374. That 'the voice of blood' ¹ means violence done to charity is clear from many places in the Word where 'voice' stands for everything that accuses, and 'blood' for all sin, especially hatred. For anyone who hates his brother murders him in his own heart, as the Lord teaches,

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgement. Whoever indeed says to his brother, Raca! will be liable to the Sanhedrin. And whoever says You fool! will be liable to the Gehenna of fire. Matthew 5:21-22.

These sayings denote degrees of hatred. Hatred is contrary to charity; and though a person does not actually commit murder, the intention to do so is still there, and by whatever possible method. It is external restraints alone which prevent murder actually being committed. And this is why all hatred is called blood, as in Jeremiah,

How well you direct Your way in the quest for love! Yes, in your skirts the blood of needy innocent souls is found. Jeremiah 2:33-34.

[2] And since hatred is meant by blood, so is every kind of wickedness, for hatred is the source of all wickedness, as in Hosea,

Perjuring, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they commit robbery, and blood' has followed on blood. ¹ Therefore the land will mourn and every inhabitant will anguish. Hosea 4:2-3.

And in Ezekiel,

Will you judge the city of blood' and declare to her all her abominations? A City that sheds blood' in the midst of her. By your blood which you have shed you have become guilty. Ezekiel 22:2-4, 6, 9.

This is referring to the lack of compassion. In the same prophet,

The land is full of the judgement of blood, ¹ and the city is full of violence. Ezekiel 7:23.

And in Jeremiah,

For the sins of the prophets of Jerusalem, the iniquities of her priests who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous, they wander blind in the streets; they are defiled with blood. Lamentations 4:13-14.

In Isaiah,

When the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and wiped away from its midst the blood ¹ of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Isaiah 4:4.

In the same prophet,

Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Isaiah 59:3.

In Ezekiel,

I passed by you and saw you weltering in your blood, ¹ and I said to you, Live in your blood ¹ I indeed said to you, Live in your blood. ¹ Ezekiel 16:6, 22.

This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem, which are called 'blood' ¹ . Lack of compassion, and hatred, in the last times a real so described as blood in Revelation 16:3-4. The plural 'bloods' is used because all forms of iniquity and abomination well up out of hatred, just as all forms of good and holiness do out of love. Anyone therefore who hates his neighbour would murder him if he could, and he does do so in whatever way he can. That is to say, he does him violence, which is strictly the meaning here of 'voice of blood'. ¹

फुटनोट:

2258. 'Will not the Judge of the whole earth execute judgement?' means that Divine Good cannot effect this in the manner of truth separated from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the Judge of the whole earth', and also from the meaning of 'judgement'. 'The Judge of the whole earth' means in the internal sense good itself from which truth goes forth. This was also represented in the representative Church by the priests being at the same time judges. As priests they represented Divine Good, and as judges Divine Truth. But 'the Judge of the whole earth' means both, and this from the meaning of 'the earth', dealt with in various places in Volume One. But to confirm these matters at this point from the representatives of that Church would take too long. 'Judgement' however means truth, as shown above in 2235. From the meaning of these words, and at the same time from the train of thought in the internal sense, it becomes clear that 'will not the Judge of the whole earth execute judgement?' means that Divine Good cannot effect this in the manner of truth separated from good.

[2] To understand these matters it should be recognized that there are two things which constitute the order of the whole of heaven and are from there present in the universe, namely good and truth. Good is the essential constituent of order, and all aspects of it are forms of mercy. Truth is the secondary constituent of order, and all its aspects are truths. Divine Good adjudges all people to heaven, but Divine Truth condemns them all to hell. Consequently if the Lord's mercy, which is the very nature of Good, were not eternal, all men - however many these may be - would be condemned. This is what is meant here by the statement that Divine Good cannot effect this thing in the manner of truth separated from good. See also what is stated on these matters in Volume One, in 1728. But the reason the evil are condemned to hell is not that Divine Good is separated from Divine Truth, but that man separates himself from Divine Good; for the Lord in no way sends anyone down to hell, but man sends himself down, as stated frequently already. Also, seeing that the Divine Good is joined to Divine Truth, it should be recognized that unless the evil were separated from the good, the evil would do harm to the good and would be constantly endeavouring to destroy order. Thus the prevention of the good from suffering harm is an act of mercy. It is the same in earthly kingdoms. If evils went unpunished a whole kingdom would be steeped in evils, and this being so it would perish. For that reason kings and judges are showing greater mercy when they punish evils and remove from society those who commit them than when they show undue leniency towards the same.