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Hosea 12

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1 2 Ephraim pastures on wind, and pursues the east·​·wind; all the day he multiplies lies and devastation; and they do cut a covenant with Assyria, and oil is brought into Egypt.

2 3 And Jehovah has a strife with Judah, and will visit Jacob according·​·to his ways; according·​·to his actions will He return to him.

3 4 In the belly he supplanted his brother, and by his vigor he contended as·​·a·​·prince with God;

4 5 and he had contended as* a prince with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and he asked· him ·for·​·grace: He found him in Bethel, and there He spoke with us;

5 6 even Jehovah God of Armies; Jehovah is his remembrance.

6 7 And return thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

7 8 Canaan*, the balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress.

8 9 And Ephraim said, Surely I am·​·rich, I have·​·found wealth* for myself; in all my toil they shall not find iniquity in me which is sin.

9 10 And I Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 11 And I will speak by the prophets, and I will multiply visions, and by the hand of the prophets I will use·​·likenesses.

11 12 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity; they sacrifice oxen in Gilgal; yes, their altars are as heaps upon the furrows of the fields.

12 13 And Jacob ran·​·away into the field of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

13 14 And by a prophet Jehovah brought· Israel ·up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he guarded.

14 15 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most·​·bitterly; and He shall abandon his bloods* on him, and his reproach shall his Lord return to him.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 3574

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3574. 'And he came near and kissed him' means presence and union. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming near' as presence, and from the meaning of 'kissing' as uniting or joining together resulting from affection, 3573. That 'kissing' has this meaning is evident from other places in the Word, as in David,

Serve Jehovah with fear, and kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish in the way; for His wrath will shortly blaze up. Blessed are all who trust in Him. Psalms 2:11-12.

This refers to the Lord, whose Divine Human is 'the Son'. 'Kissing Him' is being joined to Him by means of faith grounded in love. In the same author,

Let mercy and truth meet, let righteousness and peace kiss each other. Psalms 85:10.

'Let righteousness and peace kiss each other' stands for let them join themselves to each other. In Hosea,

Ephraim has uttered what is horrible and has become guilty through Baal. And now they sin more and more; they are making for themselves a molten image from their silver, even an idol by their own intelligence, the complete work of craftsman to these saying, Those offering human sacrifice kiss the calves. Hosea 13:1-2.

[2] 'Ephraim' stands for intelligence, in this case one's own intelligence. That is, 'Ephraim' stands for those who believe and wish to believe that it is not the Lord who is the source of their wisdom. 'A molten image made from their silver' stands for good made false. 'The complete work of craftsmen' stands for intelligence that is one's own. Those who are such are said to 'kiss the calves', that is, to embrace magic and ally themselves to it. In the first Book of Kings,

Jehovah said to Elijah, I have caused seven thousand to be left over in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18.

'Kissing' stands for becoming joined to 'Baal' because of one's affection for him - and so stands for worshipping him.

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