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Daniel 2

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1 At nang ikalawang taon ng paghahari ni Nabucodonosor ay nanaginip si Nabucodonosor ng mga panaginip; at ang kaniyang espiritu ay nabagabag, at siya'y napukaw sa pagkakatulog.

2 Nang magkagayo'y ipinatawag ng hari ang mga mahiko, at ang mga enkantador, at ang mga manghuhula, at ang mga Caldeo, upang saysayin sa hari ang kaniyang mga panaginip. Sa gayo'y nagsipasok sila at sila'y nagsiharap sa hari.

3 At sinabi ng hari sa kanila, Ako'y nanaginip ng isang panaginip, at ang aking Espiritu ay nabagabag upang maalaman ang panaginip.

4 Nang magkagayo'y nagsalita ang mga Caldeo sa hari sa wikang Siria, Oh hari, mabuhay ka magpakailan man: saysayin mo sa iyong mga lingkod ang panaginip, at aming ipaliliwanag ang kahulugan.

5 Ang hari ay sumagot, at nagsabi sa mga Caldeo, Ang bagay ay nawala sa akin: kung di ninyo ipaliliwanag sa akin ang panaginip at ang kahulugan niyaon, kayo'y pagpuputolputulin, at ang inyong mga bahay ay gagawing dumihan.

6 Nguni't kung inyong ipaliwanag ang panaginip at ang kahulugan niyaon, kayo'y magsisitanggap sa akin ng mga kaloob at mga kagantihan at dakilang karangalan: kaya't ipaliwanag ninyo sa akin ang panaginip at ang kahulugan niyaon.

7 Sila'y nagsisagot na ikalawa, at nangagsabi, Saysayin ng hari sa kaniyang mga lingkod ang panaginip, at aming ipaliliwanag ang kahulugan.

8 Ang hari ay sumagot, at nagsabi. Tunay na talastas ko na ibig ninyong magdahilan, sapagka't inyong nalalaman na nawala sa akin ang bagay.

9 Nguni't kung di ninyo ipaliwanag sa akin ang panaginip, iisang kautusan lamang mayroon sa inyo; sapagka't kayo'y nangaghanda ng pagbubulaan at mga hamak na salita sa harap ko, hanggang sa ang panahon ay magbago: kaya't saysayin ninyo sa akin ang panaginip, at malalaman ko na inyong maipaliliwanag sa akin ang kahulugan niyaon.

10 Ang mga Caldeo ay nagsisagot sa harap ng hari, at nangagsabi, Walang tao sa ibabaw ng lupa na makapagpapaaninaw ng bagay ng hari, palibhasa'y walang hari, panginoon, o pinuno man, na nagtanong ng ganyang bagay sa kanino mang mahiko, enkantador, o Caldeo.

11 At isang mahirap na bagay ang inuusisa ng hari, at walang ibang makapagpapaaninaw sa harap ng hari, liban ang mga dios, na ang tahanan ay hindi kasama ng tao.

12 Dahil sa bagay na ito ang hari ay nagalit at totoong nagalab sa galit, at nagutos na lipulin ang lahat na pantas na tao sa Babilonia.

13 Sa gayo'y itinanyag ang pasiya, at ang mga pantas na tao ay papatayin; at hinanap nila si Daniel at ang kaniyang mga kasama upang patayin.

14 Nang magkagayo'y nagbalik ng sagot si Daniel na may payo at kabaitan kay Arioch na punong kawal ng bantay ng hari, na lumabas upang patayin ang mga pantas na tao sa Babilonia;

15 Siya'y sumagot, at nagsabi kay Arioch na punong kawal ng hari, Bakit ang pasiya ay totoong madalian mula sa hari? Nang magkagayo'y ipinatalastas ni Arioch ang bagay kay Daniel.

16 At si Daniel ay pumasok, at humiling sa hari na takdaan siya ng panahon, at kaniyang ipaaaninaw sa hari ang kahulugan.

17 Nang magkagayo'y naparoon si Daniel sa kaniyang bahay, at ipinaalam ang bagay kay Ananias, kay Misael, at kay Azarias, na kaniyang mga kasama:

18 Upang sila'y magsipagnais ng kaawaan sa Dios ng langit tungkol sa lihim na ito; upang si Daniel at ang kaniyang mga kasama ay hindi mangamatay na kasama ng ibang mga pantas na tao sa Babilonia.

19 Nang magkagayo'y nahayag ang lihim kay Daniel sa isang pangitain sa gabi. Nang magkagayo'y pinuri ni Daniel ang Dios sa langit.

20 Si Daniel ay sumagot, at nagsabi, Purihin ang pangalan ng Dios magpakailan man: sapagka't ang karunungan at kapangyarihan ay kaniya.

21 At kaniyang binabago ang mga panahon at mga kapanahunan; siya'y nagaalis ng mga hari, at naglalagay ng mga hari; siya'y nagbibigay ng karunungan sa marunong at ng kaalaman sa makakaalam ng unawa;

22 Siya'y naghahayag ng malalim at lihim na mga bagay; kaniyang nalalaman kung ano ang nasa kadiliman, at ang liwanag ay tumatahang kasama niya.

23 Pinasasalamatan kita, at pinupuri kita, Oh ikaw na Dios ng aking mga magulang, na siyang nagbigay sa akin ng karunungan at lakas, at nagpatalastas ngayon sa akin ng ninais namin sa iyo; sapagka't iyong ipinaalam sa amin ang bagay ng hari.

24 Kaya't pinasok ni Daniel si Arioch na siyang inihalal ng hari na lipulin ang mga pantas na tao sa Babilonia; siya'y naparoon, at nagsabi sa kaniya ng ganito, Huwag mong lipulin ang mga pantas na tao sa Babilonia; dalhin mo ako sa harap ng hari, at aking ipaaaninaw sa hari ang kahulugan.

25 Nang magkagayo'y dinalang madali ni Arioch si Daniel sa harap ng hari, at nagsabing ganito sa kaniya, Ako'y nakasumpong ng isang lalake sa mga anak ng nangabihag sa Juda, na magpapaaninaw sa hari ng kahulugan.

26 Ang hari ay sumagot, at nagsabi kay Daniel, na ang pangalan ay Beltsasar, Maipaaaninaw mo baga sa akin ang panaginip na aking nakita, at ang kahulugan niyaon?

27 Si Daniel ay sumagot sa harap ng hari, at nagsabi, Ang lihim na itinatanong ng hari ay hindi maipaaaninaw sa hari kahit ng mga pantas na tao, ng mga enkantador, ng mga mahiko man, o ng mga manghuhula man.

28 Nguni't may isang Dios sa langit na naghahayag ng mga lihim, at siyang nagpapaaninaw sa haring Nabucodonosor kung ano ang mangyayari sa mga huling araw. Ang iyong panaginip, at ang pangitain ng iyong ulo sa iyong higaan ay ang mga ito:

29 Tungkol sa iyo, Oh hari, ang iyong mga pagiisip ay dumating sa iyo sa iyong higaan, kung ano ang mangyayari sa panahong darating; at siya na naghahayag ng mga lihim ay ipinaaninaw sa iyo kung ano ang mangyayari.

30 Nguni't tungkol sa akin ang lihim na ito ay hindi nahayag sa akin ng dahil sa anomang karunungan na tinamo kong higit kay sa sinomang may buhay, kundi upang maipaaninaw sa hari ang kahulugan at upang iyong maalaman ang mga pagiisip ng iyong puso.

31 Ikaw, Oh hari, nakakita, at narito, ang isang malaking larawan. Ang larawang ito na makapangyarihan, at ang kaniyang kakinangan ay mainam, ay tumayo sa harap mo; at ang anyo niyao'y kakilakilabot.

32 Tungkol sa larawang ito, ang kaniyang ulo ay dalisay na ginto, ang kaniyang dibdib at ang kaniyang mga bisig ay pilak, ang kaniyang tiyan at ang kaniyang mga hita ay tanso,

33 Ang kaniyang mga binti ay bakal, ang kaniyang mga paa'y isang bahagi ay bakal, at isang bahagi ay putik na luto.

34 Iyong tinitingnan hanggang sa may natibag na isang bato, hindi ng mga kamay, na tumama sa larawan sa kaniyang mga paang bakal at putik na luto, at mga yao'y binasag.

35 Nang magkagayo'y ang bakal, ang putik na luto, ang tanso, ang pilak, at ang ginto ay nagkaputolputol na magkakasama, at naging parang dayami sa mga giikan sa tagaraw; at tinangay ng hangin na walang dakong kasumpungan sa mga yaon: at ang bato na tumama sa larawan ay naging malaking bundok, at pinuno ang buong lupa.

36 Ito ang panaginip; at aming sasaysayin ang kahulugan niyaon sa harap ng hari.

37 Ikaw, Oh hari, ay hari ng mga hari, na pinagbigyan ng Dios sa langit ng kaharian, ng kapangyarihan, at ng kalakasan, at ng kaluwalhatian;

38 At alin mang tinatahanan ng mga anak ng mga tao, ng mga hayop sa parang at ng mga ibon sa himpapawid ay ibinigay sa iyong kamay, at pinapagpuno ka sa kanilang lahat: ikaw ang ulo na ginto.

39 At pagkatapos mo ay babangon ang ibang kaharian na mababa sa iyo; at ang ibang ikatlong kaharian na tanso na magpupuno sa buong lupa.

40 At ang ikaapat na kaharian ay magiging matibay na parang bakal, palibhasa'y ang bakal ay nakadudurog at nakapagpapasuko ng lahat na bagay; at kung paanong dinidikdik ng bakal ang lahat ng ito, siya'y magkakaputolputol at madidikdik.

41 At yamang iyong nakita na ang mga paa at mga daliri, ang isang bahagi ay putik na luto ng magpapalyok, at ang isang bahagi ay bakal, ay magiging kahariang hati; nguni't magkakaroon yaon ng kalakasan ng bakal, yamang iyong nakita na ang bakal ay nahahalo sa putik na luto.

42 At kung paanong ang mga daliri ng paa ay bakal ang isang bahagi at ang isang bahagi ay putik, magkakagayon ang kaharian na ang isang bahagi ay matibay, at isang bahagi ay marupok.

43 At yamang iyong nakita na ang bakal ay nahahaluan ng putik na luto, sila'y magkakahalo ng lahi ng mga tao; nguni't hindi sila magkakalakipan, gaya ng bakal na hindi lumalakip sa putik.

44 At sa mga kaarawan ng mga haring yaon ay maglalagay ang Dios sa langit ng isang kaharian, na hindi magigiba kailan man, o ang kapangyarihan man niyao'y iiwan sa ibang bayan; kundi pagpuputolputulin at lilipulin niya ang lahat na kahariang ito, at yao'y lalagi magpakailan man.

45 Yamang iyong nakita na ang isang bato ay natibag sa bundok, hindi ng mga kamay, at pumutol ng mga bakal, ng tanso, ng putik, ng pilak, at ng ginto; ipinaalam ng dakilang Dios sa hari kung ano ang mangyayari sa haharapin: at ang panaginip ay tunay at ang pagkapaaninaw niyao'y tapat.

46 Nang magkagayo'y ang haring Nabucodonosor ay nagpatirapa, at sumamba kay Daniel, at nagutos na sila'y maghandog ng alay at ng may masarap na amoy sa kaniya.

47 Ang hari ay sumagot kay Daniel, at nagsabi, Sa katotohanan ang inyong Dios ay Dios ng mga dios, at Panginoon ng mga hari, at tagapaghayag ng mga lihim, yamang ikaw ay nakapaghayag ng lihim na ito.

48 Nang magkagayo'y pinadakila ng hari si Daniel, at binigyan siya ng maraming dakilang kaloob, at pinapagpuno siya sa buong lalawigan ng Babilonia, at pinapaging pangulo ng mga tagapamahala sa lahat na pantas sa Babilonia.

49 At si Daniel ay humiling sa hari, at kaniyang inihalal, si Sadrach, si Mesach, at si Abed-nego, sa mga gawain sa lalawigan ng Babilonia; nguni't si Daniel ay nasa pintuang-daan ng hari.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Conjugial Love # 79

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79. The fifth account:

The same angel as before, who had been my guide and companion to the ancient peoples who had lived in the four ages called golden, silver, copper and iron - the same angel appeared again and said to me, "You would like to see the age that followed those ancient ages, to find out what it was like, and what it is still like today. Follow me, then, and you will see. These are the people of whom Daniel prophesied when he said:

(A kingdom will arise after those other four, in which iron will be mixed with miry clay.) They will mingle together through the seed of man, but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. (Daniel 2:41-43)"

The angel added, "The seed of man, through which iron will be mingled with clay, and yet without their adhering together - this seed means the truth of the Word falsified."

[2] After these words I followed him, and on the way he told me this. "They live," he said, "in the border region between the south and the west, but at a great distance beyond those who lived in the previous four ages, and also deeper down."

So we continued through the south to a region bordering on the west, and we passed through a dreadful forest. For we found pools of water there from which crocodiles raised their heads, gaping at us with jaws open wide and showing their teeth. And between the pools we saw horrible dogs, some of them with three heads like Cerberus, some of them with two heads, all of them with hideous mouths and watching us with savage eyes as we passed by. Entering the western part of this area, we also saw dragons and leopards, like the ones described in the book of Revelation,chapters 12:3 and 13:2.

[3] Then the angel said to me, "All these wild beasts you have seen are not beasts but correspondent and thus representative forms of the lusts that motivate the inhabitants we are going to visit. Those hideous dogs represent the lusts themselves; the crocodiles, their deceits and deceptions; the dragons and leopards, their falsities and corrupt feelings towards things that have to do with worship.

"The inhabitants thus represented, however, do not live just the other side of the forest, but beyond a great desert that lies between, to keep them completely away and separate from the inhabitants of the preceding ages. Moreover, they are altogether alien - totally different from those other people. Indeed, they have heads above their breasts, breasts above their loins, and loins above their feet, like the earliest people. But there is not a bit of gold in their heads, or of silver in their breasts, or of bronze in their loins. In fact, there is not a bit of just plain iron in their feet. Instead, they have iron mixed with clay in their heads, both of these mixed with bronze in their breasts, both of these also mixed with silver in their loins, and these mixed with gold in their feet.

"By this inversion they have been transformed from human beings into caricatures of human beings, in which nothing inwardly holds together. For what had been uppermost has become lowermost, so that what was the head has become the heel, and vice versa. Viewed from heaven, they look to us like play-actors who turn their bodies upside down, support themselves on their elbows and thus move about. Or they look like animals that lie upside down on their backs, raise their feet in the air, and, digging their heads into the ground, from that position look up at the sky."

[4] We passed through the forest and proceeded into the desert, which was no less horrible. It consisted of piles of rocks, with pits in between, out of which crept poisonous snakes and vipers and from which flew fiery serpents.

This whole desert kept sloping downward, and we descended by a long decline, until at last we came to a valley inhabited by the people of that region and age. We saw huts here and there, which finally appeared to come together and be joined into the form of a city.

We went into the city, and behold, the houses were constructed out of charred tree branches mortared together with clay. The roofs were made of black tiles. The streets were irregular, all narrow at first, but widening as they went, becoming finally quite broad and terminating in squares. Consequently there were as many squares as there were streets.

Darkness fell as we entered the city, because the sky was not visible. We looked up, therefore, and we were given light by which to see.

I then asked the people I encountered, "Can you see, since the sky does not appear above you?"

And they replied, "What sort of question is this? We see clearly. We walk in full light."

Hearing this the angel said to me, "Darkness to them is light, and light to them is darkness, as it is for nocturnal birds. For they look downwards instead of upwards."

[5] We went into some of the shacks here and there, and in each we saw a man with his woman. And we asked whether all of them here lived each in his own house with only one wife.

But they replied to this with a hiss, "What do you mean, with only one wife? Why not ask whether we live with only one harlot? What is a wife but a harlot?

"According to our laws we are not allowed to commit whoredom with more than just one woman, but still it is not dishonorable or shameful for us to do so with more than one, provided we do it away from the house. We boast about it with each other! In this way we enjoy license and its pleasure more than polygamists do.

"Why is having more than one wife denied to us, when it has been permitted in the past and is permitted today in the whole world around us? What is life with just one woman but captivity and imprisonment?

"But here we break open the bar of this prison and so rescue ourselves from slavery and set ourselves free. Who is angry with a prisoner if he liberates himself when he can?"

[6] To this we replied, "You speak, my friend, like one devoid of religion. What person endowed with any power of reason does not know that adulterous affairs are profane and hellish, and that marriages are sacred and heavenly? Are not adulterous relationships found among devils in hell, and marriages among angels in heaven? Have you not read the sixth commandment in the Decalogue? And in Paul, that adulterers can by no means come into heaven? 1 "

At this our host laughed heartily, and he looked on me as a simpleton - almost, even, as insane.

But at that very moment a messenger came running from the headman of the city and said, "Bring the two strangers to the city square, and if they will not come voluntarily, drag them there! We saw them under the dark cover of daylight. They have come here in secret. They are spies!"

The angel then said to me, "The reason we seemed to be under dark cover is that we were in the light of heaven, and the light of heaven to them is darkness, while the darkness of hell to them is light. This is because they regard nothing as sinful, not even adultery, and consequently they see falsity altogether as truth. Falsity shines with light in hell, in the eyes of satanic spirits, while truth darkens their eyes like the gloom of night."

[7] Then we said to the messenger, "We will not be forced, still less dragged to the city square, but we will go with you voluntarily."

So we went, and behold, we found a great crowd there. From it came some lawyers who whispered in our ear, "Take care that you do not say anything against religion, against our form of government, or contrary to good manners."

But we kept answering, "We will only speak in favor of them and in accordance with them."

Then we asked, "What is your religion in regard to marriage?"

At this the crowd began to murmur, and they said, "What concern do you have here with marriage? Marriages are marriages."

So we asked a second time, "What is your religion in regard to licentious relationships?"

At this the crowd began to murmur again, saying, "What concern do you have here with licentious relationships? Illicit affairs are illicit affairs. He who is without guilt, let him throw the first stone. 2 "

So we asked a third time, "Does your religion teach regarding marriages that they are sacred and heavenly, and regarding adulterous affairs that they are profane and hellish?"

In response to this many in the crowd guffawed, mocked, and jeered, saying, "Ask our priests about matters of religion, not us. We accept without comment whatever they say, since nothing of religion falls within the ability of the understanding to judge. Have you not heard that the understanding is devoid of reason in the mysteries on which the whole of religion is based?

"Besides, what do our actions have to do with religion? Is it not the pious murmurings of the heart that makes souls blessed - murmurings about expiation, satisfaction and imputation - and not works?"

[8] But then some of the so-called wise men of the city came over and said, "Get away from here. The crowd is becoming inflamed. There will be a riot in a minute. Let us talk about this by ourselves. There is an alley behind the courthouse. Let us go back there. Come with us."

So we followed. And then they asked us where we came from and what our business was there.

We said, "We have come to be instructed about marriage, to find out whether or not marriages among you are sacred unions as they were among the ancient peoples who lived in the golden, silver and copper ages."

But they replied, "What do you mean, sacred unions? Are they not deeds of the flesh and the night?"

Then we began to answer, "Are they not also deeds of the spirit? And what the flesh does impelled by the spirit, is that not spiritual? Moreover, everything that the spirit does, it does from a marriage of goodness and truth. Is it not this spiritual marriage which enters into the natural marriage that exists between husband and wife?"

To this the so-called wise men replied, "You probe and refine the matter too much. You leap over rational considerations to spiritual ones. Who can begin there, then descend and thus form a judgment about anything?" To which they added sarcastically, "Perhaps you have the wings of an eagle and can soar to the uppermost regions of the sky and look down on such matters. But we cannot."

[9] So we then asked them to tell us, from the height or region to which the ideas of their minds flew aloft, whether they knew or were able to know that such a thing exists as the conjugial love of one man with one wife, into which have been gathered all the blessings, felicities, delights, gratifications and pleasures of heaven. Moreover, that this love comes from the Lord according to people's reception of goodness and truth from Him, thus according to the state of the church.

[10] Hearing this they turned away and said, "These men are crazy. They go into outer space with their rational faculties, form empty conjectures and shower us with nutty speculations."

Afterwards they turned around to us and said, "We will give a straight answer to your airy conjectures and dreams."

Then they said, "What does conjugial love have in common with religion and with being inspired by God?

"Does that love not exist in everyone according to the condition of his sexual powers? Is it not found among people who are outside the church as well as among people who are in the church? Among gentiles as well as among Christians? In fact, among impious people as well as among pious ones?

"Does the vigor of that love in everyone not come either from heredity, or from good health, or from temperance of life, or from the warmth of the climate? And can it not also be strengthened and stimulated by drugs?

"Is the same love not found in animals, especially in birds which mate in pairs? Is that love not a matter of the flesh? What does a matter of the flesh have to do with the spiritual state of the church?

"Does that love with a wife in its ultimate expression differ one bit from love with a harlot in its ultimate expression? Is the lust not the same, and the delight the same?

"It is harmful, therefore, to trace the origin of conjugial love from the sacred things of the church."

[11] When we heard this we said to them, "You are reasoning from the heat of lasciviousness and not from conjugial love. You do not know at all what conjugial love is because among you that love is cold. We are convinced by what you have said that you come from the age that is named after and consists of iron and clay, which do not cohere, according to the prophecy in Daniel 2:43. For you make conjugial love and licentious love the same thing. Can these two cohere any more than iron and clay? People believe you are wise and call you wise, yet you are anything but wise!"

Inflamed with anger at these words, they began to cry out and call the crowd to throw us out. But then, by a power given us by the Lord, we stretched out our hands, and suddenly fiery serpents, vipers and poisonous snakes came from the desert, and dragons, too, and they invaded and filled the city, so that the inhabitants became frightened and fled away.

And the angel said to me, "New people keep coming from earth to this region every day, and the previous inhabitants are by turns removed and cast down into chasms in the west, which at a distance look like lakes of fire and brimstone. The people there are all adulterers, both spiritually and naturally."

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. See 1 Corinthians 6:9.

2. Cf. John 8:7.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.