7319. 'And the river will stink' means an aversion to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'stinking' as an aversion, dealt with in 7161; and from the meaning of 'the river', here the river of Egypt turned into blood, as falsified truth. It should be recognized that in the next life nothing is more abominable and consequently nothing stinks more obnoxiously than profaned truth. It is like the stench of a dead body, which is given off when the living flesh dies. For falsity does not stink unless it is placed alongside truth, nor does evil unless it is placed alongside good; the character of each is recognized not from its own odour but from that of its opposite. From this one may realize the extent to which profaned truth stinks. Profaned truth is falsity blended with truth; but falsified truth is falsity not blended with truth, only attached to truth and dominating it.

A "house" is essentially a container -- for a person, a family, several families or even a large group with shared interests (think of the term "houses of worship.") In the Bible, a "house" is also a container, but for spiritual things rather than natural things. In various uses a "house" can represent part of the mind, the whole mind, a whole person or even a church. The other nuance to the word "house" is that it is generally used in regards to our affections and desires rather than our thoughts and principles. This makes sense; we tend to engage our thoughts and rationality when we are out in the world doing our work, but when we are inside our houses we are driven most by love for our families and the desire to be good to those we love. So "house" tends to represent the things we want and care about -- which are ultimately the things that define us.