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Hosea 12

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1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth after the east wind: all day long he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.

2 Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and he will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he wrestled with God.

4 Yea, he wrestled with the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us,

5 -- even Jehovah, the God of hosts, -- Jehovah is his memorial.

6 And thou, return unto thy God: keep loving-kindness and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

7 [He is] a merchant, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loveth to oppress.

8 And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

9 But I [that am] Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt will again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 And I have spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by means of the prophets have I used similitudes.

11 If Gilead is iniquity, surely they are but vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].

13 And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

14 Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most bitterly; and his Lord shall leave his blood upon him, and recompense unto him his reproach.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9248

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9248. 'You shall not take up a report of vanity' means not listening to false ideas. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking up a report' as hearing and doing, thus listening, for to express the idea of a report the original language uses a word that means hearing; and from the meaning of 'vanity' as falsity, in particular falsity in doctrine and religious practice, as becomes clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,

No more will there be any vision of vanity or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel. Ezekiel 12:24.

'A vision of vanity' stands for a false revelation. In the same prophet,

They have seen vanity and lying divination. 1 Because you speak vanity and see a lie, therefore behold, I am against you, that My hand may be against the prophets who see vanity and divine a lie. Ezekiel 13:6-9.

'The prophets', of whom it says here that they see vanity and divine a lie, means teachers, and in the abstract sense doctrinal teachings, 2534, 7269. Furthermore prophets are spoken of as seeing things, which also is why they were called 'seers' in ancient times, 1 Samuel 9:9; and they are spoken of as divining them too.

[2] When 'seeing' or 'vision' is attributed to the prophets, revelation in regard to doctrine is meant in the internal sense; and when 'divining' or 'divination' is attributed to them, revelation in regard to life is meant. And since 'vanity' means falsity in doctrine and 'a lie' falsity in life, the words 'they have seen vanity and lying divination' are used. In the same prophet,

What they see for you is vanity, and what they divine for you is a lie. Ezekiel 21:29.

In Zechariah,

The teraphim speak iniquity, and the diviners see a lie, and they speak dreams of vanity. 2 Zechariah 10:2.

In Jeremiah,

The prophets have seen vanity. Lamentations 2:14.

The fact that 'vanity' means falsity in doctrine and religious practice is also evident in Hosea,

They have become vanity; in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Hosea 12:11.

In Jeremiah,

My people have forgotten Me; they have burned incense to vanity. Jeremiah 18:15.

The like may be seen elsewhere, such as Isaiah 5:18; 30:28; 59:4; Psalms 12:2; 119:37-38; 144:7-8.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, divination of a lie

2. i.e. they tell false dreams

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