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Exodus 22

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1 Når en Mand stjæler en Okse eller et Får og slagter eller sælger dem, skal han give fem Okser i Erstatning for Oksen og fire Får for Fåret.

2 Hvis en Tyv gribes på fersk Gerning ved et natligt Indbrud og bliver slået ihjel, da bliver der ikke Tale om Blodskyld;

3 men hvis Solen er stået op. pådrager man sig Blodskyld. Erstatning skal han give, og ejer han intet, skal han sælges som Træl til Vederlag for det stjålne;

4 hvis derimod det stjålne findes levende i hans Besiddelse, da skal han give dobbelt Erstatning, hvad enten det er en Okse, et Æsel, eller et Får.

5 Når en Mand afsvider en Mark eller en Vingård og lader Ilden brede sig, så den antænder en andens Mark, da skal han give det bedste af sin Mark eller Vingård i Erstatning;

6 men breder Ilden sig ved at tage fat i Tjørnekrat, og Kornneg eller Sæd brænder, eller en Mark svides af, så skal den, der antændte Ilden, give simpel Erstatning.

7 Når en Mand giver en anden Penge eller Sager i Varetægt, og de stjæles fra hans Hus, da skal Tyven, hvis han findes, give dobbelt Erstatning;

8 men hvis Tyven ikke findes, skal Husets Ejer træde frem for Gud og sværge på, at han ikke har forgrebet sig på den andens Gods.

9 I alle Tilfælde hvor det drejer sig om Uredelighed med en Okse, et Æsel, et Får, en Klædning eller en hvilken som helst bortkommen Ting, hvorom der rejses Krav, skal de to Parters Sag bringes frem for Gud, og den, som Gud dømmer skyldig, skal give den anden dobbelt Erstatning.

10 Når en Mand giver en anden et Æsel, en Okse, et Får eller et andet Stykke Kvæg i Varetægt, og Dyret dør, kommer til Skade eller røves, uden at nogen ser det,

11 da skal han sværge ved HE EN på, at han ikke har forgrebet sig på den andens Ejendom, og det skal være afgørende imellem dem; Dyrets Ejer skal tage Eden god, og den anden behøver ikke at give Erstatning.

12 Stjæles det derimod fra ham, skal han give Ejeren Erstatning.

13 Hvis det sønderrives, skal han bringe det sønderrevne Dyr med som Bevis; det sønderrevne skal han ikke erstatte.

14 Når en låner et Dyr af en anden, og det kommer til Skade eller dør, uden at Ejeren er til Stede, skal han give Erstatning;

15 er Ejeren derimod til Stede, skal han ikke give Erstatning; var det lejet, er Lejesummen Erstatning.

16 Når en Mand forfører en Jomfru, der ikke er trolovet, og ligger hos hende, skal han udrede Brudekøbesummen for hende og tage hende til Hustru;

17 og hvis hendes Fader vægrer sig ved at give ham hende, skal han tilveje ham den sædvanlige Brudekøbesum for en Jomfru.

18 En Troldkvinde må du ikke lade leve.

19 Enhver, der har Omgang med Kvæg, skal lide Døden.

20 Den, der ofrer til andre Guder end HE EN alene, skal der lægges Band på.

21 Den fremmede må du ikke undertrykke eller forulempe, thi I var selv fremmede i Ægypten.

22 Enken eller den faderløse må I aldrig mishandle;

23 hvis I mishandler dem, og de råber om Hjælp til mig, vil jeg visselig høre på deres Klageråb,

24 og da vil min Vrede blusse op, og jeg vil slå eder ihjel med Sværdet, så eders egne Hustruer bliver Enker og eders Børn faderløse.

25 Når du låner Penge til en fattig Mand af mit Folk i dit Nabolag, må du ikke optræde som en Ågerkarl over for ham. I må ikke tage enter af ham.

26 Hvis du tager din Næstes Kappe i Pant, skal du give ham den tilbage inden Solnedgang;

27 thi den er det eneste, han har at dække sig med, det er den, han hyller sit Legeme i; hvad skulde han,ellers ligge med? Og når han råber til mig, vil jeg høre ham, thi jeg er barmhjertig.

28 Gud må du ikke spotte, og dit Folks Øvrighed må du ikke forbande.

29 Din Lades Overflod og din Vinperses Saft må du ikke holde tilbage. Den førstefødte af dine Sønner skal du give mig.

30 Ligeså skal du gøre med dit Hornkvæg og dit Småkvæg; i syv Dage skal det blive hos Moderen, men på den ottende Dag skal I give mig det.

31 I skal være mig hellige Mænd; Kød af sønderrevne Dyr må I ikke spise, I skal kaste det for Hundene.

   


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Arcana Coelestia # 9211

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9211. Ye shall not put usury upon him. That this signifies thus not for the sake of the consequent profit, is evident from the signification of “putting usury upon” anyone as being to do good for the sake of profit (of whic h just above, n. 9210), here not for the sake of profit, because it is said “ye shall not put usury upon him.” From this law concerning interest and usury it can be seen how the case is with the laws called “judgments” among the Israelitish people, namely, that they ceased, together with the sacrifices and all other rituals, when the Lord came into the world and opened the interior things of worship, and in general the interior things of the Word. The interior things of this law are that good ought to be done to the neighbor from the heart, and that it ought to be believed that there is nothing of merit in deeds done from self, but only in those done from the Lord in self. For the Lord Himself alone has merited, and He alone is righteousness; and when a man believes this, he places nothing of merit and reward in what is done by himself, but ascribes all goods to the Lord; and as the Lord does it from Divine mercy, the man ascribes all things to mercy alone. From this also it is that he who is led by the Lord thinks absolutely nothing about reward, and yet does good to the neighbor from the heart.

[2] These are the interior things from which descended the law of usuries among the Israelitish and Jewish nation, and therefore when a man is in the interior things, this law ceases, together with other similar laws, which were called “judgments.” For the Israelitish and Jewish nation was solely in external things which were representative of internal things. Consequently this law was binding upon that nation at that time; but it is not binding upon Christians, to whom interior things have been revealed by the Lord. That this is so is known to the man of the church at this day, and therefore at this day the laws of usury are quite different. Nevertheless the sanctity of this law does not cease on this account, that is, this Word has not been abrogated, for its sanctity remains by virtue of the interior things which are in it. These holy interior things still affect the angels when this Word is read. Therefore beware of believing that the laws of life, such as are in the Decalogue, and everywhere in the Old Testament, have been abrogated, for these laws have been confirmed in the internal as well as in the external form, because the two cannot be separated.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 9210

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9210. Thou shalt not be to him as a usurer. That this signifies that this must be done from charity, is evident from the signification of “a usurer,” as being one who does what is good for the sake of self-advantage; for a usurer intrusts money to another for the sake of usury, and assists another for the sake of recompense. And because genuine charity does not regard profit or recompense as the end, but the good of the neighbor, therefore by “thou shalt not be as a usurer” is signified that it must be done from charity. He who does not know what Christian charity is, may believe that it consists not only in giving to the needy and the poor, but also in doing good to a fellow citizen, to our country, and to the church, for any cause whatever, or for any end whatever. But be it known that it is the end that determines the quality of all a man’s deeds. If his end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, or to acquire honors or profit, then the good which he does is not good, because it is done for the sake of himself, and thus also from himself. But if his end is to do good for the sake of a fellow citizen, his country, or the church, thus for the sake of the neighbor, then the good which the man does is good, for it is done for the sake of good itself, which, in general, is the neighbor itself (n. 5025, 6706, 6711, 6712, 8123); thus also it is done for the sake of the Lord, for such good is not from man, but from the Lord, and that which is from the Lord is the Lord’s. It is this good which is meant by the Lord in Matthew:

As much as ye did to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did to Me (Matthew 25:40).

[2] As it is with good, so also it is with truth. Those who do truth for the sake of truth, do it also for the sake of the Lord, because they do it from the Lord. To do truth for the sake of truth, is to do good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes forth into act. To do good in this manner is Christian charity. Sometimes those who do good from Christian charity have regard to reputation from it, for the sake of honor, or for the sake of profit; yet they do so very differently from those who regard these things as the end; for they regard what is good and just as the essential and only thing, thus as being in the highest place; and thereafter they regard profit and honor, and reputation for the sake of these, as being relatively not essential, thus in the lowest place. When persons of such a character have in view what is just and good, they are like those who fight in battle for their country, and who then have no regard for their life, nor for their rank and possessions in the world, which are then relatively of no account. But those who have regard to themselves and the world in the first place, are of such a character that they do not even see what is just and good, because they have in view themselves and their own profit.

[3] From all this it is evident what it is to do good for the sake of self or the world, and what it is to do good for the sake of the Lord or the neighbor, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as between heaven and hell. Moreover, those who do good for the sake of the neighbor or the Lord are in heaven; but those who do good for the sake of self and the world are in hell. For those who do good for the sake of the neighbor and the Lord, love the Lord above all things and the neighbor as themselves, in accordance with the chief of all the commandments (Mark 12:28-31). But those who do all things for the sake of themselves and the world, love themselves above all things, thus more than God, and not only do they despise the neighbor, but even hold him in hatred if he does not make one with themselves, and be theirs. This is meant by what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

There are those who serve both; but these are they who are called “lukewarm, neither cold nor hot,” who are “spewed out” (Revelation 3:15-16). From all this it is now plain what was represented by usurers who took usury, namely, those who do good for the sake of profit.

[4] From this it is clear why it is said that one “should not be as a usurer, and should not put usury upon a brother;” as also in other passages in Moses:

Thou shalt not put on thy brother usury of silver, usury of food, usury of anything on which it is put. Upon a foreigner thou mayest put usury; but upon thy brother thou shalt not put usury; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thine hand unto, in the land whither thou goest to possess it (Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Leviticus 25:36-38);

“to put on a brother the usury of silver” denotes to lend truths, or to instruct, for the sake of profit; “to put the usury of food on him” denotes to lend the goods of truth for the sake of profit; for “silver” denotes truth (n. 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917); and “food,” the good of truth (n. 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562). That “Jehovah will bless those who do not so, in all that they put their hand unto in the land” is because they are in the affection of good and truth, thus in the happiness the angels have in heaven, for a man has heaven in this affection, that is, in the good of this love (n. 6478, 9174). The reason why it was allowable to put usury on foreigners, was that by “foreigners” are signified those who do not acknowledge and receive anything of good and truth (n. 7996). Thus they who do good only for the sake of profit are to serve man, because they are relatively servants (n. 1097).

In David:

He that walketh perfect, and that doeth righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart; He that giveth not his silver to usury, and taketh not a gift against the innocent. He that doeth this shall never be moved (Psalms 15:2, 5);

“to give one’s silver into usury” denotes to teach merely for the sake of profit, thus to do good for the sake of the recompense. In like manner in Ezekiel:

A righteous man who doeth judgment and righteousness, giveth not into usury, and taketh not interest (Ezekiel 18:5, 8).

He that withholdeth his hand from the needy, that taketh not usury or interest, that doeth My judgments, that walketh in My statutes, living he shall live (Ezekiel 18:17).

In thee have they taken a gift to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and interest, and thou hast taken gain of thy companions by violence (Ezekiel 22:12).

This is said of the “city of bloods,” by which is signified the falsity that destroys truth and good (n. 9127); “taking usury and interest” denotes doing good for the sake of profit and recompense, thus not from charity. (That genuine charity is devoid of all claim to merit, see n. 2371, 2373, 2400, 4007, 4174, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6478)

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.