Now behold, it came to pass that I, Ya’akov, having ministered much unto my people in word, and I cannot write but a few of my words because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates; and we know that the things which we write upon plates must endure, but whatsoever things we write upon anything except it be upon plates must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates which will give our children, and also our beloved brothers, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers. Now in this thing we do rejoice, and we labor diligently to engrave these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brothers and our children will receive them with thankful hearts and look upon them, that they may learn with joy, and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents. For, for this intent have we written these things: that they may know that we knew of Mashiach,39 and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming. And not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.
Behold, they believed in Mashiach40 and worshipped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the Torah of Moshe,41 it pointing our souls to him. And for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Avraham42 in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of Elohim in offering up his son Yitz’chak,43 which was a similitude of Elohim and his only begotten Son. Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy. And having all these witnesses, we obtain a hope and our faith44 becomes unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Yeshua and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, Adonai yhwh shows us our weakness,45 that we may know that it is by his grace and his great condescensions unto the children of men that we have power to do these things.
Behold, great and marvelous are the works46 of yhwh; how unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him. And it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knows of his ways except it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brothers, despise not the revelations of Elohim. For behold, by the power of his word, man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if Elohim being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, oh then why not able to command the earth or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it according to his will and pleasure? Wherefore, brothers, seek not to counsel yhwh, but to take counsel from his hand; for behold, you yourselves know that he counsels in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works. Wherefore, beloved, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Mashiach, his only begotten Son, that you may obtain a resurrection according to the power of the resurrection which is in Mashiach, and be presented as the firstfruits of Mashiach unto Elohim, having faith and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifests himself in the flesh.
And now beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Mashiach and attain to a perfect knowledge47 of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come? Behold, my brothers, he that prophesies, let him prophesy to the understanding of men. For the spirit speaks the truth, and lies not; wherefore, it speaks of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be. Wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things, for Elohim also spoke them unto prophets of old.
But behold, the Judeans were a stiffnecked people, and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand.48 Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must necessarily fall; for Elohim has taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand49 because they desired it. And because they desired it, Elohim has done it that they may stumble.
And now I, Ya’akov, am led on by the spirit unto prophesying, for I perceive by the workings of the spirit which is in me that by the stumbling of the Y’hudim, they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation. But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation50 upon which the Y’hudim can build.51 And now my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it that it may become the head of their corner?52 Behold, my beloved brothers, I will unfold this mystery unto you, if I do not by any means get shaken from my firmness in the spirit and stumble because of my overanxiety for you.
Behold, my brothers, do you not remember to have read the words of the prophet Zenos which he spoke unto the house of Isra’el, saying, Hearken, O you house of Isra’el, and hear the words of me,53 a prophet of yhwh? For behold, thus says yhwh: I will compare you, O house of Isra’el, like unto a tame olive tree54 which a man took and nourished in his vineyard.55 And it grew, and became old, and began to decay. And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard went forth, and he saw that his olive tree began to decay. And he said, I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender branches and it perish not. And it came to pass that he pruned it, and dug about it, and nourished it, according to his word. And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main top thereof began to perish. And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he said unto his servant, It grieves me that I should lose this tree. Wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olive tree and bring them here unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that they may be burned. And behold, said the Adon of the vineyard, I take away many of these young and tender branches, and I will graft them wherever I will, and it matters not that if it so be that the root of this tree will perish, I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself. Wherefore, I will take these young and tender branches, and I will graft them wherever I will; you take the branches of the wild olive tree and graft them in,56 in the place thereof. And these which I have plucked off, I will cast into the fire and burn them,57 that they may not encumber the ground of my vineyard.
And it came to pass that the servant of the Adon of the vineyard did according to the word of the Adon of the vineyard, and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree. And the Adon of the vineyard caused that it should be dug about, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto his servant, It grieves me that I should lose this tree. Wherefore, that perhaps I might preserve the roots thereof, that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself, I have done this thing. Wherefore, go your way, watch the tree, and nourish it according to my words. And these will I place in the lowest part of my vineyard, wherever I will; it is not your concern. And I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree, and also that I may lay up fruit thereof against the season unto myself; for it grieves me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard went his way and hid the natural branches of the tame olive tree in the lowest parts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another,58 according to his will and pleasure. And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Adon of the vineyard said unto his servant, Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor in the vineyard.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard, and also the servant, went down into the vineyard to labor. And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master, Behold, look here; behold the tree. And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted, and it had sprung forth and began to bear fruit. And he beheld that it was good, and the fruit thereof was like unto the natural fruit. And he said unto the servant, Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof has brought forth much strength. And because of the much strength of the root thereof, the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree thereof would have perished. And now behold, I shall lay up much fruit which the tree thereof has brought forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season unto my own self.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto the servant, Come, let us go to the lowest parts of the vineyard and see if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof against the season unto my own self. And it came to pass that they went forth, where the master of the vineyard had hidden the natural branches of the tree, and he said unto the servant, Behold these. And he beheld the first, that it had brought forth much fruit, and he beheld also that it was good. And he said unto the servant, Take of the fruit thereof and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto my own self. For behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it and it has brought forth much fruit.
And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master, Why did you come here to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of your vineyard. And the Adon of the vineyard said unto him, Counsel me not. I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto you I have nourished it this long time, and you can see that it has brought forth much fruit.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto his servant, Look here. Behold, I have planted another branch of the tree also, and you know that this spot of ground was poorer than the first, but behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time and it has brought forth much fruit. Therefore, gather it and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto my own self.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said again unto his servant, Look here and behold another branch also which I have planted. Behold that I have nourished it also, and it has brought forth fruit. And he said unto the servant, Look here and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground, and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree has brought forth tame fruit; and the other part of the tree has brought forth wild fruit. Behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto the servant, Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit and cast them into the fire. But behold, the servant said unto him, Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto you, that you can lay it up against the season. And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard, and the servant of the Adon of the vineyard, did nourish all the fruit of the vineyard.
And it came to pass that a long time had passed away, and the Adon of the vineyard said unto his servant, Come, let us go down in the vineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard. For behold, the time draws near and the end soon comes. Wherefore, I must lay up fruit against the season unto my own self. And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard and the servant went down into the vineyard, and they came to the tree whose natural branches had been broken off and the wild branches had been grafted in; and behold, all sorts of fruit did encumber the tree.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard did taste of the fruit, every sort according to its number. And the Adon of the vineyard said, Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto myself against the season much fruit. But behold, this time it has brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit, and it profits me nothing, despite all our labor; and now it grieves me that I should lose this tree. And the Adon of the vineyard said unto the servant, What shall we do unto the tree that I may preserve again good fruit thereof unto my own self? And the servant said unto his master, Behold, because you did graft in the branches of the wild olive tree, they have nourished the roots, that they are alive and they have not perished; wherefore, you can see that they are yet good.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto his servant, The tree profits me nothing and the roots thereof profit me nothing, so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit. Nevertheless, I know that the roots are good, and for my own purpose I have preserved them. And because of their much strength, they have previously brought forth from the wild branches good fruit. But behold, the wild branches have grown and have overrun the roots thereof. And because that the wild branches have overcome the roots thereof, it has brought forth much evil fruit. And because that it has brought forth so much evil fruit, you can see that it begins to perish; and it will soon become ripened, that it may be cast into the fire, except we should do something for it to preserve it.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto his servant, Let us go down into the lowest parts of the vineyard and see if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit. And it came to pass that they went down into the lowest parts of the vineyard. And it came to pass that they beheld that the fruit of the natural branches had become corrupt also, yes, the first, and the second, and also the last; and they had all become corrupt. And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard wept and said unto the servant, What could I have done more for my vineyard?59 Behold, I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard, except it were these, had become corrupted. And now these, which have once brought forth good fruit, have also become corrupted. And now all the trees of my vineyard are good for nothing, except it be to be cut down and cast into the fire. And behold, this last, whose branch has withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground, yes, even that which was choice unto me, above all other parts of the land of my vineyard.
And you can see that I also cut down that which encumbered this spot of ground, that I might plant this tree in the place thereof. And you can see that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit. And because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch, that it has withered away. And now behold, despite all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit. And these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season unto my own self. But behold, they have become like unto the wild olive tree, and they are of no worth but to be cut down and cast into the fire; and it grieves me that I should lose them. But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened my hand, that I have not nourished it? No, I have nourished it, and I have dug about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it, and I have stretched forth my hand almost all the day long,60 and the end draws near. And it grieves me that I should cut down all the trees of my vineyard and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?
And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master, Is it not the loftiness of your vineyard? Have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof — behold, they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves — behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of your vineyard have become corrupted?
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard said unto the servant, Let us go to, and cut down the trees of the vineyard, and cast them into the fire, that they shall not encumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my vineyard? But behold, the servant said unto the Adon of the vineyard, Spare it a little longer.61 And the Adon said, Yes, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieves me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard. Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the lowest parts of my vineyard, and let us graft them into the tree from which they came. And let us pluck from the tree those branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the place thereof. And this will I do that the tree may not perish, that perhaps I may preserve unto myself the roots thereof for my own purpose. And behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted wherever I would are yet alive. Wherefore, that I may preserve them also for my own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yes, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto my own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong, perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.
And it came to pass that they took from the natural tree which had become wild, and grafted in unto the natural trees which also had become wild. And they also took of the natural trees which had become wild and grafted into their mother tree. And the Adon of the vineyard said unto the servant, Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, except it be those which are most bitter; and in them, you shall graft according to that which I have said. And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof, and we will pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened that must perish and cast them into the fire. And this I do that perhaps the roots thereof may take strength because of their goodness, and because of the change of the branches, that the good may overcome the evil. And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree — that perhaps the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit, and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard, and perhaps that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit — wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good, and the most precious above all other fruit.
Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time; for behold, the end draws near, and this is the last time that I shall prune my vineyard. Graft in the branches. Begin at the last, that they may be first and that the first may be last;62 and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last, and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time. Wherefore, dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once more for the last time, for the end draws near. And if it so be that these last grafts shall grow and bring forth the natural fruit, then shall you prepare the way for them that they may grow. And as they begin to grow, you shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof. And you shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard; for it grieves me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard. Wherefore, you shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad and the bad be cut down and cast into the fire, that they encumber not the ground of my vineyard. And thus will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard. And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree, and the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree, and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one. And the bad shall be cast away, yes, even out of all the land of my vineyard; for behold, only this once will I prune my vineyard.
And it came to pass that the Adon of the vineyard sent his servant, and the servant went and did as the Adon had commanded him and brought other servants, and they were few. And the Adon of the vineyard said unto them, Go to and labor in the vineyard with your might, for behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard, for the end is near at hand and the season speedily comes. And if you labor with your might with me, you shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.
And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their might, and the Adon of the vineyard labored also with them. And they did obey the commandments of the Adon of the vineyard in all things. And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard. And the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly, and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof. And thus they labored with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Adon of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard and the Adon had preserved unto himself, that the trees had become again the natural fruit. And they became like unto one body, and the fruits were equal. And the Adon of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.
And it came to pass that when the Adon of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants and said unto them, Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard.63 And you can see that I have done according to my will, and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even as if it were in the beginning. And blessed are you, for because you have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted and the bad is cast away, behold, you shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard. For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto my own self against the season which speedily comes. And for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it. Wherefore, I will lay up unto my own self of the fruit for a long time, according to that which I have spoken. And when the time comes that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered. And the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then comes the season and the end, and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.