5659. 'And we are bringing it back in our hand' means the submission as far as possible of what had been freely given. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing back' here as submitting, and from the meaning of 'in our hand' as far as possible, dealt with above in 5624. The fact that it had been given freely is meant by 'the silver in the mouth of each man's pouch' which they were returning, 5657.

5657. 'That behold, each man's silver was in the mouth of his pouch' means that it was observed that the truths had been so to speak freely given. This is clear from the meaning of 'each man's silver in his sack' as truths freely given, dealt with in 5530, 5624, 'each man's silver in the mouth of his pouch' meaning much the same. The difference is that the latter statement means that the truths which were freely given were placed in the opening of the exterior natural; for 'the mouth of the pouch' means the opening of the exterior natural, 5497. The reason why so to speak freely is meant at this point is that they dwell in a state of uncertainty, unsure whether they want to be joined to the internal, for fear that they will cease to be of any worth. And when anyone dwells in a state of uncertainty he feels unsure about the truths that serve to corroborate.