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Jeremiah 32

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1 The word that was to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

2 And then the host of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was held·​·back in the court of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah.

3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had held· him ·back, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus says Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;

4 and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out·​·of the hand of the Chaldeans, but giving he shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with his mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;

5 and he shall make Zedekiah go to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says Jehovah; though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?

6 And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come to thee, saying, Buy for thee my field that is in Anathoth; for the right* of redemption is for thee to Buy it.

8 And Hanameel the son of my uncle came to me, according·​·to the word of Jehovah, to the court of the prison and said to me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of possession is thine, and the redemption is thine; Buy it for thyself. And I knew that this was the word of Jehovah.

9 And I bought the field of Hanameel the son of my uncle, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the silver; seven shekels and ten was the silver.

10 And I wrote in the letter, and sealed it, and called· witnesses ·to·​·witness, and weighed him the silver in the balances.

11 And I took the letter of what was bought, both that which was sealed according to the commandment and statute, and that which was revealed;

12 and I gave the letter of what was bought to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel the son of my uncle, and before the eyes of the witnesses that wrote on the letter of what was bought, before the eyes of all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

13 And I commanded Baruch before their eyes, saying,

14 Thus says Jehovah of Armies, the God of Israel: Take these letters, this letter of what is bought, and of what is sealed, and this letter of what is revealed; and put them into a pottery vessel, so·​·that they may stand many days.

15 For thus says Jehovah of Armies, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be bought yet·​·again in this land.

16 After I had given the letter of what was bought unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Jehovah, saying,

17 Alas, Lord Jehovih*! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy stretched·​·out arm, and there is not any thing too wondrous for Thee;

18 thou doest mercy unto thousands, and repayest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them; the Great, the Mighty God, Jehovah of Armies, is His name,

19 great in counsel, and mighty* in act; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of man, to give to each·​·man according·​·to his ways, and according·​·to the fruit of his actions;

20 who hast set signs and miracles in the land of Egypt, even·​·to this day, and in Israel, and among mankind; and hast made Thee a name, as at this day;

21 and hast brought·​·out Thy people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs, and with miracles, and with a firm hand, and with a stretched·​·out arm, and with great fear;

22 and hast given them this land, which Thou didst promise to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

23 and they came, and possessed it; but they obeyed not Thy voice, and walked not in Thy law; all that Thou commandedst them to do they have not done; and Thou hast caused all this evil to befall them.

24 Behold, the embankments! They have come to the city to take her; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what Thou hast spoken shall be; and, behold, Thou shalt see.

25 And Thou hast said to me, O Lord Jehovih, Buy for thee the field with silver, and call· witnesses ·to·​·witness; and the city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

26 And the word of Jehovah was unto Jeremiah, saying,

27 Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh; is there any thing too· wondrous ·for Me?

28 Therefore thus says Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture her;

29 and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and kindle a fire on this city and burn· her ·up, together with the houses upon whose roofs they have burned·​·incense to Baal, and poured·​·out poured·​·offerings unto other gods, in·​·order·​·to provoke Me.

30 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have only done evil in My eyes from their youth; for the sons of Israel have only provoked Me with the deeds of their hands, says Jehovah.

31 For this city has been to Me the cause of My anger and of My fury from the day that they built her and even·​·to this day; to remove her from before My face,

32 on·​·account·​·of all the evil of the sons of Israel and of the sons of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and those who dwell·​·in Jerusalem.

33 And they have faced unto Me the back, and not the face; and I taught them, getting·​·up·​·early and teaching them, but they have not hearkened to receive discipline.

34 But they set their detestable things in the house that is called by My name to defile it.

35 And they built the high·​·places of Baal, which are in the ravine of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass·​·through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My heart, that they should do this abomination, in·​·order·​·to cause Judah to sin.

36 And now therefore thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof you say, It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

37 behold, I will bring· them ·together out·​·of all lands, whither I have expelled them in My anger, and in My fury, and in great rage; and I will return them unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell securely.

38 And they shall be My people, and I will be their God;

39 and I will give them one heart, and one way, to fear Me all the days, for the good of them, and of their sons after them;

40 and I will cut an eternal covenant with them, that I will not turn·​·back from following after them, to do· them ·good; but I will put My fear into their heart, that they shall not turn·​·aside from Me.

41 And I will have·​·joy over them to do· them ·good, and I will plant them in this land in truth with all My heart and with all My soul.

42 For thus says Jehovah: As I have brought to this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good that I spoke concerning them.

43 And the fields shall be bought in this land, of which you say, It is desolate from any man or beast, given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

44 They shall buy fields with the silver, and write letters, and seal them, and call· witnesses ·to·​·witness in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south; for I will cause those in captivity to return, says Jehovah.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 7673

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7673. 'Stretch out your hand' means an exercising of power. This is clear from the meaning of 'stretching out' as that which is connected with the exercising of control, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518. The reason why 'stretching out the hand' means the exercising of power is that there is power in the hand or arm when it is stretched out. When therefore Jehovah is said to stretch out His hand or arm, boundless or infinite power in action is meant. This explains why Jehovah told Moses on so many occasions, when miracles were to be performed, to stretch out his hand or his rod; for example,

Stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, and they will be blood. Exodus 7:19.

Stretch out your hand over the rivers, and cause frogs to rise up. Exodus 8:1-2. 1

Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land, and it will then be lice. Exodus 8:11, 12. 2

Stretch out your hand towards heaven, and there will be hail. Exodus 9:22-23.

Such words would never have been used but for the meaning of 'stretching out the hand' in the highest sense as Jehovah's almighty power.

[2] The same thing is meant by Joshua's being told to stretch out his javelin, described in his book as follows,

Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand towards Ai. When therefore Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand towards Ai, the ambush rose up quickly out of their place and ran, as soon as he stretched out his hand, and came to the city and took it. Joshua did not withdraw his hand which he had stretched out together with the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai had been utterly destroyed. Joshua 8:18-19, 26.

Being representative of God's almighty power, this too, like all other representative actions when they were commanded in those times, had force.

[3] There are a number of other places in which almighty power is described when it says that Jehovah 'stretches out His hand', or else His 'outstretched hand' or His 'outstretched arm' is spoken of. It is described by Jehovah stretching out His hand in Isaiah,

The anger [of Jehovah] has been roused against His people, and He has stretched out His hand over them and struck them, and the mountains were shaken. Isaiah 5:25.

In Ezekiel,

I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him. Ezekiel 14:9, 13.

In the same prophet,

I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations. Ezekiel 25:7.

I will stretch out My hand over Edom, and cut off from it man and beast. I will stretch out My hand over the philistines, and cut off . . . Ezekiel 25:13, 16.

Other places like these are Ezekiel 35:3; Isaiah 31:3; Zephaniah 1:4; 2:13. The use of 'outstretched hand' to describe almighty power occurs in Isaiah,

Jehovah's outstretched hand is over all the nations; who will turn it back? Isaiah 14:26, 27.

In Jeremiah,

I will fight with you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, and in anger and in fury. Jeremiah 21:5.

In Isaiah,

Still His hand is outstretched. Isaiah 9:12, 17; 10:4.

The use of 'outstretched arm' occurs in Jeremiah,

I have made the earth, man, and beast by My great strength and by My outstretched arm. Jeremiah 27:5.

In the same prophet,

You have made heaven and earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm; there is no matter 3 that is too impossible for You. Jeremiah 32:17.

Here it is self-evident that 'outstretched arm' means almighty power. The same applies to many other places in which the expression 'by a strong hand and an outstretched arm' is used, such as Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8; 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Kings 17:36; Jeremiah 32:21; Ezekiel 20:33, 34.

[4] There are places too in which Jehovah is said to 'stretch out the heavens', and in these places also 'stretching out' means almighty power; that is to say, He expands the limits of heaven and fills those who are there with life and wisdom, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens like a thin veil, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, spreads out the earth, gives breath 4 to His people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:5.

In Jeremiah,

. . . He who makes the earth by His power, prepares the world by His wisdom, and stretches out the heavens by His intelligence. Jeremiah 51:15.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

There are still more places besides these, such as Isaiah 44:24; 45:12; Psalms 104:2.

From all this one may now see why Moses was commanded to stretch out his hand and rod, that miracles were performed when he did so, and that 'stretching out the hand' for that reason means the exercising of power, and in the highest sense almighty power.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1Exodus 8:5-6 in English Bibles

2Exodus 8:16-17 in English Bibles

3. or word

4. literally, soul

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