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Deutéronome 15

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1 De sept en sept ans tu célébreras [l'année de] relâche.

2 Et c'est ici la manière [de célébrer l'année] de relâche. Que tout homme ayant droit d'exiger quelque chose que ce soit, qu'il puisse exiger de son prochain, donnera relâche, et ne l'exigera point de son prochain ni de son frère, quand on aura proclamé le relâche, en l'honneur de l'Eternel.

3 Tu pourras exiger de l'étranger; mais quand tu auras à faire avec ton frère, tu lui donneras du relâche;

4 Afin qu'il n'y ait au milieu de toi aucun pauvre; car l'Eternel te bénira certainement au pays que l'Eternel ton Dieu te donne en héritage pour le posséder.

5 [Pourvu] seulement que tu obéisses à la voix de l'Eternel ton Dieu, et que tu prennes garde à faire ces commandements que je te prescris aujourd'hui.

6 Parce que l'Eternel ton Dieu t'aura béni comme il t'en a parlé, tu prêteras sur gages à plusieurs nations, et tu n'emprunteras point sur gages. Tu domineras sur plusieurs nations, et elles ne domineront point sur toi.

7 Quand un de tes frères sera pauvre au milieu de toi, en quelque lieu de ta demeure, dans le pays que l'Eternel ton Dieu te donne, tu n'endurciras point ton cœur, et tu ne resserreras point ta main à ton frère, qui sera pauvre.

8 Mais tu ne manqueras pas de lui ouvrir ta main, et de lui prêter sur gages, autant qu'il en aura besoin pour son indigence, dans laquelle il se trouvera.

9 Prends garde à toi, que tu n'aies dans on cœur quelque méchante intention, et [que] tu ne dises : La septième année, qui est l'année de relâche, approche; et que ton œil étant malin contre ton frère pauvre, afin de ne lui rien donner, il ne crie à l'Eternel contre toi, et qu'il n'y ait du péché en toi.

10 Tu ne manqueras point de lui donner, et ton cœur ne lui donnera point à regret; car à cause de cela l'Eternel ton Dieu te bénira dans toute ton œuvre, et dans tout ce à quoi tu mettras la main.

11 Car il ne manquera pas de pauvres au pays; c'est pourquoi je te commande, en disant : Ne manque point d'ouvrir ta main à ton frère, [savoir], à l'affligé, et au pauvre de ton peuple en ton pays.

12 Quand quelqu'un d'entre tes frères, soit Hébreu ou Hébreue, te sera vendu, il te servira six ans; mais en la septième année tu le renverras libre de chez toi.

13 Et quand tu le renverras libre de chez toi, tu ne le renverras point vide.

14 Tu ne manqueras pas de le charger de quelque chose de ton troupeau, de ton aire, et de ta cuve; tu lui donneras de ce en quoi l'Eternel ton Dieu t'aura béni.

15 Et qu'il te souvienne que tu as été esclave au pays d'Egypte, et que l'Eternel ton Dieu t'en a racheté; et c'est pour cela que je te commande ceci aujourd'hui.

16 Mais s'il arrive qu'il te dise : Que je ne sorte point de chez toi; parce qu'il t'aime, toi, et ta maison, et qu'il se trouve bien avec toi;

17 Alors tu prendras une alêne, et tu lui perceras l'oreille contre la porte, et il sera ton serviteur à toujours, tu en feras de même à ta servante.

18 Qu'il ne te soit point fâcheux de le renvoyer libre de chez toi, car il t'a servi six ans, qui est le double du salaire du mercenaire; et l'Eternel ton Dieu te bénira en tout ce que tu feras.

19 Tu sanctifieras à l'Eternel ton Dieu tout premier-né mâle qui naîtra de ton gros ou menu bétail. Tu ne laboureras point avec le premier-né de ta vache; et tu ne tondras point le premier-né de tes brebis.

20 Tu le mangeras, toi et ta famille, chaque année en la présence de l'Eternel ton Dieu, au lieu que l'Eternel aura choisi.

21 Mais s'il a quelque défaut, [tellement qu'il soit] boiteux ou aveugle, ou qu'il ait quelque autre mauvais défaut, tu ne le sacrifieras point à l'Eternel ton Dieu;

22 Mais tu le mangeras au lieu de ta demeure. Celui qui est souillé, et celui qui est net [en mangeront], comme [on mange] du daim, et du cerf.

23 Seulement tu n'en mangeras point le sang, [mais] tu le répandras sur la terre, comme de l'eau.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 209

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209. For thou hast some power, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name, signifies that they have power from the Lord against evils and falsities, in the measure in which they make truths from the Word to be of the life, and acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human. This is evident from the signification of "having power," as being power from the Lord against evils and falsities; and as those who are in faith from charity are treated of, it is said that they "have some power" (of which presently). It is evident also from the signification of "to keep My word," as being to make truths from the Word to be of the life; for to keep truths or commandments means not only to know and perceive them but also to will and do them, that is to keep them; and those who will and do, make the truths that they know and perceive from the Word to be of their life (See also above n. 15). It is evident also from the signification of "not denying My name," as being to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human (See above, n. 135).

[2] It should be known that there are two principal things of the church, namely, the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human, and making the truths from the Word to be of one's life; moreover, no one can be in the one of these unless he is at the same time in the other; for all truths that are made to be of the life are from the Lord, and this is done with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human. For the Lord flows in with all, as well in the heavens as on the earth, from His Divine Human, and not from the Divine separately. Consequently those who in their thought separate the Divine of the Lord from His Human, and look to the Divine of the Father not as in the Human but as beside it or above it, thus separated from it, receive no influx from the Lord nor thus from heaven, for all who are in the heavens acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human (See concerning this in the work on Heaven and Hell 2-12, 59-72, 78-86. From this it is clear that all truths that are made of the life are from the Lord with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human, that is the Divine Human. Truths become of the life when man loves them, thus when he wills them and does them, for he who loves, wills and does; in a word, truths are made of the life when man from affection lives according to them. Such truths are from the Lord because the Lord flows into the love with man, and through the love into truths and thus makes them to be of the life.

[3] Something shall now be said about the power that man has from the Lord against evils and falsities. All power that angels have and also that men have is from the Lord; and the measure in which they receive the Lord is the measure of their power. He who believes that any power against evils and falsities comes from what is man's own [proprium] is greatly mistaken; for it is evil spirits, conjoined to the hells, that induce evils and falsities thence with men, and these spirits are numerous, and each one of them is conjoined to many hells, in each of which also there are many spirits, and no one except the Lord can turn these away from man, for the Lord alone has power over the hells, and man has no power at all from himself or from what is his own [proprium]; therefore man has power to the extent that he is conjoined to the Lord by love. There are two loves that reign in the heavens and constitute the heavens, namely, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; love to the Lord is called celestial love, and love toward the neighbor is called spiritual love. Those who are in celestial love have much power, but those who are in spiritual love have some power; and because what is written to the angel of this church, treats of those who are in love towards the neighbor, or in charity and in faith therefrom, which love is spiritual love, it is said, "Thou hast some power."

[4] But it is to be noted, that all the power that angels and men have from the Lord is from the good of love; and since the good of love does not act from itself but through truths, therefore all power is from the good of love through truths, and with those who are spiritual, from the good of charity through the truths of faith. For good takes on a quality through truths, good without truths having no quality and where there is no quality there is neither force nor power. From this it is clear, that good has all power through truths, or charity through faith, and neither charity apart from faith nor faith apart from charity has any power. This is meant also by the keys given to Peter, for "Peter" there means, in the spiritual sense, truth from good which is from the Lord, thus faith from charity; and the "keys" given to him the power over evil and falsities. These things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Divine of the Lord in His Human; which means, that those have power who acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and from Him are in the good of charity, and in the truths of faith. That these things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Lord is shown in Matthew:

Jesus said to the disciples, Who say ye that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but My Father who is in the heavens. But I also say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of the hells shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:15-19).

(But of Peter and his keys, see what is said above, n. 9; also what is shown in The small work on The Last Judgment 57, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 122; and that truth has all power from good, which is from the Lord, in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539, and Arcana Coelestia 3091, 3387, 3563, 4592, 4933, 6344, 6423, 7518, 7673, 8281, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410, 10019, 10182).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 9139

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9139. 'When a man devastates a field or a vineyard' means a stripping away of the Church's goodness and truth by evil desires. This is clear from the meaning of 'devastating' as a stripping away by evil desires, dealt with below in 9141; from the meaning of 'a field' as the Church in respect of good, dealt with in 2971, 3766, 4982, 7502, thus the Church's good; and from the meaning of 'a vineyard' as the Church in respect of truth, thus the Church's truth. The reason why 'a field' is the Church in respect of good is that the products of a field, such as wheat and barley, mean forms of good in the Church, internal and external ones, 3941, 7602, 7605; and the reason why 'a vineyard' is the Church in respect of truth is that 'wine', which is the product of a vineyard, means the truth of good, 1071, 6377.

[2] The origin of these meanings of 'a field' and 'a vineyard' lies in representatives in the spiritual world. For fields full of wheat and barley appear before the eyes of spirits when angels in a higher heaven are talking about an assembly of people governed by good; and vineyards full of grapes appear, together with winepresses in them, when angels are talking about an assembly of people governed by the truth of good. Those representatives are not due to the existence of such fields and vineyards on earth; rather, they are due to correspondences, in that wheat and barley, or bread made from them, nourish the body just as the good of love and charity nourishes the soul, and in that wine serving as drink nourishes the body just as the truth and good of faith nourish the soul. This is the reason why in the Word the good of love and the truth of faith are called food and drink; indeed in this sense they are heavenly food and drink, 56-58, 680, 681, 1973, 1974, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562.

[3] The fact that 'a vineyard' means the Church in respect of the good and truth of faith, which is called a spiritual Church, is clear from places in the Word in which a vineyard is mentioned, as in Jeremiah,

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled down My field; they have rendered the field of [My] delight into a lonely wilderness. They have made it (the vineyard) into a solitary place. Jeremiah 12:10-11.

Here 'vineyard' and 'field' plainly stand for the Church; and since the Church is the Church by virtue of the truth and good of faith and charity, it is evident that in these verses 'vineyard' is the Church in respect of truth and 'the field' the Church in respect of good. In Isaiah,

Jehovah enters into judgement with the elders of His people and with its princes. You set alight the vineyard. Isaiah 3:14.

Here also 'vineyard' plainly stands for the Church in respect of the good and truth of faith; for 'the elders' with whom Jehovah will enter into judgement are the Church's forms of good, 6524, 6525, and 'the princes' are its truths, 5044.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will sing to my beloved a song of my friend regarding His vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil, 1 which he surrounded [with an enclosure], and planted with the choicest vine. Isaiah 5:1-2ff.

This refers to the Lord, who is the 'beloved' and 'friend'. 'The vineyard' is His spiritual Church, 'the choicest vine' is that Church's good of faith, and 'a horn of a son of oil' is that Church's good of faith growing out of the good of love. The person who knows nothing whatever about the internal sense of the Word cannot possibly know what 'a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil' means. Nevertheless this expression has a meaning lying hidden within it such as no words can express. They contain a full description of the Lord's spiritual kingdom linked to His celestial kingdom, that is, of the second heaven to the third, consequently a full description of the good of faith in the Lord, which is the spiritual kingdom's, linked to the good of love to the Lord, which is the celestial kingdom's. 'The vineyard' is the spiritual kingdom; 'in a horn' is in power, thus in that kingdom, 'a son of oil' being the external level of the good of love in the celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom, which is the Lord's inmost heaven, is called the olive or an olive-grove, for 'oil' means the good of celestial love, 886, 4582, 4638. It should be recognized that the Lord's kingdom on earth is the Church. As regards the existence of two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and the fact that the spiritual kingdom constitutes the second heaven and the celestial kingdom the third, see 3887, 4138, 4279, 4286; and with regard to their being linked together, 6435.

[5] In the same prophet,

On that day, a vineyard of unmixed wine; 2 respond to it. I Jehovah am guarding it; every moment I will water it. Isaiah 27:2-3.

'A vineyard of unmixed wine' stands for the spiritual Church. In Amos,

In all vineyards there will be wailing; I will pass through you. Woe to you desiring the day of Jehovah! What will the day of Jehovah be for you? It will be one of darkness, and not of light. Amos 5:17-18.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when the good and truth of faith do not exist any longer, that final period being meant by 'the day of Jehovah, which will be one of darkness, and not of light'. This is why it says, 'In all vineyards there will be wailing'. In John, in Revelation,

The angel sent his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Revelation 14:18, 19.

'Harvesting the vine of the earth' means devouring the Church's truth and good, 'the earth' being the Church. From all this one may now see why it is that the Lord likened the kingdom of heaven so many times to a vineyard, as in Matthew 20:1ff; 21:28-29, 33-41; Mark 12:1-13; and why it is that the Lord called Himself 'the vine' in John,

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; apart from Me you cannot do anything. John 15:1ff.

'The vine' is faith in the Lord, and for that reason is the Lord in respect of faith. For the Lord is faith because faith originates in Him; no faith is faith except that which originates in Him. So it is also that 'the vine' means faith that is faith in Him.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. on a very fertile hill

2. i.e. a vineyard of grapes that produce strong wine. Some English versions follow a textual variation meaning a delightful vineyard.

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