6974. 'And do not hear your voice' means if they show no sign of obedience either. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing' as obedience, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 5017; from the meaning of 'the voice' as that which has been declared and that which has been declared before-hand, dealt with in 6971, 6972; and from the representation of Moses, whose 'voice' they were to hear, as the Lord in respect of Divine Law, that is, Divine Truth, thus in respect of the Word since that is where Divine Truth is. From all this it is evident that 'if they do not hear your voice' means if they show no sign of obedience either. The present verse, and verses 1 and 8 above, use the expressions 'if they do not believe' and 'if they do not hear', when yet both expressions seem to be much the same as each other, for one who does not believe does not hear either. But the two are distinct from each other, for 'believing', which means [being in possession of] faith, is used with regard to truth which is the substance of faith, and so has reference to the understanding part of the mind, whereas 'hearing', which means obeying, is used with regard to good which is the substance of charity, and so has reference to the will part. For in the Word, especially the prophetical part, where truth is described by means of expressions particularly its own, so also is good described by means of those particularly its own, because of the heavenly marriage within each detail of the Word, which is a marriage of goodness and truth, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 6343.

2542. 'And spoke all these words in their ears' means an exhortation made to confirmations from this source, even until they should become obedient. This becomes clear from the train of thought in the internal sense, and also from the meaning of 'ears'.

From the train of thought: There are many matters of a confirmatory nature that lend support to whatever the rational acknowledges; indeed its acknowledgement is due entirely to those confirmatory matters. This is why, when rational concepts are brought into a condition of obedience, an exhortation is made to things that confirm, for these are for ever at hand and so to speak rising up.

From the meaning of 'ears': 'Ears' in the internal sense of the Word means obedience because of the correspondence that exists between hearing and obeying. Furthermore, this correspondence lies hidden within the very word 'hearing', more so in 'hearkening'. This correspondence has its origin in the next life where those who are obedient and willing belong to the province of the ear. Indeed they correspond to the faculty of hearing itself, an arcanum unknown as yet. But these matters will be seen more easily when correspondence will be dealt with in the Lord's Divine mercy later on. The fact that 'ears' has this meaning becomes clear from very many places in the Word; but for the time being let only the following in Isaiah be quoted,

Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and plaster over their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their heart understands. Isaiah 6:10.

Here 'seeing with the eyes' means understanding, and 'hearing with the ears' means perceiving with affection and therefore means obeying. And nothing else is meant when the Lord says,

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Luke 8:8; 14:35.