It will bring forth branches, bear fruit and be a magnificent cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it—they will nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I, Adonai, have brought down the high tree, exalted the lowly tree, dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree flourish. I, Adonai, have spoken and I will do it.”

Where Do You Put Your Confidence?

3 Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To keep writing the same things to you is not troublesome for me—but for you it is a safeguard.

² Beware of the dogs,^[a] beware of the evil workers, beware of the mutilation. ^{[b] 3} For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship by the Ruach Elohim and glory in Messiah Yeshua and have not depended on the flesh— ⁴ though I myself might have confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he might depend on the flesh, I far more— ⁵ circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel; from the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Torah, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting Messiah’s community; as for Torah righteousness, found blameless.

⁷ But whatever things were gain to me, these I have considered as loss for the sake of the Messiah. ⁸ More than that, I consider all things to be loss in comparison to the surpassing value of the knowledge of Messiah Yeshua my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things; and I consider them garbage^[c] in order that I might gain Messiah ⁹ and be found in Him not having my righteousness derived from Torah, but one that is through trusting in Messiah—the righteousness from God based on trust. ^{[d] 10} My aim is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death— ¹¹ if somehow I might arrive at the resurrection from among the dead.

Pursuing the Goal

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or been perfected, but I press on if only I might take hold of that for which Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. ^{[e] 13} Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself as having taken hold of this. But this one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. ^{[f] 15} Therefore let all who are mature have this attitude; and if you have a different attitude in anything, this also God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, let us live up to the same standard we have attained.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in following my example and notice those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. (¹⁸ For many walk who are enemies of the cross of Messiah—I have often told you about them, and now I am even weeping as I tell you. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction—their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. They set their minds on earthly things.)