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Deuteronomy 32

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1 Give·​·ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the sayings of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drip·​·down as the rain, what· I ·say shall stream as the dew, as the dewdrops upon the tender·​·herb, and as the raindrops upon the herb;

3 because I will proclaim the name of Jehovah; give ye greatness to our God.

4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of faithfulness and no perversity, just and upright is He.

5 They have corrupted themselves, they are not His sons, it is their blemish; they are a twisted and contorted generation.

6 Do you thus recompense Jehovah, O foolish people and unwise? Is not He thy father that has bought thee? Has He not made thee, and established thee?

7 Remember the days of eternity, understand the years of generation and generation; ask thy father, and he will·​·tell thee; thine elders, and they will say it to thee.

8 When the Most·​·High caused the nations to inherit, when He separated the sons of man, He set·​·up the borders of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel.

9 For Jehovah’s portion is His people; Jacob is the region of His inheritance.

10 He found him in a land of wilderness, and in the void of howling solitude; He led· him ·around, He caused him to understand, He preserved him as the pupil of His eye.

11 As an eagle stirs·​·up its nest, flutters over its young, spreads its wings, takes them, bears them on its wings*;

12 So Jehovah alone did lead him, and there was no foreign god with him.

13 He made him ride on the high·​·places of the earth, that he might eat the bounty of the fields; and He made him to nurse on honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock;

14 butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs and rams, of the sons of Bashan, and of the he-goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the unmixed blood of the grape.

15 But Jeshurun became·​·fat, and kicked; thou art become·​·fat, thou art·​·thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he abandoned God who made him, and disparaged the Rock of his salvation.

16 They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him.

17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God; to gods that they knew not, to new gods that came from nearby, at which your fathers shuddered not.

18 Of the Rock who begot thee thou hast been oblivious, and hast forgotten God who brought thee forth*.

19 And Jehovah saw it, and He disdained them, because of the provocation of His sons, and of His daughters.

20 And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their posterity shall be; for they are a very perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness.

21 They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked Me with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will provoke them with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is ignited in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell, and shall eat·​·up the earth and her produce, and set·​·flame·​·to the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will add against them evils; I will consume·​·all My arrows on them.

24 They shall be burnt with famine, and devoured with embers, and with bitter disaster; I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of the snakes of the dust.

25 The sword outside, and terror from the chambers, shall bereave both the young·​·man and the virgin, the nursing infant with the man of gray·​·hairs.

26 I said, I would push· them ·to·​·the·​·corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from man;

27 except that I be·​·afraid of the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should make· themselves ·unrecognizable, and lest they should say, Our hands are lifted·​·high, and Jehovah has not worked all this.

28 For they are a nation void* of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

29 Would·​·that they were·​·wise, that they had·​·intelligence in this, that they would understand their future!

30 How should one pursue a thousand, and two put· myriads ·to·​·flight, except their Rock had sold them, and Jehovah had closed· them ·in?

31 For their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, the bitter clusters are theirs.

33 their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of adders.

34 Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed among My treasures?

35 To Me belongs vengeance, and repayment; their foot shall move in due time; for the day of their downfall is near, and their fortunes* shall hurry upon them.

36 For Jehovah shall make·​·judgment for His people, and repent Himself for His servants; for He sees that their hand* is spent, and nothing is restrained or forsaken.

37 And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they confide,

38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their poured·​·offerings? Let them rise·​·up and help you, and be a hiding·​·place over you.

39 See now that I, I am He, and there is no god with Me; I put·​·to·​·death, and I make·​·alive; I strike, and I heal; and there is none who can rescue from My hand.

40 For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I am alive to eternity.

41 If I sharpen My lightning sword, and My hand seizes on judgment; I will return vengeance to My adversaries, and will repay those who hate Me.

42 I will make· My arrows ·drunk from blood, and My sword shall eat·​·up flesh, from the blood of the slain and of the captivity, from the gall of revenging* the enemy.

43 Sing·​·aloud, O ye nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will return vengeance upon His adversaries, and will make·​·atonement for His ground for His people.

44 And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea* the son of Nun.

45 And Moses completed speaking all these words to all Israel;

46 and he said to them, Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your sons to take·​·heed to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life; and through this thing you shall prolong your days on the ground, whither you cross·​·over Jordan to possess it.

48 And Jehovah spoke to Moses that same day, saying,

49 Go·​·up to this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, which is over before Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession;

50 and die in the mountain whither thou goest up, and be gathered to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;

51 because you trespassed against Me among the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you sanctified Me not in the midst of the sons of Israel.

52 For thou shalt see the land in·​·front·​·of thee; but thither thou shalt not go·​·in to the land which I give to the sons of Israel.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 5117

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5117. 'And its clusters ripened into grapes' means spiritual truth when joined to celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'ripening' as the advancement of rebirth or regeneration even to the point where truth is joined to good, and so the two are joined together; and from the meaning of 'clusters' as the truth of spiritual good, and 'grapes' as the good of celestial truth; in this instance both of these as they exist within the sensory awareness represented by 'the cupbearer' is meant. The joining together of them within that sensory awareness may be likened to the ripening of clusters into grapes, for in rebirth or regeneration every truth aims to become joined to good. At first truth is unreceptive of life and is not therefore fruitful. This stage is represented in the fruits of trees while they are ripening. In unripe fruit, called 'clusters' here, that state when truth is still predominant is represented, whereas in ripe fruit, called 'grapes' here, the state when good has predominance is represented. This predominance of good is also represented in the flavour and the sweetness that one finds in ripe grapes. But regarding the joining together of truth and good within the sensory awareness subject to the understanding part, nothing more can be said as these are arcana too deep for anyone to understand. First of all one needs to have a thorough knowledge of the state of the celestial-spiritual and of sensory awareness, and also of the state of the natural in which that joining together of truth and good takes place.

[2] 'Grapes' means the good of the spiritual man, and so means charity. This may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 1 He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. Isaiah 5:1-2, 4.

'A vineyard' stands for the spiritual Church; 'he looked for it to yield grapes' for the good deeds of charity; 'but it yielded wild grapes' for the bad deeds of hatred and revenge.

[3] In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it. Isaiah 65:8.

'The new wine in the cluster' stands for truth obtained from good within the natural.

[4] In Jeremiah,

I will surely gather them, says Jehovah; there will be no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree. Jeremiah 8:13.

'No grapes on the vine' stands for the non-existence of any interior or rational good, 'no figs on the fig tree' for the non-existence of any exterior or natural good; for 'the vine' means the understanding part, as shown just above in 5113. When truth and good exist joined together there, 'the vine' means the rational, for the rational exists as a result of that joining together. As regards 'the fig' meaning the good of the natural or exterior man, see 217.

[5] In Hosea,

Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel, like the first fruit on the fig tree, in its beginning, I saw your fathers. Hosea 9:10.

'Grapes in the wilderness' stands for rational good not yet made spiritual; 'the first fruit on the fig tree' in a similar way for natural good. 'Israel' stands for the ancient spiritual Church when it first began, 'fathers' here and elsewhere being not the sons of Jacob but those people among whom the Ancient Church was first established.

[6] In Micah,

There was no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first fruit. The holy man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. Micah 7:1-2.

'Cluster to eat' stands for the good of charity in its first beginnings, 'the first fruit' for the truth of faith at the same stage also.

[7] In Amos,

Behold, the days are coming, so that the ploughman catches up with the reaper, and the treader of grapes with him who sows seed. The mountains will drip new wine, and all the hills will flow down with it. And I will bring again the captivity of My people, in order that they may build the devastated cities, and may settle down and plant vineyards, and may drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. Amos 9:13-14.

This refers to the establishment of the spiritual Church, which is described in this manner. The joining of spiritual good to its truth is foretold by the statement that the ploughman will catch up with the reaper, and the joining of spiritual truth to its good by the statement that the treader of grapes will catch up with the one who sows seed. The good deeds of love and charity resulting from that joining together are meant by the statement that the mountains will drip new wine and the hills will flow down with it. 'Bringing again the captivity of the people stands for deliverance from falsities, 'building the devastated cities' for the correction of falsified teachings regarding the truth, 'settling down and planting vineyards' for a development of what constitutes the spiritual Church, 'drinking their wine' for making the truths of that Church one's own, which truths teach about charity, and 'making gardens and eating their fruit' for making one's own the forms of good derived from these. Anyone can see that building cities, planting vineyards, drinking wine, making gardens and eating their fruit are descriptions of merely natural activities, which but for the spiritual sense would hold nothing Divine within them.

[8] In Moses,

He washes his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:11.

This refers to the Lord. 'Wine' stands for spiritual good originating in Divine love, 'the blood of grapes' for celestial good originating in the same.

[9] In the same author,

Butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams, the breed 2 of Bashan, and of goats, with kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you drink unmixed wine. Deuteronomy 32:14.

This refers to the Ancient Church whose good deeds of love and charity are described in this manner. Each particular product referred to means some specific kind of good. 'The blood of the grape' means spiritual-celestial good, the expression used for the Divine in heaven, coming forth from the Lord. Wine is also called 'the blood' of grapes because wine and blood mean holy truth coming forth from the Lord, though 'wine' is used in reference to the spiritual Church and 'blood' to the celestial Church. For the same reason wine has also been prescribed in the Holy Supper.

[10] In the same author,

From the vine of Sodom comes their vine, and from the fields of Gomorrah; its grapes are grapes of poison, they have clusters of bitterness. Deuteronomy 32:32.

This refers to the Jewish Church. 'From the vine of Sodom comes their vine, and from the fields of Gomorrah' stands for the fact that the understanding part is occupied by falsities that are the product of hellish love. 'Its grapes are grapes of poison, they have clusters of bitterness' stands for the fact that the will part is in the same predicament; for as 'the grape' in the good sense means charity, it is therefore used in reference to the will part, though to the will present within the understanding part. The same is true in the contrary sense, for all truth belongs essentially to the understanding, and all good essentially to the will.

[11] In John,

The angel said, Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the earth, for its grapes have ripened. Revelation 14:18.

'Gathering the clusters of the earth' stands for destroying all existence of charity.

[12] In Matthew,

By their fruits you will know them. Do people gather grapes from thorns, and figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16.

And in Luke,

Every tree is known by its own fruit; for people do not collect figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble-bush. Luke 6:44.

The subject here being charity towards the neighbour, it is said that they will be recognized 'by their fruits', which are the good deeds of charity. Internal good deeds of charity are meant by 'grapes', external ones by 'figs'.

[13] The law was laid down in the Jewish Church,

When you enter your companion's vineyard you shall eat grapes at your pleasure until you have had enough; 3 but you shall not put them into your vessel. Deuteronomy 23:24.

This law implies that when anyone is among others whose teachings and religion are different from his own, he is free to learn about and welcome their charitable deeds, but he is not free to adopt the same charitable practices and link them into his own truths. 'A vineyard', meaning the Church, describes a place where teaching or religion exists; 'grapes' means the good deeds of charity, 'vessel' the truth that the Church possesses.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, on a horn of a son of oil

2. literally, the sons

3. literally, eat grapes in accordance with your soul, to your satisfaction

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