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Exodus 11

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1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 7773

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7773. 'In the eyes of the servants and in the eyes of the people' means with those who were in subordinate positions there. This is clear from the meaning of 'the servants' and 'the people' as those who are subordinate; for 'Pharaoh' represents the chief ones who molested, under whom all the rest were subordinate. Those who were subordinate are meant because the evil no less than the good, or hell no less than heaven, have some system of government, that is to say, people in governing positions and those in subordinate ones, without which society would not hold together. But the way in which one person is subordinated to another in heaven is completely different from the way it happens in hell. In heaven all people are as equals, since one person loves another as brother loves brother; yet one exalts another above himself as that other excels him in intelligence and wisdom. A genuine love of what is good and true causes each one, spontaneously so to speak, to make himself subordinate to those who have a wiser discernment of good than he has and a more intelligent understanding of truth. Subordination in hell however involves domination and consequent ruthlessness. He who dominates behaves ruthlessly towards those who do not agree with every whim he has. For each one regards every one else as an enemy, though outwardly he treats him as a friend in order that they may band together to oppose the violence of others. Their banding together is like that of robbers. Those who are subordinate yearn constantly to dominate and also often break out in revolt. Then conditions there become deplorable, for then they do savage and cruel things to one another. This happens periodically. From all this one may see what subordination is like in the next life.

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