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1 Poi l’Eterno parlò a Mosè, dicendo:

2 "Ordina ai figliuoli d’Israele che mandino fuori del campo ogni lebbroso, chiunque ha la gonorrea o è impuro per il contatto con un morto.

3 Maschi o femmine che siano, li manderete fuori; li manderete fuori del campo perché non contaminino il loro campo in mezzo al quale io abito".

4 I figliuoli d’Israele fecero così, e li mandarono fuori del campo. Come l’Eterno avea detto a Mosè, così fecero i figliuoli d’Israele.

5 L’Eterno parlò ancora a Mosè, dicendo:

6 "Di’ ai figliuoli d’Israele: Quando un uomo o una donna avrà fatto un torto a qualcuno commettendo una infedeltà rispetto all’Eterno, e questa persona si sarà così resa colpevole,

7 ella confesserà il peccato commesso, restituirà per intero il corpo del delitto, aggiungendovi in più un quinto, e lo darà a colui verso il quale si è resa colpevole.

8 Ma se questi non ha prossimo parente a cui si possa restituire il corpo del delitto, questo corpo del delitto restituito spetterà all’Eterno, cioè al sacerdote, oltre al montone espiatorio, mediante il quale si farà l’espiazione per il colpevole.

9 Ogni offerta elevata di tutte le cose consacrate che i figliuoli d’Israele presenteranno al sacerdote, sarà del sacerdote;

10 le cose che uno consacrerà saranno del sacerdote; ciò che uno darà al sacerdote, apparterrà a lui".

11 L’Eterno parlò ancora a Mosè, dicendo:

12 "Parla ai figliuoli d’Israele, e di’ loro: Se una donna si svia dal marito e commette una infedeltà contro di lui;

13 se uno ha relazioni carnali con lei e la cosa è nascosta agli occhi del marito; s’ella si è contaminata in segreto senza che vi sian testimoni contro di lei o ch’ella sia stata còlta sul fatto,

14 ove lo spirito di gelosia s’impossessi del marito e questi diventi geloso della moglie che si è contaminata, ovvero lo spirito di gelosia s’impossessi di lui e questi diventi geloso della moglie che non si è contaminata,

15 quell’uomo menerà la moglie al sacerdote, e porterà un’offerta per lei: un decimo d’efa di farina d’orzo; non vi spanderà sopra olio né vi metterà sopra incenso, perché è un’oblazione di gelosia, un’oblazione commemorativa, destinata a ricordare una iniquità.

16 Il sacerdote farà avvicinare la donna, e la farà stare in piè davanti all’Eterno.

17 Poi il sacerdote prenderà dell’acqua santa in un vaso di terra; prenderà pure della polvere ch’è sul suolo del tabernacolo, e la metterà nell’acqua.

18 Il sacerdote farà quindi stare la donna in piè davanti all’Eterno, le scoprirà il capo e porrà in mano di lei l’oblazione commemorativa, ch’è l’oblazione di gelosia; e il sacerdote avrà in mano l’acqua amara che arreca maledizione

19 Il sacerdote farà giurare quella donna, e le dirà: Se nessun uomo ha dormito teco, e se non ti sei sviata per contaminarti ricevendo un altro invece del tuo marito, quest’acqua amara che arreca maledizione, non ti faccia danno!

20 Ma se tu ti sei sviata ricevendo un altro invece del tuo marito e ti sei contaminata, e altri che il tuo marito ha dormito teco…

21 allora il sacerdote farà giurare la donna con un giuramento d’imprecazione e le dirà: l’Eterno faccia di te un oggetto di maledizione e di esecrazione fra il tuo popolo, facendoti smagrire i fianchi e gonfiare il ventre;

22 e quest’acqua che arreca maledizione, t’entri nelle viscere per farti gonfiare il ventre e smagrire i fianchi! E la donna dirà: Amen! amen!

23 Poi il sacerdote scriverà queste imprecazioni in un rotolo, e le cancellerà con l’acqua amara.

24 Farà bere alla donna quell’acqua amara che arreca maledizione, e l’acqua che arreca maledizione entrerà in lei per produrle amarezza;

25 e il sacerdote prenderà dalle mani della donna l’oblazione di gelosia, agiterà l’oblazione davanti all’Eterno, e l’offrirà sull’altare;

26 e il sacerdote prenderà una manata di quell’oblazione come ricordanza, e la farà fumare sull’altare; poi farà bere l’acqua alla donna.

27 E quando le avrà fatto bere l’acqua, avverrà che, s’ella si è contaminata ed ha commesso una infedeltà contro il marito, l’acqua che arreca maledizione entrerà in lei per produrre amarezza; il ventre le si gonfierà, i suoi fianchi smagriranno, e quella donna diventerà un oggetto di maledizione in mezzo al suo popolo.

28 Ma se la donna non si è contaminata ed è pura, sarà riconosciuta innocente, ed avrà de’ figliuoli.

29 Questa è la legge relativa alla gelosia, per il caso in cui la moglie di uno si svii ricevendo un altro invece del suo marito, e si contamini,

30 e per il caso in cui lo spirito di gelosia s’impossessi del marito, e questi diventi geloso della moglie; egli farà comparire sua moglie davanti all’Eterno, e il sacerdote le applicherà questa legge integralmente.

31 Il marito sarà immune da colpa, ma la donna porterà la pena della sua iniquità".

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 618

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618. And it shall make thy belly bitter.- That this signifies that it was interiorly undelightful, because exteriorly adulterated, is evident from the signification of being bitter, or of bitterness, as denoting undelightfulness from adulterated truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the belly, as denoting that which is interior. The reason why the belly denotes that which is interior, is, that after these words it is said, that "in the mouth it shall be sweet as honey," and by the mouth is meant that which is exterior, for what is received into the mouth, is masticated and passes into the belly, and thus goes from the exterior to the interior, for it enters into the viscera of man. But concerning the signification of belly, we shall speak presently. The reason why bitter or bitterness signifies that which is undelightful from adulterated truth, and that therefore to make bitter signifies to render undelightful, is, that what is sweet becomes bitter, and thus undelightful, by admixture with anything offensive, thence comes the bitterness of wormwood, gall, and myrrh. Now because "sweet" signifies what is delightful from the good of truth, and the truth of good, therefore "bitter" signifies what is undelightful from adulterated truth. What is undelightful is not perceived and felt by any man in the natural world as bitter, but by spirits and angels in the spiritual world, for all adulterated good of truth, when turned with them into taste, is sensitively perceived as bitter. For spirits and angels have taste equally as men, but the taste of spirits and angels flows from a spiritual origin, whereas that of men is from a natural origin. The bitter taste with spirits is from the adulterated truth of good, but, with men, from the mixture of the sweet with the offensive. The sensation of bitterness with John was also from a spiritual origin, for he was then in the spirit, otherwise he could not have eaten the little book. By adulterated truth is signified the truth of good applied to evil and mingled with its falsity, which is the case when the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, are applied to filthy loves, and thus mingled with evils. This is the undelightfulness here signified by the bitterness of the belly.

[2] The signification of what is interior in the Word, that is, of the interior things of the Word, shall be briefly explained. The interior things of the Word are those contained in its internal or spiritual sense; these are genuine truths; to these correspond the exterior truths of the Word, which are those in the external or natural sense, called the sense of the letter and literal sense. When the exterior things of the Word, or the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter or literal sense, are falsified and adulterated, then the interior truths of the Word are falsified and adulterated. When therefore man applies the Word in the sense of the letter to the evils of his earthly loves, then it becomes undelightful to the angels, who are in the internal or spiritual sense, and this undelightfulness is like the undelightfulness of what is bitter. It is evident from these things, that by the little book shall be bitter, and shall make thy belly bitter, is signified, that the Word was interiorly undelightful; but the undelightfulness of which we have just treated is spiritual undelightfulness. But spiritual-natural undelightfulness, which is also here signified by bitterness, arises from the fact that the truth of doctrine, which is collected interiorly from the sense of the letter of the Word, and is called its literal sense, is undelightful to those who are in the falsities of evil. For the subject here treated of is the understanding of the Word by the men of the church at its end, when they are, for the most part, in falsities from evil; and then the falsities of evil, confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, are delightful to them, but truths confirmed from the literal sense of the Word are undelightful. This also is the signification of the little book being in the mouth sweet as honey, but making the belly bitter.

[3] That bitter signifies adulterated truth of good, is evident also from the Word where bitter is mentioned, as in the following places.

Thus in Isaiah:

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink" (5:20, 22).

That good and truth adulterated are here signified by bitter, is evident, for it is said, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness," by which are signified the adulteration of good, and the falsification of truth. For good is adulterated when good is called evil and evil good, and truth is falsified when darkness is put for light and light for darkness, darkness denoting falsities, and light denoting truths. It is therefore evident from these things that similar things are signified by putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, also by its being said, "Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;" by them that are mighty to drink wine are signified those who adulterate the truth of the Word, and by men of strength to mingle strong drink, are signified those who falsify it, wine and strong drink denoting the truths of the Word, and mighty men, and men of strength, those who excel in ingenuity and skill in adulterating them.

[4] Again, in the same prophet:

"The new wine (mustum) mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. They shall not drink wine (vinum) with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it" (24:7, 9).

Here, by the new wine, which shall mourn, and by the vine which shall languish, is signified the truth of the Word and of the church, which is destroyed, new wine denoting the truth of the Word, and the vine, the truth of the doctrine of the church. By, all the merry-hearted do sigh, and by, they shall not drink wine with a song, is signified, that internal blessedness of mind and happiness of heart will perish, because the truth of spiritual good is destroyed. Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it, signifies that the truth of good will be undelightful by its falsification and adulteration.

[5] It is said in Moses, that the waters of Marah, which they could not drink because of their bitterness, were healed by wood cast into them (Exodus 15:23, 25). The waters of Marah which they could not drink because of their bitterness, represented truths adulterated; for waters signify truths, and bitterness signifies adulteration. The healing of the waters by the wood which was cast into them, represented the good of love and of life shaking off falsity and opening truth, and thus restoring it. For all truth is adulterated from evil of life and of love, therefore it is opened and restored by the good of love and of life, because all truth is of good, and the good of love is like fire, from which truth appears in the light.

[6] The same thing was signified by the pottage into which the sons of the prophets cast bitter gourds, or grapes of the field, which Elisha healed by casting in fine flour (2 Kings 4:38-41). By the pottage into which they cast bitter gourds, is signified the Word falsified; and by the fine flour which was cast in, by which it was healed, is signified truth from good; for truth which is from good dissipates the falsities which produce falsification.

[7] Since the sons of Jacob perverted all the truths of the Word, and by application to themselves and to their earthly loves, falsified and adulterated them, it is therefore said of them in the song of Moses, that their vine was as the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah, and their grapes, grapes of gall, and clusters of bitternesses (Deuteronomy 32:32).

By a vine is signified the church as to truth, consequently also the truth of the church; and by grapes are signified goods thence, which are the goods of charity, and by clusters, the goods of faith; hence it is evident that by clusters of bitternesses are signified adulterated goods of faith.

[8] Again, it is said that waters of the curse were to be given to a woman accused by her husband of adultery; if she were guilty, those waters would become bitternesses in her, and her belly would swell and her thigh fall away (Num. 5:12-29).

The marriage of a man (vir) and wife signifies the marriage of truth and good, for love truly conjugial descends from that spiritual marriage. Adultery therefore signifies the conjunction of falsity and evil, and this was the reason why, if she were guilty, the water became bitternesses, which signifies the adulteration of good. And because the belly signified conjugial love, like the womb, and also the thigh, therefore the belly swelled and the thigh fell away, which, in the spiritual sense, signifies that the conjugial [principle] perished, or spiritual and natural conjugial love itself, the womb or belly signifying that spiritual conjugial love, and the thigh the natural conjugial love. From these things it is evident that bitter and bitterness, in general, signify the falsification and adulteration of truth and good, and that the various species thereof are signified by gall, wormwood, myrrh, wild grapes, bitter gourds, and many other things.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.