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Ezekiel 16

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1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)

24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.

28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.

30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:

36 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;

37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.

58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.

59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:

63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.

   

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Husband

  
Älteres Paar im Kücheninterieur, by Friedrich Friedländer (1825–1901)

In general, men are driven by intellect and women by affections, and because of this men in the Bible generally represent knowledge and truth and women generally represent love and the desire for good. This generally carries over into marriage, where the man's growing knowledge and understanding and the woman's desire to be good and useful are a powerful combination. In many cases in the Bible, then, "husband" refers to things of truth and understanding, much as "man" does. Magnificent things can happen in a true marriage, though, when both partners are looking to the Lord. If a husband opens his heart to his wife, it's as though she can implant her loves inside him, transforming his intellectual urges into a love of growing wise. She in turn can grow in her love of that blooming wisdom, and use it for joy in their married life and in their caring for children and others in their life. Many couples, even in heaven, stay in that state -- called "Spiritual" -- growing deeper and deeper to eternity. There is the potential, though, for the couple to be transformed: through the nurturing love of his wife the husband can pass from a love of growing wise to an actual love of wisdom itself, and the wife can be transformed from the love of her husband's wisdom into the wisdom of that love -- the actual expression of the love of the Lord they have built together. In that state -- called "Celestial" -- the husband represents love and the desire for good, and the wife represents truth and knowledge.

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Apocalypse Explained # 31

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31. Verse 6. And hath made us kings and priests, signifies that from Him we are in His spiritual and celestial kingdom. This is evident from the signification of "kings," as meaning those who are in truths from good; and since they constitute the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as meaning those who are in His spiritual kingdom. That these are signified by "kings" in the Word, will appear from what follows. The above is evident also from the signification of "priests," as meaning those who are in the good of love; and since these constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom, they also are those who are in His celestial kingdom. (That there are two kingdoms, into which the heavens are in general divided, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28, and that the spiritual kingdom is called the Lord's regal kingdom, and the celestial kingdom His priestly kingdom, n. 24.) In any places in the prophetic Word, kings are mentioned, and he that is ignorant of the internal sense believes that by "kings" are there meant kings; kings, however, are not meant, but all those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, from the Lord. The reason of this is, that the Lord is the sole king, and those who from Him are in truths from good are called His "sons;" for this reason the same are meant by "princes," by "sons of the kingdom," by "sons of kings," and also by "kings;" and in a sense abstracted from the idea of persons, as it is in heaven, truths from good are meant, or, what is the same, faith from charity; since truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[2] That kings are not meant can be seen simply from its here being said that Jesus Christ "hath made us kings and priests"; and afterwards:

And hast made us to be unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:10);

and in Matthew:

The good seed sown in the field are the sons of the kingdom (Matthew 13:38);

the "seed of the field" are truths from good with man from the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 3373, 10248, 10249). Everyone, moreover, may perceive that the Lord will not make all those here treated of to be kings, but that he calls them kings from the power and the glory which those have who from the Lord are in truths from good. From this it can now be seen that by "king," in the prophetic Word, is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, and by "kings" and "princes," those who from the Lord are in truths from good, and as most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, that "kings" signify in that sense those who are in falsities from evil.

[3] That by "King" in the Word is meant the Lord in respect to Divine truth, is clear from the words of the Lord Himself to Pilate:

Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest it, because I am a king. For this have I been born, and for this am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is in the truth heareth My voice. Pilate said unto Him, What is truth? (John 18:37-38).

From the question of Pilate, "What is truth," it is clear that he understood that truth was called "king" by the Lord; but as he was a Gentile, and knew nothing from the Word, he could not be taught that Divine truth is from the Lord, and that He is Divine truth; therefore, immediately after his question:

He went out to the Jews, saying, I find no fault in him; and afterwards put upon the cross, This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. And when the chiefs of the priests said unto him, Write not, The king of the Jews, but that He saith I am the king of the Jews, Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written (John 19:4, 19:14-22).

[4] When these things are understood, it may be known what is meant by "kings" in the following passages in Revelation:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun rising (Revelation 16:12).

The great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication (Revelation 17:1-2).

The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come. And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive power as kings with the beast for one hour. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:9, 10, 12, 14).

And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which hath the kingdom over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18).

Of the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her (Revelation 18:3).

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together, to make war against Him that sat on the horse and against His army (Revelation 19:19).

And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it (Revelation 21:24).

In these passages by "kings" are not meant kings, but all who are either in truths from good, or in falsities from evil, as was said before. Likewise in Daniel:

By the king of the south and by the king of the north, who made war against each other (Daniel 11:40

By "the king of the south" are there meant those who are in the light of truth from good, by "the king of the north" those who are in darkness from evil. (That "south" in the Word signifies those who are in the light of truth from good, see Arcana Coelestia 1458, 3708, 3195, 5672, 9642; and "north" those who are in the darkness of falsity from evil, n. 3708, and in general, in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-153, where The Four Quarters in Heaven are treated of.)

[5] "Kings" are also frequently mentioned by the prophets in the Old Testament; and there likewise are meant those who, from the Lord, are in truths from good, and in a contrary sense, those who are in falsities from evil; as in Isaiah:

He shall disperse 1 many nations: kings shall shut their mouths upon Him; for that which had not been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood (Isaiah 52:15).

In the same:

The Zion of the Holy One of Israel, thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings (Isaiah 40:14, 16).

Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and the chief women thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth (Isaiah 49:23; and 14:9 elsewhere, as in Isaiah 14:9; 24:21; 60:10; Jeremiah 2:26; 4:9; 49:38; Lamentations 2:6, 9; Ezekiel 7:26, 27; Hosea 3:4; Zephaniah 1:8; Psalms 2:10; 110:5; Genesis 49:20).

[6] Since "kings" signify those who, from the Lord, are in truths from good, it was a custom derived from ancient times for kings, when they were crowned, to receive such insignia as signify truths from good: as for the king to be anointed with oil, to wear a crown of gold, to hold a scepter in his right hand, to be clothed with a purple cloak, to sit upon a throne of silver, and to ride with the royal insignia upon a white horse; for "oil" signifies good from which is truth (See Arcana Coelestia 886[1-2], 4638, 9780, 9954, 10011, 10261, 10268-10269); a "crown of gold" upon the head has a like meaning (n. 9930); a "scepter," which is a staff, signifies the power of truth from good (n. 4581, 4876, 4966); a "cloak" and a "robe," Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom (n. 9825, 10005); and "purple," the spiritual love of good (n. 9467); a "throne," the kingdom of truth from good (n. 5313, 6397, 8625); "silver," that truth itself (n. 1551-1552, 2954, 5658); a "white horse," the understanding enlightened from truths (See the small work on The White Horse 1-5. That the ceremonies observed at the coronation of kings involve such things, but that the knowledge thereof is at this day lost, see also Arcana Coelestia 4581, 4966).

[7] As it is known from these things what is meant by a "king" in the Word, I will add to the above:

Why the Lord, when He entered Jerusalem, sat upon the foal of an ass, and the people then proclaimed Him king, and also strewed their garments in the way (Matthew 21:1-8; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:14-16).

This is predicted in Zechariah:

Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, just and having salvation; riding upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15).

The reason was, that to sit upon an ass and the foal of an ass was the distinctive mark of the highest judge and of a king; as can be seen from the following passages:

My heart is towards the lawgivers of Israel, ye who ride upon white asses (Judges 5:9-10).

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgivers from between his feet, till Shiloh come; who shall bind his ass's foal to the vine, and the son of his she-ass to the noble vine (Genesis 49:10, 11).

As sitting on an ass, and the foal of an ass, was such a distinctive mark:

Judges rode upon white she-asses (Judges 5:9-10);

And his sons upon asses' colts (Judges 10:4; 12:14);

And the king himself when crowned, upon a she-mule (1 Kings 1:33);

And his sons upon mules (2 Samuel 13:29).

One who does not know the signification of "horse," "mule," and "the foal of an ass," in a representative sense, will suppose that the Lord's riding upon the foal of an ass was significative of misery and humiliation. But it signified royal magnificence; for this reason the people then proclaimed the Lord king, and strewed their garments upon the way. This was done when He went to Jerusalem, because by "Jerusalem" is signified the church (as may be seen in the little work on The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 6; and that "garments" signify truths clothing and serving good, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9215-9216, 9952, 10536; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182).

[8] From this it is now clear what is signified by the "King" and by "kings," in the Word, so also what by the "Anointed," "Messiah," and "Christ;" for "Anointed," "Messiah," and "Christ," like "King," signify the Lord as to Divine truth proceeding from His Divine good; for a king is called "anointed;" and "anointed" in the Hebrew is Messiah, and in the Greek Christ. But that the Lord, as to the Divine Human, was alone "the Anointed of Jehovah," since in Him alone was the Divine good of Divine Love from conception, for He was conceived of Jehovah, but that all that were anointed were only representatives of Him (See Arcana Coelestia n. 9954, 10011, 10268-10269). But "priests" signify such good as exists in the celestial kingdom (See in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that priests represented the Lord, as to Divine good, n. 2015, 6148; that the priesthood was representative of the Lord as to the work of salvation, since this was from the Divine good of His Divine Love, see n. 9809; that the priesthood of Aaron, of his sons, and of the Levites, was representative of the work of salvation, in successive order, see n. Arcana Coelestia 10017; that from this "the priesthood," and "priesthoods," in the Word signified good of love, which is from the Lord, see n. 9806, 9809; that by the two names, "Jesus" and "Christ," is signified both His priesthood and His royalty, that is, by "Jesus" is signified Divine good, and by "Christ" Divine truth, n. 3004, 3005, 3009; that priests and likewise kings who do not acknowledge the Lord signify the opposite, namely, evil, and falsity from evil, n. 3670).

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The Hebrew has "sprinkle," as found also in Arcana Coelestia 2015.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.