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Éxodo 22

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1 CUANDO alguno hurtare buey ú oveja, y le degollare ó vendiere, por aquel buey pagará cinco bueyes, y por aquella oveja cuatro ovejas.

2 Si el ladrón fuere hallado forzando una casa, y fuere herido y muriere, el que le hirió no será culpado de su muerte.

3 Si el sol hubiere sobre él salido, el matador será reo de homicidio: el ladrón habrá de restituir cumplidamente; si no tuviere, será vendido por su hurto.

4 Si fuere hallado con el hurto en la mano, sea buey ó asno ú oveja vivos, pagará el duplo.

5 Si alguno hiciere pacer campo ó viña, y metiere su bestia, y comiere la tierra de otro, de lo mejor de su tierra y de lo mejor de su viña pagará.

6 Cuando rompiere un fuego, y hallare espinas, y fuere quemado montón, ó haza, ó campo, el que encendió el fuego pagará lo quemado.

7 Cuando alguno diere á su prójimo plata ó alhajas á guardar, y fuere hurtado de la casa de aquel hombre, si el ladrón se hallare, pagará el doble.

8 Si el ladrón no se hallare, entonces el dueño de la casa será presentado á los jueces, para ver si ha metido su mano en la hacienda de su prójimo.

9 Sobre todo negocio de fraude, sobre buey, sobre asno, sobre oveja, sobre vestido, sobre toda cosa perdida, cuando uno dijere: Esto es mío, la causa de ambos vendrá delante de los jueces; y el que los jueces condenaren, pagará el doble á su prójimo.

10 Si alguno hubiere dado á su prójimo asno, ó buey, ú oveja, ó cualquier otro animal á guardar, y se muriere ó se perniquebrare, ó fuere llevado sin verlo nadie;

11 Juramento de Jehová tendrá lugar entre ambos de que no echó su mano á la hacienda de su prójimo: y su dueño lo aceptará, y el otro no pagará.

12 Mas si le hubiere sido hurtado, resarcirá á su dueño.

13 Y si le hubiere sido arrebatado por fiera, traerle ha testimonio, y no pagará lo arrebatado.

14 Pero si alguno hubiere tomado prestada bestia de su prójimo, y fuere estropeada ó muerta, ausente su dueño, deberá pagar la.

15 Si el dueño estaba presente, no la pagará. Si era alquilada, él vendrá por su alquiler.

16 Y si alguno engañare á alguna doncella que no fuere desposada, y durmiere con ella, deberá dotarla y tomarla por mujer.

17 Si su padre no quisiere dársela, él le pesará plata conforme al dote de las vírgenes.

18 A la hechicera no dejarás que viva.

19 Cualquiera que tuviere ayuntamiento con bestia, morirá.

20 El que sacrificare á dioses, excepto á sólo Jehová, será muerto.

21 Y al extranjero no engañarás, ni angustiarás, porque extranjeros fuisteis vosotros en la tierra de Egipto.

22 A ninguna viuda ni huérfano afligiréis.

23 Que si tú llegas á afligirle, y él á mí clamare, ciertamente oiré yo su clamor;

24 Y mi furor se encenderá, y os mataré á cuchillo, y vuestras mujeres serán viudas, y huérfanos vuestros hijos.

25 Si dieres á mi pueblo dinero emprestado, al pobre que está contigo, no te portarás con él como logrero, ni le impondrás usura.

26 Si tomares en prenda el vestido de tu prójimo, á puestas del sol se lo volverás:

27 Porque sólo aquello es su cubierta, es aquel el vestido para cubrir sus carnes, en el que ha de dormir: y será que cuando él á mí clamare, yo entonces le oiré, porque soy misericordioso.

28 No denostarás á los jueces, ni maldecirás al príncipe de tu pueblo.

29 No dilatarás la primicia de tu cosecha, ni de tu licor, me darás el primogénito de tus hijos.

30 Así harás con el de tu buey y de tu oveja: siete días estará con su madre, y al octavo día me lo darás.

31 Y habéis de serme varones santos: y no comeréis carne arrebatada de las fieras en el campo; á los perros la echaréis.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9210

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9210. 'You shall not be like a money-lender' means that it must be done in a spirit of charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'a money-lender' as someone who does good for the sake of gain; for a money-lender entrusts money to another for the sake of interest and gives help to another for the sake of reward. And since real charity does not have gain or reward as the end in view, but the neighbour's good, 'you shall not be like a money-lender' means that the thing must be done in a spirit of charity. Anyone who does not know what Christian charity is may think that it consists not only in giving to the needy and poor but also in doing good to his fellow citizen, country, or Church for any reason whatever, that is, with no matter what end in view. But he should recognize that the end is what gives all of a person's deeds their true character. If the end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, in order to acquire important positions or else monetary gain, the good that he does is not good because it is done for the sake of self and thus also originates in self. But if the end is to do good for his fellow citizen's, country's, or Church's sake, thus for his neighbour's sake, the good he does is good since it is done for the sake of good itself, which in general is the real neighbour, 5025, 6706, 6711, 6712, 8123, and so is also done for the Lord's sake since such good does not have its origin in the person but in the Lord, and what originates in the Lord is the Lord's. This is the good that is meant by the Lord in Matthew,

Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:40.

[2] As it is with good, so it is also with truth. Those who do the truth for its own sake do it also for the Lord's sake since it comes from Him. Doing truth for its own sake is doing good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes out into actions. Doing good in this manner is Christian charity. People who do good in the spirit of Christian charity may sometimes look for reputation earned as a result of doing it, so as to obtain an important position or else monetary gain. But their attitude is altogether different from that of anyone for whom these things are his end in view. For they regard what is good and right as the essential, one and only thing that matters, and accordingly rank it in highest position. As for monetary gain in comparison with this, or an important position, or reputation for the sake of them, they regard as non-essential, and accordingly rank it in lowest position. When the eyes of people such as these are fixed on what is right and good they are like soldiers fighting in battle for their country. During it they give no thought at all to their life, nor thus to their status or their assets in the world, which compared with what they are doing are of no importance to them. But those who rank self and the world at the top are the kind of people who do not even see what is right and good, because their eyes are fixed on themselves and on gain.

[3] All this shows what doing good for a selfish or a worldly reason is, what doing good for the Lord's or for the neighbour's sake is, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as that between heaven and hell. Furthermore those who do good for their neighbour's or for the Lord's sake are in heaven; but those who do it for a selfish or a worldly reason are in hell. For those who do good for their neighbour and the Lord's sake love the Lord above all things and their neighbour as themselves - commandments which are 'the first of all the commandments', Mark 12:28-31. But those who do everything for selfish and worldly reasons love themselves above all things, thus more than God; and they not only despise their neighbour but also hate him if he does not make common cause with them and align himself with them. This is the meaning of the Lord's teaching in Matthew,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.

There are people who do serve both; but they are called 'lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, who are spewed out', Revelation 3:15-16. All this now shows what money-lenders who took interest represented, namely those who do good for the sake of gain.

[4] It makes plain the origin of this prohibition, that they were not to be like a money-lender, charging a brother interest, as again declared elsewhere in Moses,

You shall not charge your brother interest on silver, interest on food, interest on anything on which it is charged. A foreigner you shall charge interest, but your brother you shall not charge interest; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in everything to which you set your hand 1 in the land which you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Leviticus 25:36-38.

'Charging a brother interest on silver' means lending truths, that is, giving instruction in them, for the sake of gain, 'charging interest on food' hiring out forms of the good of truth for the sake of gain; for 'silver' means truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, and 'food' the good of truth, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562. The reason why those who do not charge it are blessed by Jehovah in everything to which they set their hand in the land is that their affection is for goodness and truth, so that the happiness which angels in heaven possess is theirs; for that affection, or the good of that love, holds heaven within it for a person, 6478, 9174. The reason why foreigners could be charged interest was that those who do not acknowledge anything of goodness or truth and are unreceptive of them are meant by 'foreigners', 7996, that is, they are those who do good solely for the sake of gain. These must serve a person, for in comparison they are servants or slaves, 1097. In David,

He walks blameless and does righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He does not lend his silver at interest, and does not take a bribe 2 against the innocent. He who does this will never be moved. Psalms 15:2, 5.

'Lending his silver at interest' means teaching for the sake solely of gain, thus doing good for the sake of reward. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

A righteous man who executes judgement and righteousness does not lend at interest and does not take increase. Ezekiel 18:5, 8.

In the same prophet,

He who withdraws his hand from the needy, does not take interest or increase, executes My judgements, [and] walks in My statutes will surely live. Ezekiel 18:17.

In the same prophet,

In you they have taken bribes 2 to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and seized gain of your companions by violence. Ezekiel 22:12.

These things are said about 'the city of blood', by which falsity destroying truth and good is meant, 9127. 'Taking interest and increase' means doing good for the sake of gain and reward, thus not in a spirit of charity. In true charity there is no thought of earning a reward, see 2371, 2373, 2400, 4007, 4174, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6478.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, in every sending out of your hand

2. literally, a gift

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