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Zephaniah 3

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1 Woe to the provoking, and redeemed city, the dove.

2 She hath not hearkened to the voice, neither hath she received discipline: she hath not trusted in the Lord, she drew not near to her God.

3 Her princes are in the midst of her as roaring lions: her judges are evening wolves, they left nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are senseless men without faith: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have acted unjustly against the law.

5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity: in the morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it shall not be hid: but the wicked man hath not known shame.

6 I have destroyed the nations, and their towers are beaten down: I have made their ways desert, so that there is none that passeth by: their cities are desolate, there is not a man remaining, nor any inhabitant.

7 I said: Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction: and her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have visited her: but they rose early and corrupted all their thoughts.

8 Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms: and to pour upon them my indignation, all my fierce anger: for with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured.

9 Because then I will restore to the people a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and may serve him with one shoulder.

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, shall my suppliants the children of my dispersed people bring me an offering.

11 In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt no more be lifted up because of my holy mountain.

12 And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people: and they shall hope in the name of the Lord.

13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed, and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid.

14 Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad, and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, he hath turned away thy enemies: the king of Israel The Lord is in the midst of thee, thou shalt fear evil no more.

16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not: to Sion: Let not thy hands be weakened.

17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise.

18 The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together, because they were of thee: that thou mayest no more suffer reproach for them.

19 Behold I will cut off all that have afflicted thee at that time: and I will save her that halteth, and will gather her that was cast out: and I will get them praise, and a name, in all the land where they had been put to confusion.

20 At that time, when I will bring you: and at the time that I will gather you: for I will give you a name, and praise among all the people of the earth, when I shall have brought back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 6442

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6442. 'He will seize in the morning, he will devour the spoil' means that the deliverance takes place when the Lord is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'the morning' in the highest sense as the Lord, dealt with in 2405, 2780 - therefore 'he will seize in the morning' means that the rescue and deliverance of the good takes place when the Lord is present; and from the meaning of 'devouring the spoil' as taking to Himself those He rescued and delivered. For the meaning of 'devouring' as taking and joining to oneself, see 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 5643; and as for the meaning of 'the spoil' as those who have been rescued and delivered, this is self-evident. Because the Lord is spoken of in the Word as One who rescues and delivers the good, the expressions to seize, prey, spoil, and plunder are also used in reference to Him. This is clear from what was stated above in verse 9 about Judah, 'A lion's cub is Judah; from the plunder you have gone up, my son', meaning that from the Lord through the celestial comes deliverance from hell, see 6368. It is also clear from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah's roaring is like that of a lion, He roars like young lions, and growls, and lays hold of the plunder so that no one rescues it. Isaiah 5:29.

In the same prophet,

As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey, so Jehovah Zebaoth will come down to fight on Mount Zion. Isaiah 31:4.

In Jeremiah,

I will rescue you on that day, I will surely rescue you; but let your life 1 be as spoil to you, for the reason that you have put your trust in Me. Jeremiah 39:17-18.

In Zephaniah,

Wait for Me, said Jehovah, until the day I rise up to the plunder. Zephaniah 3:8.

In Isaiah,

I will divide for Him among many, so that He may divide the spoil with the strong. Isaiah 53:12.

The whole chapter in which this verse appears refers to the Lord.

[2] The meaning of 'devouring the prey (or spoil)' as taking to oneself good things that have been seized by the evil is clear in Balaam's prophetic utterance in Moses,

See, a people will rise up like an old lion, and like a young lion will lift itself up. He will not rest until he has devoured the prey. Numbers 23:24.

From all these quotations it is evident that 'prey', 'spoil', and 'plunder mean the rescue and deliverance of the good by the Lord. The truth that 'Benjamin' represents is said to be what rescues and delivers, because power is an attribute of truth, 3091, 4931, though it derives such power from good, 6344, 6423.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, soul

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