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Nahum 3

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1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robberies; the prey departeth not;

2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the bounding chariots.

3 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword, and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

4 Because of the multitude of the lewd deeds of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her lewd deeds, and families through her witchcrafts.

5 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will remove thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing-stock.

7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her; whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters around it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

9 Cush and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

10 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

12 All thy strong holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick-kiln.

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the canker-worm: make thyself many as the canker-worm, make thyself many as the locusts.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the canker-worm spoileth, and flieth away.

17 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which settle in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

18 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the fame of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 2336

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2336. That 'the street' means truth becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in John where the New Jerusalem is referred to,

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate was one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Revelation 21:21.

[2] 'The New Jerusalem' is the Lord's kingdom which because it is being described as regards good and truth is described by walls, gates, and streets. By the last of these -'the streets' - are meant all avenues of truth which lead to good, that is, all those of faith which lead to love and charity. And because truths in this way become part of good, and so are made transparent from good, it is said that 'the street was pure gold, like transparent glass'. In the same book,

Out of the middle of the street of it, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits. Revelation 22:2.

This also refers to the New Jerusalem or the Lord's kingdom. 'The middle of the street' is the truth of faith, by means of which good comes and which after that stems from good. 'The twelve fruits' are those called the fruits of faith, for 'twelve' means all things of faith, as shown in 577, 2089, 2129, 2130.

[3] In Daniel,

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Leader, there will be seven weeks - and sixty-two weeks; and it will be restored and built with street and moat. Daniel 9:25.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord, 'it will be restored with street and moat' meaning that there will be truth and good at that time. The fact that Jerusalem was not restored and built at that time is well known; and that it is not to be restored and built anew anyone may also know provided he does not fix his ideas on a worldly kingdom but on a heavenly kingdom meant in the internal sense by Jerusalem.

[4] In Luke,

The householder said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. Luke 14:21.

People who confine themselves to the sense of the letter gain nothing more from this verse than the idea that the servant was to go everywhere, and that this is what is meant by 'streets and lanes', and that he was to fetch in everybody, and that this is what is meant by 'the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind'. But each and all of these words, being the Lord's, embody arcana within them. The command that he should go out into the streets and lanes means that he was to search everywhere for some genuine truth, that is, for truth which shines out of good, or through which good shines. The command that he should bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, means that such people were to be brought in as had in the Ancient Church been called the poor, maimed, lame, or blind - that is, he was to bring in those who were such as regards faith but who had led good lives, and who for this reason ought to be taught about the Lord's kingdom - thus to bring in gentiles who were as yet uninformed.

[5] Because 'streets' meant truths it was a representative custom among the Jews to teach in the streets, as is evident from Matthew 6:2, 5, and Luke 13:26-27. Wherever 'streets' are mentioned in the Prophets they mean in the internal sense either truths or things contrary to truths, as in Isaiah,

Judgement is cast away backwards, and justice stands afar off, for truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot come in. Isaiah 59:14.

In the same prophet,

Your sons fainted and lay at the head of every street. Isaiah 51:20.

In Jeremiah,

Death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, cutting off the small child from the street and the young men from the lanes. Jeremiah 9:21.

[6] In Ezekiel,

By means of the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets. Ezekiel 26:11.

This refers to Tyre, which means cognitions of truth, 1201. 'The hoofs of the horses' are facts which pervert the truth. In Nahum,

In the streets the chariots rage; they rush about in the lanes. Nahum 2:4.

'Chariots' stands for the doctrine of truth, which is said 'to rage in the streets' when falsity has replaced truth. In Zechariah,

Old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem. And the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in the streets. Zechariah 8:4-5.

This refers to affections for truth, and consequent forms of joy and gladness. There are other places besides these, such as Isaiah 24:11; Jeremiah 5:1; 7:34; 49:26; Lamentations 2:11, 19; 4:8, 14; Zephaniah 3:6.

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

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Revelation 21:21

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21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.