La Bibbia

 

Jeremiah 39

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1 And it came about, that when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, with all his army, came against Jerusalem, shutting it in on every side;

2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the town was broken into:)

3 All the captains of the king of Babylon came in and took their places in the middle doorway of the town, Nergal-shar-ezer, ruler of Sin-magir, the Rabmag, and Nebushazban, the Rab-saris, and all the captains of the king of Babylon.

4 And when Zedekiah, king of Judah, and all the men of war saw it, they went in flight from the town by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the doorway between the two walls: and they went out by the Arabah.

5 But the Chaldaean army went after them and overtook Zedekiah in the lowlands of Jericho: and they made him a prisoner and took him up to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, to be judged by him.

6 Then the king of Babylon put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes in Riblah: and the king of Babylon put to death all the great men of Judah.

7 And more than this, he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and had him put in chains to take him away to Babylon.

8 And the Chaldaeans put the king's house on fire, as well as the houses of the people, and had the walls of Jerusalem broken down.

9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away to Babylon as prisoners, all the rest of the workmen who were still in the town, as well as those who had given themselves up to him, and all the rest of the people.

10 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, let the poorest of the people, who had nothing whatever, go on living in the land of Judah, and gave them vine-gardens and fields at the same time.

11 Now Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, gave orders about Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, saying,

12 Take him and keep an eye on him and see that no evil comes to him; but do with him whatever he says to you.

13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, sent Nebushazban, the Rab-saris, and Nergal-shar-ezer, the Rabmag, and all the chief captains of the king of Babylon,

14 And they sent and took Jeremiah out of the place of the watchmen, and gave him into the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to his house: so he was living among the people.

15 Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, saying,

16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, my words will come true for this town, for evil and not for good: they will come about before your eyes on that day.

17 But I will keep you safe on that day, says the Lord: you will not be given into the hands of the men you are fearing.

18 For I will certainly let you go free, and you will not be put to the sword, but your life will be given to you out of the hands of your attackers: because you have put your faith in me, says the Lord.

   

Commento

 

The Word

  
A detail from the Winchester Bible, this shows God putting words in the mouth of Jeremiah.

Consider the beautiful but cryptic statements of John 1:1:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

God's love has always been and will always be infinite and perfect. That means the expression of God's love -- His truth -- has also always been and will always be infinite and perfect.

The Lord has shared this truth with us in various ways since the beginning of humanity. The earliest people received truth directly, flowing into the inner parts of their minds from heaven. Later, people understood it through nature seeing the Lord's love expressed in mountains, trees, rivers, and the sun, moon and stars. By using natural language as a container for spiritual language, the Lord expressed truth within the Bible inside its stories, laws and prophecies. When humanity reached its lowest point, God took on a human form and walked among us as Jesus. In this way, the Lord brought us Divine truths in an accessible and tangible way. By accepting and loving the Lord as Jesus we can open ourselves to His love.

Finally, the Heavenly Doctrine received through the pen of Emanuel Swedenborg are themselves a container for Divine Truth, both in speaking plainly about heaven and by unlocking the truth as it is contained in the Bible.

The Word itself is Divine Truth; the Lord's expression of love has and never will change.

Dalle opere di Swedenborg

 

Apocalypse Explained #65

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65. And girt about at the paps with a golden girdle, signifies Divine good likewise. This is evident from the signification of "being girt about at the paps with a girdle," as being to be encompassed about the breast; "paps" and "girdle" are mentioned, because paps stand out from the breast, and a girdle encompasses. Divine good going forth from the Lord is here meant because this is signified by the "breast" in general and by the "paps" in particular. Good proceeding is meant because all garments signify things that proceed, for they are outside the body and clothe it; as things that proceed are also outside the body and encompass it. (That this is so can be seen from what is said in the work on Heaven and Hell, of The Garments with which Angels are Clothed, n. 177-182; namely, that everyone is clothed with garments according to his affection for becoming intelligent and wise, and this affection is what proceeds from them; for there is a sphere that proceeds from every angel and spirit, which is a sphere of affection, and is called the sphere of his life, and their garments are according to this sphere. That this is so does not appear before their eyes, but yet they know that it is so. Of this sphere, see Arcana Coelestia 2489, 4464, 5179, 7454, 8630.)

[2] From this it can be seen that the "Lord's garments" signify the proceeding Divine, which is Divine truth united to Divine good, which fills the universal heaven and enters into the interiors of the mind, and gives to him who receives it intelligence and wisdom. This is meant by being "clothed with white garments." Because the proceeding Divine good is signified by "the girdle" with which the Lord was girded, therefore the girdle appeared golden, for "gold" signifies the good of love (See Arcana Coelestia 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). The "paps" are mentioned instead of the breast, which was girt with the girdle, because "paps" signify spiritual love, and "breast" signifies the good itself of that love. This love is signified by "paps" in Isaiah:

I will make thee a magnificence of eternity, the joy of generation and generation. Thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the paps of kings (Isaiah 60:15 (Isaiah 60:18)).

"Kings" are truths out of good from the Lord (See above, n. 31; "paps" and "breast" are that good, which is the good of spiritual love.

[3] That "breast" signifies the good of spiritual love is from correspondence with heaven; for the whole heaven corresponds to all things of man; the inmost or third heaven corresponding to the head; the middle or second to the breast; and the outmost or first to the feet. Because there is this correspondence, heaven is also called the Greatest Man. And as the inmost or third heaven corresponds to the head, by "head" is signified the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord; because that good rules and makes that heaven; and as the middle or second heaven corresponds to the breast, by "breast" is signified the good of spiritual love, which is the good of love to the neighbor, because that good rules and makes that heaven; and as the outmost or first heaven corresponds to the feet, by "feet" is signified the good of natural love from spiritual love, which is the good of faith; because that good rules and makes that heaven. From this it is clear why "paps" signify spiritual love, and the "breast" its good. (But these things may be better understood from what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, especially in the following chapters: On the Three Heavens, n. 29-39; That the Divine of the Lord in the Heavens is Love to Him and Charity towards the Neighbor, n. 13-19; That the Universal Heaven represents one Man, n. 59-67; That there is a Correspondence of Heaven with all things of Man, n. 87-102; and in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 4938, 4939, 10087. It may be permitted to cite from that work, by way of illustration, this further reason why the "breast" signifies the good of spiritual love, namely, that within the breast are the heart and lungs, and the "heart" from correspondence signifies celestial love, while the "lungs" signify spiritual love, but the lungs fill the breast. That there is this correspondence, see in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 3883-3896, 9280, 9300. What celestial love is, and what spiritual love, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 23.)

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