Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones -- and ultimately from the Lord, who is in a sense the most internal spiritual level of all. This is generally called "influx" and "perception" in the Writings, meaning they are thoughts and feelings that flow in in a complete way from the Lord, rather than being things we have to think about and figure out. On a number of occasions "speak" and "say" are used together; in these cases "speak" refers more to intellectual instruction in matters of thought and "say" refers more to feelings and affections that flow in directly.

2917. 'I will bury my dead from before me' means that He would emerge and rise up out of the night prevailing among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'burying' as rising again, dealt with immediately above in 2916, and from the meaning of 'one who is dead' as a state when shadow or night, which is the lack of knowledge, has fallen, also dealt with above in 2908, 2912, from which the Lord emerges and rises again with man when He is acknowledged. Previously He is enveloped in night because He does not appear. He rises again with every person who is being regenerated.