1I would that you knew how I struggled for your sakes, and for the sake of those who are at Laodicea, and for the rest who have not seen me personally, 2that their hearts may be comforted, and that they may be brought near, by love, to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding the knowledge of the Sod of Elohim HaAv, and of Mashi’akh, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4And I say this so that no man may beguile you with enticing words. 5For, though I am far away from you in the flesh, yet I am with you in HaRu’akh, and I rejoice to see your orderliness and the sincerity of your absolute trust in Mashi’akh. 6Just as you have therefore accepted Yeshua HaMashi’akh Adoneinu, so you must be led by Him, 7rooted and built up in Him, and established in HaEmunah as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8Beware, lest any man mislead you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the teaching of men, after the principles of the world, and not after Mashi’akh. 9For in Him is embodied all the fullness of the divine. 10And it is through Him that you also have been made complete, for He is the head of all principalities and powers, 11in whom also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the sinful body by the circumcision of Mashi’akh; 12and you were buried with Him in immersion, and by Him you were raised with Him, for you trusted in the power of Elohim who raised Him from the dead.
13And you, who once were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has granted to live with Him, and He has forgiven you all your sins; 14and by His mitzvot He cancelled the written record of our sins, which stood against us; and He took it out of the way, nailing it to His stake; 15and by putting off His mortal body, He exposed the powers of evil, and through His nature put them openly to shame.
16Let no one therefore create a disturbance among you about eating and drinking, or about the distinctions of feast days, the beginning of the khadashim and of Sabbaths. 17These are shadows of things to come; but HaGuf, it is Mashi’akh. 18Let no man, by pretense of sincerity, doom you so that you worship Malakhim; for he is bold about the things he has not seen, and foolishly he is proud of his intellectual powers; 19that very person does not uphold the Head by whom the whole Body is constructed and stands, with the joints and members, and grows through the discipline of Elohim. 20Therefore, if you have died with Mashi’akh and are apart from the principles of the world, why then should you be doomed as though living in the world? 21Do not touch; do not taste; do not follow; 22for these things are customs which are changeable and they are the commandments and doctrines of men. 23And it appears there is some word of wisdom in these things when presented by the humble person in reverence for Elohim, provided they disregard the things of the flesh, not those things which are honorable, but only those things which satisfy the pleasure of the flesh.
Coming Soon! We are working daily on translating the remainder of the Brit Khadashah from Aramaic to Hebrew. Check back soon for this chapter’s Hebrew version!
D'var יהוה , The Word of יהוה 