10416. 'And rose up to play' means the resulting desire of their interiors to celebrate, and concord. This is clear from the meaning of 'playing' as the desire of a person's interiors to celebrate, for play is the outcome of that desire, being a bodily activity brought about by gladness of mind; and all desire for celebration and all gladness of mind come from the delights belonging to the loves that govern a person. The reason why concord as well is meant is that every desire to celebrate has concord residing inwardly within it; for if any disagreement or disapproval enters in, that desire perishes. The desire to celebrate resides inwardly in a person's feeling of freedom, and all feeling of freedom comes as a result of love, when nothing exists to frustrate it.

[2] Since outward things are used in the Word to describe inward ones, times of play and dancing are used to describe those of joy and gladness present in a person inwardly, as in the following places: In Jeremiah,

The city will be built upon its mound. Then there will come out of these thanksgiving (confessio) and the voice of those who are playing ¹ . Jeremiah 30:18-19.

In the same prophet,

Again I will build you, that you may be built, O virgin of Israel! Again you will adorn your timbrels ² , and will go forth in the dance of those who are playing ¹ . Their life ³ will become like a watered garden, and they will not sorrow any more. And the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together. I will turn their mourning into joy. Jeremiah 31:4, 12-13.

In Zechariah,

The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Zechariah 8:5.

In David,

Praise the name of Jehovah with timbrel and dance. Psalms 149:3; 150:4.

In the same author,

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. Psalms 30:11.

In Jeremiah,

The joy of our heart has ceased, our dance has been turned into mourning. Lamentations 5:15.

[3] Since times of play and dancing were the signs of feelings of joy and gladness inwardly present and springing from love, Miriam and the women went out, with timbrels after the Egyptians had been drowned in the Sea Suph and started dancing, Exodus 15:20. For the same reason, when the ark was being brought up from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David, David leapt and danced before Jehovah, 2 Samuel 6:12, 16.

[4] The fact that inner things are presented and described in the Word by means of outward ones is clear from the following words in David,

You have made the sea, great and wide on both hands ⁴ - there the ships sail, the Leviathan whom You have formed to play in it. Psalms 104:25-26.

Anyone without knowledge of the fact that the spiritual sense exists within each detail of the Word knows nothing else here than that 'the sea' and 'ships' are used to mean sea and ships, 'the Leviathan' to mean the monsters there, and 'playing' to mean their swimming around together there. Such things however are not what constitute the Word, every jot of which is Divine; but when the spiritual matters meant by those things are understood instead, it becomes Divine. In the internal sense 'the sea' is a gathering together of factual knowledge of truths, thus it is that which constitutes what is external with a person and in the Church; 'ships' are cognitions or knowledge and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word; 'the Leviathan' is factual knowledge in general; and 'playing' is the delight derived from those things.

'The sea' is a gathering together of factual truths, see 28, 2850, 8184, 9340.

'Ships' are cognitions and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word, 1977, 6385.

'The Leviathan' is factual knowledge in general, 7293.

Thus 'playing' is the delight and the desire to celebrate derived from those things, which occurs when known facts add strength to spiritual matters and accord with them.

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374. That 'the voice of blood' ¹ means violence done to charity is clear from many places in the Word where 'voice' stands for everything that accuses, and 'blood' for all sin, especially hatred. For anyone who hates his brother murders him in his own heart, as the Lord teaches,

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgement. Whoever indeed says to his brother, Raca! will be liable to the Sanhedrin. And whoever says You fool! will be liable to the Gehenna of fire. Matthew 5:21-22.

These sayings denote degrees of hatred. Hatred is contrary to charity; and though a person does not actually commit murder, the intention to do so is still there, and by whatever possible method. It is external restraints alone which prevent murder actually being committed. And this is why all hatred is called blood, as in Jeremiah,

How well you direct Your way in the quest for love! Yes, in your skirts the blood of needy innocent souls is found. Jeremiah 2:33-34.

[2] And since hatred is meant by blood, so is every kind of wickedness, for hatred is the source of all wickedness, as in Hosea,

Perjuring, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they commit robbery, and blood' has followed on blood. ¹ Therefore the land will mourn and every inhabitant will anguish. Hosea 4:2-3.

And in Ezekiel,

Will you judge the city of blood' and declare to her all her abominations? A City that sheds blood' in the midst of her. By your blood which you have shed you have become guilty. Ezekiel 22:2-4, 6, 9.

This is referring to the lack of compassion. In the same prophet,

The land is full of the judgement of blood, ¹ and the city is full of violence. Ezekiel 7:23.

And in Jeremiah,

For the sins of the prophets of Jerusalem, the iniquities of her priests who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous, they wander blind in the streets; they are defiled with blood. Lamentations 4:13-14.

In Isaiah,

When the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and wiped away from its midst the blood ¹ of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Isaiah 4:4.

In the same prophet,

Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Isaiah 59:3.

In Ezekiel,

I passed by you and saw you weltering in your blood, ¹ and I said to you, Live in your blood ¹ I indeed said to you, Live in your blood. ¹ Ezekiel 16:6, 22.

This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem, which are called 'blood' ¹ . Lack of compassion, and hatred, in the last times a real so described as blood in Revelation 16:3-4. The plural 'bloods' is used because all forms of iniquity and abomination well up out of hatred, just as all forms of good and holiness do out of love. Anyone therefore who hates his neighbour would murder him if he could, and he does do so in whatever way he can. That is to say, he does him violence, which is strictly the meaning here of 'voice of blood'. ¹

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