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Isaiah 1

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1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; [but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged [and gone] backward.

5 Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.

7 Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

9 Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

11 What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies,- I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.

14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17 learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

21 How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24 Therefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies;

25 and I will turn my hand upon thee, and thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin;

26 and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, a faithful town.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness.

28 But the destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

31 And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

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Arcana Coelestia #10296

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10296. '[And] pure frankincense' means truth on the inmost level, which is spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of 'frankincense' as truth on the inmost level; and from the meaning of 'pure' as that which has been purged of the falsity of evil. The reason why truth on the inmost level, meant by 'frankincense', is spiritual good is that good with those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom is nothing other than truth. But this truth is called good when a person wills and does it from conscience and from affection. For in the case of those who are spiritual the entire will part of the mind has been corrupted; but the understanding part is preserved intact by the Lord, and within it the Lord implants a new will through regeneration. This new will is the conscience they have within them, which is a conscience composed of truth. All that is implanted in the understanding and emanates from the understanding is truth; for the human understanding is dedicated to the reception of truths belonging to faith, whereas the will is dedicated to receiving forms of good belonging to love. From all this it is evident that spiritual good is in its essence truth. As regards the new will in the case of those who are spiritual, that it is implanted in the understanding part of their minds, so that good with them is in its essence truth, see in the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684. Truth on the inmost level is called good because the more internal things are, the more perfect they are, and because the inmost part of a person is his will and what belongs to his will is called good. That 'frankincense' means truth on the inmost level, and so means spiritual good, may be recognized from the places quoted from the Word in 10177 above.

[2] Since spiritual good is meant by 'frankincense', and good is what reigns within all truths, arranges them into order, links them together, and imparts affection to them, frankincense is mentioned last; and the containers in which incense was burned were therefore called censers 1 . For the designation is derived from the essential element, which is good, even as for a like reason the term 'the anointing oil' was derived from the olive oil and not from the spices mixed into it when it was being prepared, that is to say, for the reason that 'the oil' meant good and 'the spices' different kinds of truth.

[3] The expression 'pure frankincense' is used because 'pure' means that which has been purged of the falsities of evil; and the word in the original language means inwardly pure, while another word is used to mean outwardly pure or clean. The fact that what is inwardly pure is meant by that word is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves, render yourselves pure; remove the wickedness of your doings from before My eyes. Isaiah 1:16.

In David,

In vain have I rendered my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. Psalms 73:13.

'Rendering the heart pure' means being purified inwardly, and 'washing the hands in innocence ' being purified outwardly. In the same author,

By what will a young man render his way pure? By guarding himself according to Your Word. Psalms 119:9.

And in the same author,

... You may be pure in Your judging. Psalms 51:4.

For the other word that is used to mean outwardly pure or clean, see Leviticus 11:32; 12:7-8; 13:6, 13, 17, 23, 28, 34, 37, 58; 14:7-9, 20, 48, 53; 15:13, 28; 16:19, 30; 22:7; Jeremiah 13:27; Ezekiel 24:13; 39:12; and elsewhere.

Fußnoten:

1. Thuribula (censers) is derived from thus (frankincense).

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