2944. Verse 11 No, my lord, hear me; the field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you; before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.

'No, my lord, hear me' means that initial state dealt with already. 'The field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you' means preparation from themselves as regards the things that belong to the Church and to faith. 'Before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to you' means according to the understanding of everyone. 'Bury your dead' means that they may emerge from night and be raised up again.

2451. 'And all the inhabitants of the cities' means that all goods were severed from them so that they might possess nothing but evils. This is clear from the meaning of 'the inhabitants' when they are those of a city, as goods - as may be confirmed from many examples in the Word. This meaning is also evident from the fact that when 'a city' means truth, as has been shown, 'inhabitant' means good, for it is truth that good inhabits. But truth in which there is no good is like an empty or uninhabited city. That in addition to this all goods as well are separated from the evil so that they possess nothing but evils, see above in 2449.