Bible

 

Levítico 26

Studie

   

1 Não fareis para vós ídolos, nem para vós levantareis imagem esculpida, nem coluna, nem poreis na vossa terra pedra com figuras, para vos inclinardes a ela; porque eu sou o Senhor vosso Deus.

2 Guardareis os meus sábados, e reverenciareis o meu santuário. Eu sou o Senhor.

3 Se andardes nos meus estatutos, e guardardes os meus mandamentos e os cumprires,

4 eu vos darei as vossas chuvas a seu tempo, e a terra dará o seu produto, e as árvores do campo darão os seus frutos;

5 a debulha vos continuará até a vindima, e a vindima até a semeadura; comereis o vosso pão a fartar, e habitareis seguros na vossa terra.

6 Também darei paz na terra, e vos deitareis, e ninguém vos amedrontará. Farei desaparecer da terra os animais nocivos, e pela vossa terra não passará espada.

7 Perseguireis os vossos inimigos, e eles cairão à espada diante de vós.

8 Cinco de vós perseguirão a um cento deles, e cem de vós perseguirão a dez mil; e os vossos inimigos cairão à espada diante de vos.

9 Outrossim, olharei para vós, e vos farei frutificar, e vos multiplicarei, e confirmarei o meu pacto convosco.

10 E comereis da colheita velha por longo tempo guardada, até afinal a removerdes para dar lugar à nova.

11 Também porei o meu tabernáculo no meio de vós, e a minha alma não vos abominará.

12 Andarei no meio de vós, e serei o vosso Deus, e vós sereis o meu povo.

13 Eu sou o Senhor vosso Deus, que vos tirei da terra dos egípcios, para que não fôsseis seus escravos; e quebrei os canzis do vosso jugo, e vos fiz andar erguidos.

14 Mas, se não me ouvirdes, e não cumprirdes todos estes mandamentos,

15 e se rejeitardes os meus estatutos, e a vossa alma desprezar os meus preceitos, de modo que não cumprais todos os meus mandamentos, mas violeis o meu pacto,

16 então eu, com efeito, vos farei isto: porei sobre vós o terror, a tísica e a febre ardente, que consumirão os olhos e farão definhar a vida; em vão semeareis a vossa semente, pois os vossos inimigos a comerão.

17 Porei o meu rosto contra vós, e sereis feridos diante de vossos inimigos; os que vos odiarem dominarão sobre vós, e fugireis sem que ninguém vos persiga.

18 Se nem ainda com isto me ouvirdes, prosseguirei em castigar-vos sete vezes mais, por causa dos vossos pecados.

19 Pois quebrarei a soberba do vosso poder, e vos farei o céu como ferro e a terra como bronze.

20 Em vão se gastará a vossa força, porquanto a vossa terra não dará o seu produto, nem as árvores da terra darão os seus frutos.

21 Ora, se andardes contrariamente para comigo, e não me quiseres ouvir, trarei sobre vos pragas sete vezes mais, conforme os vossos pecados.

22 Enviarei para o meio de vós as feras do campo, as quais vos desfilharão, e destruirão o vosso gado, e vos reduzirão a pequeno número; e os vossos caminhos se tornarão desertos.

23 Se nem ainda com isto quiserdes voltar a mim, mas continuardes a andar contrariamente para comigo,

24 eu também andarei contrariamente para convosco; e eu, eu mesmo, vos ferirei sete vezes mais, por causa dos vossos pecados.

25 Trarei sobre vós a espada, que executará a vingança do pacto, e vos aglomerareis nas vossas cidades; então enviarei a peste entre vós, e sereis entregues na mão do inimigo.

26 Quando eu vos quebrar o sustento do pão, dez mulheres cozerão o vosso pão num só forno, e de novo vo-lo entregarão por peso; e comereis, mas não vos fartareis.

27 Se nem ainda com isto me ouvirdes, mas continuardes a andar contrariamente para comigo,

28 também eu andarei contrariamente para convosco com furor; e vos castigarei sete vezes mais, por causa dos vossos pecados.

29 E comereis a carne de vossos filhos e a carne de vossas filhas.

30 Destruirei os vossos altos, derrubarei as vossas imagens do sol, e lançarei os vossos cadáveres sobre os destroços dos vossos ídolos; e a minha alma vos abominará.

31 Reduzirei as vossas cidades a deserto, e assolarei os vossos santuários, e não cheirarei o vosso cheiro suave.

32 Assolarei a terra, e sobre ela pasmarão os vossos inimigos que nela habitam.

33 Espalhar-vos-ei por entre as nações e, desembainhando a espada, vos perseguirei; a vossa terra será assolada, e as vossas cidades se tornarão em deserto.

34 Então a terra folgará nos seus sábados, todos os dias da sua assolação, e vós estareis na terra dos vossos inimigos; nesse tempo a terra descansará, e folgará nos seus sábados.

35 Por todos os dias da assolação descansará, pelos dias que não descansou nos vossos sábados, quando nela habitáveis.

36 E, quanto aos que de vós ficarem, eu lhes meterei pavor no coração nas terras dos seus inimigos; e o ruído de uma folha agitada os porá em fuga; fugirão como quem foge da espada, e cairão sem que ninguém os persiga;

37 sim, embora não haja quem os persiga, tropeçarão uns sobre os outros como diante da espada; e não podereis resistir aos vossos inimigos.

38 Assim perecereis entre as nações, e a terra dos vossos inimigos vos devorará;

39 e os que de vós ficarem definharão pela sua iniqüidade nas terras dos vossos inimigos, como também pela iniqüidade de seus pais.

40 Então confessarão a sua iniqüidade, e a iniqüidade de seus pais, com as suas transgressões, com que transgrediram contra mim; igualmente confessarão que, por terem andado contrariamente para comigo,

41 eu também andei contrariamente para com eles, e os trouxe para a terra dos seus inimigos. Se então o seu coração incircunciso se humilhar, e tomarem por bem o castigo da sua iniqüidade,

42 eu me lembrarei do meu pacto com Jacó, do meu pacto com Isaque, e do meu pacto com Abraão; e bem assim da terra me lembrarei.

43 A terra também será deixada por eles e folgará nos seus sábados, sendo assolada por causa deles; e eles tomarão por bem o castigo da sua iniqüidade, em razão mesmo de que rejeitaram os meus preceitos e a sua alma desprezou os meus estatutos.

44 Todavia, ainda assim, quando eles estiverem na terra dos seus inimigos, não os rejeitarei nem os abominarei a ponto de consumi-los totalmente e quebrar o meu pacto com eles; porque eu sou o Senhor seu Deus.

45 Antes por amor deles me lembrarei do pacto com os seus antepassados, que tirei da terra do Egito perante os olhos das nações, para ser o seu Deus. Eu sou o Senhor.

46 São esses os estatutos, os preceitos e as leis que o Senhor firmou entre si e os filhos de Israel, no monte Sinai, por intermédio de Moisés.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Apocalypse Explained # 109

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 1232  
  

109. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. That this signifies that he who receives in the heart shall be filled with the good of love, and hence with heavenly joy, is evident from the signification of overcoming, as being to receive in the heart, concerning which we shall treat in what follows; and from the signification of eating, as being to appropriate and to be conjoined (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3813, 5643); and from the signification of the tree of life, as being the good of love, and thence heavenly joy, concerning which also we shall speak presently. The reason why to overcome denotes to receive in the heart is, that everyone who is about to receive spiritual life will fight against the evils and falsities of his natural life, and when he overcomes them, then goods and truths, which belong to the spiritual life, are received in the heart (to receive in the heart is to receive in the will and love, for the heart in the Word signifies the will and love, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336); wherefore to receive goods and truths in the heart, is to do them from the will or love; this is what is meant by overcoming.

[2] The reason why the tree of life signifies the good of love, and thence heavenly joy is, that trees signify those things that are internally in man, which pertain to his interior mind (mens), or his external mind (animus), the boughs and leaves those things which pertain to the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good, and the fruits the goods of life themselves. This signification of trees originates in the spiritual world; for in that world trees of all kinds are seen; and these trees correspond to the interiors of the minds of angels and spirits; beautiful and fruitful trees to the interiors of those who are in the good of love, and thence in wisdom; trees less beautiful and fruitful to those who are in the good of faith; but trees bearing leaves only, and without fruit, to those who are only in the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth; and trees of a dismal hue, with malignant fruits, to those who are in knowledges (cognitiones) and in evil of life; but by those who are not in knowledges, and are in evil of life, trees are not seen, but instead stones and sand.

These appearances in the spiritual world, actually flow from correspondence; for the interiors of the mind of the inhabitants of that world are by such forms actually presented before their eyes. (These things may be seen better from two articles in the work, Heaven and Hell; in the first, where the correspondence of heaven with all things of the earth is treated of, n. 103-115; and in the other, where representatives and appearances in heaven are treated of, n. 170-176, and n. 177-190.)

[3] This then is why trees are so often mentioned in the Word, by which are signified those things which pertain to a man's mind; and why it is, that in the first chapters of Genesis, two trees are said to have been placed in the garden of Eden, one of which was called the tree of life, and the other the tree of knowledge (scientia). By the tree of life mentioned there is signified the good of love to the Lord, and thence heavenly joy, which those possessed who at that time formed the church, and who are meant by the man and his wife; and by the tree of knowledge is signified the delight of knowledges (cognitiones) without any other use than to be accounted learned, and to acquire renown for erudition, solely for the sake of honour or gain. The reason why the tree of life also signifies heavenly joy is, because the good of love to the Lord, which is specifically signified by that tree, has heavenly joy in it. (See the work, Heaven and Hell 395-414, and The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 230-239.)

[4] That trees, so often mentioned in the Word, signify the interiors of man's internal and external minds, and the things produced by the trees, as the leaves and fruit, such things as are derived from them, is evident from the following passages:

"I will give in the desert the cedar, the schittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the wilderness the fir tree, the pine and the box" (Isaiah 41:19).

The establishment of the church is there treated of;

"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary" (Isaiah 60:13).

"Let all the trees of the field know that I, Jehovah, humble the lofty tree, and exalt the humble tree, cause the green tree to become dry, and make the dry tree to bud" (Ezekiel 17:24).

"Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall consume every green tree in thee, and every dry tree" (Ezekiel 20:47).

"The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men" (Joel 1:12).

"When the angel sounded, there followed hail and fire which fell upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up" (Apoc. 8:7)

Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream "a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great, the leaf thereof fair, and the flower thereof much, and in it was food for all" (Dan. 4:10-12).

Because trees in general signify such things as pertain to man, and constitute the interiors of his mind, and thus the spiritual things pertaining to the church, and both the latter and the former are various, therefore so many species of trees are mentioned, and every species signifies something different. (What the various species signify is shown in Arcana Coelestia, as what is signified by the oil tree, n. 9277, 10261 what by the cedar, n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10178 what by the vine, n. 1069, 5113, 6375, 6378, 9277; what by the fig, n. 217, 4231, 5113, and so forth.)

[5] Moreover, the things which are upon trees, as leaves and fruits, signify those things that pertain to man; leaves signify the truths pertaining to him, and fruits the goods, as in the following passages:

"He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river; her leaf shall be green; neither shall it cease from yielding fruit" (Jeremiah 17:8).

By the river which went out from the house of God "upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, ascendeth the tree of food, whose leaf falleth not off, nor is its fruit consumed; it springeth again in its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary, whence its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicine" (Ezekiel 47:12).

"In the midst of the street of it, and of the river (going out from the throne of God and the Lamb), on this side and on that side, was there the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, and yielding her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Apoc. 22:1, 2).

"Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither" (Psalms 1:1-3).

"Be not afraid, for the tree shall bear her fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength" (Joel 2:22).

"The trees of Jehovah are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted" (Psalms 104:16).

"Praise Jehovah, ye fruitful trees, and all cedars" (Psalms 148:9).

[6] Because fruits signified the goods of life with man, therefore in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, it was commanded that the fruit of trees, like the men themselves, should be circumcised, concerning which it is thus written: The fruit of a tree serving for food shall be uncircumcised in the land of Canaan;

"three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you; and in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, the praises of Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof" (Leviticus 19:23, 24, 25).

Because the fruit of the tree signified goods of life, therefore also it was commanded, that

in the feast of tabernacles they should take the fruit of the tree of honour, and the boughs, and should rejoice before Jehovah, and thus they should keep the feast (Leviticus 23:40, 41);

for by tabernacles were signified the goods of celestial love, and thence holy worship (see Arcana Coelestia 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391, 10545); and by the feast of tabernacles was signified the implantation of that good of love (n. 9296). Because fruit signified the goods of love, which are the goods of life, therefore it was among the blessings that the tree of the field should yield its fruit; and among the curses that it should not yield its fruit (Leviticus 26:4, 20). And therefore also they were forbidden, when any city was besieged, to lay the axe to any tree of good fruit (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20).

From these considerations it is now evident that by fruits are signified the goods of love, or, what is the same, goods of life, which are also called works, as also what is meant in these passages in the Evangelists:

"The axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire" (Matthew 3:10; 7:16-21).

“Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43, 44).

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit shall be taken away: but every branch that beareth fruit shall be purged, that it may bring forth more fruit" (John 15:2-8).

"A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard: he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. Then saith he unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on the fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?" (Luke 13:6-9).

"Jesus saw a fig-tree in the way; he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only; he said, Let no fruit grow on thee for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away" (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:13, 14, 20).

By the fig-tree is signified the natural man and his interiors, and by the fruit his goods (see Arcana Coelestia 217, 4231, 5113); but leaves signify knowledges (cognitiones), (n. 885). Hence it is clear what is signified by the fig-tree withering away, because the Lord found on it leaves only, and no fruit. All these passages are quoted in order that it may be known that by the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, is signified the good of love proceeding from the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom.

  
/ 1232  
  

Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.