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Deuteronomy 16

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1 Observe the month Abib, and keep the passover to the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth from Egypt by night.

2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover to the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.

3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth from the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth from the land of Egypt, all the days of thy life.

4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou didst sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning.

5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at evening, at the setting of the sun, at the time of thy departure from Egypt.

7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go to thy tents.

8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt do no work.

9 Seven weeks shalt thou number to thee: begin to number the Seven weeks from the time when thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks to the LORD thy God with a tribute of a free-will-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give to the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.

12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn, and thy wine.

14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates:

15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast to the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase, and in all the works of thy hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near to the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make for thee.

22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 661

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661. And shall send gifts one to another, signifies their consociation. This is evident from the signification of "to send gifts," as being to be consociated by love and friendship through good will; for gifts from such an affection and disposition bring together both the well-disposed as well as the ill-disposed; here those are meant who are opposed to the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, which are signified by "the two witnesses" who were killed and cast forth into the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. It is to be known that to the ill-disposed and wicked nothing is more delightful than to destroy the goods of love and the truths of doctrine wherever they are, and to do evil to those with whom these are; for such burn with hatred against these; consequently from the hell where such are there continually breathes forth a deadly hatred against celestial love and spiritual faith, and therefore against heaven, and especially against the Lord Himself; and as often as they are permitted to do evil they are in the delight of their heart. Such is the brutal nature of those who are in hell.

This, therefore, is what is meant by "they shall rejoice over them and shall be glad." Moreover, the wicked enter into friendships and consociate themselves for doing harm to the well disposed; they are consociated by the delight of hatred, which is the delight of their love; this makes them appear as if friends in heart, when yet they are enemies. This, therefore, is the signification of "shall send gifts one to another."

[2] Because gifts captivate the mind and consociate, it was a custom in ancient times to give gifts to the priest and the prophet, as also to the prince and the king, when they were approached (1 Samuel 9:7, 8); and it was also a statute:

That they should not appear empty (that is, without a gift) before Jehovah, but in their feasts everyone should bring a gift according as he had been blessed (Exodus 23:15; 34:20; Deuteronomy 16:16, 17).

So too:

The wise men from the east brought gifts to the Lord just born, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11);

according to the prediction in David (Psalms 72:10). So again:

The oblations upon the altar, which were sacrifices, and also the meal offerings and drink-offerings, were called gifts (Isaiah 18:7; 57:6; 66:20; Zephaniah 3:10; Matthew 5:23, 24; and elsewhere);

and this because external gifts signified internal or spiritual gifts, namely, such as go forth from the heart, and thence are of the affection and faith; and as by these conjunction is effected, in the spiritual sense "gifts" in reference to God signify conjunction, and in reference to men consociation.

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