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Zechariah 1

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1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,

2 Jehovah hath been very wroth with your fathers.

3 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Return unto me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will Return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts.

4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings; but they did not hearken nor attend unto me, saith Jehovah.

5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? And they turned and said, Like as Jehovah of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah unto Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,

8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the low valley; and behind him were red, bay, and white horses.

9 And I said, My lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these are.

10 And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said, These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

11 And they answered the angel of Jehovah that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest.

12 And the angel of Jehovah answered and said, Jehovah of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these seventy years?

13 And Jehovah answered the angel that talked with me good words, comforting words.

14 And the angel that talked with me said unto me, Cry, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy,

15 and I am wroth exceedingly with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little wroth, and they helped forward the affliction.

16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith Jehovah of hosts, and the line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

17 Cry further, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity, and Jehovah shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

18 And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

20 And Jehovah shewed me four craftsmen.

21 And I said, What come these to do? And he spoke, saying, Those are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these are come to affright them, to cast out the horns of the nations, which lifted up the horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.

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Arcana Coelestia # 5951

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5951. 'And the sons of Israel did so' means a putting into effect by the spiritual truths within the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'they did' as a putting into effect; and from the representation of 'the sons of Israel' as the spiritual truths within the natural, dealt with in 5414, 5879. What spiritual truths within the natural are must be stated: The truths of faith if separate from man, spirit, or angel are not in fact the truths of faith, for they are not attached to a recipient in whom they become such truths. But when they are attached to man, spirit, or angel as their recipient they then become the truths of faith, yet varyingly so according to each individual's state of life. With those who are just beginning to learn them they are no more than factual knowledge. If after that those people truly revere them they go on from being factual knowledge to become the truths of the Church. When however they have an affection for those truths and lead lives in keeping with them, they become spiritual truths; for the good of love and charity, which has its origin solely in the spiritual world, then enters in and brings life to them. For having an affection for them and leading a life in keeping with them stem from that good.

[2] What truths, called the truths of faith, are like with those who lead lives in keeping with them, and with those who do not, has been shown to me. With people who do not lead lives in keeping with them those truths have manifested themselves as white threads; and with people who knew those truths yet did nothing good at all they were fragile ones. But with people who do lead lives in keeping with them those truths have manifested themselves as fibres extending from the brain, which were filled with spirituous fluid and were soft. Thus these latter truths had life in them, the former did not. From all this one may recognize that the nature of the truths present with people depends on the individual's state of life. The truths which 'the sons of Jacob' represent are not as yet spiritual truths because they have not as yet been made matters of life. But the truths represented by those men as 'the sons of Israel' are spiritual ones because, having been made matters of life, the good of love and charity has entered them. Such truths are meant here because now the subject is the initial stage in the joining of the truths within the natural, which are 'the sons of Jacob', to internal good, which is 'Joseph', through the intermediary, which is 'Benjamin', and also through spiritual good, which is 'Israel'.

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