Iniquity, transgression and sin
In the Word three terms are used to refer to bad actions: transgression, iniquity, and sin. Transgression is the least bad. It means a violation of what is true in an external context, a violation of what is right and orderly. Iniquity is next and denotes acts that violate more interior truths. Sin is the worst. It is a violation of what is holy and righteous, a violation against the Lord. Sin is the deepest kind of evil. Regarding iniquity -- to be in charity, or live a life of charity is to live a life where the acts and thoughts that have top priority are those that have within them a love for the neighbor. Sometimes our love of self, our inborn desire to put ourselves first, is stronger than our charity and we do something for ourselves at the expense of our neighbor, or even do harm to our neighbor. Such an act, if our motive is selfish, is an iniquity.
(Riferimenti: Arcana Coelestia 9156, 9965 [2-3])
Arcana Coelestia #8272
8272. Verses 3-5 Jehovah is a man of war; Jehovah is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; and his choice tertiary commanders 1 have been drowned in the Sea Suph. The depths have covered them; they went down into deep places like a stone.
'Jehovah is a man of war' means that the Lord provides protection against all evils and falsities, which come from the hells. 'Jehovah is His name' means that He alone is the Source of all things. 'Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea' means the particular and the general falsities arising from evil of those belonging to the Church who led a life of evil in it, and the fact that at His presence those falsities have cast themselves into the hells. 'And his choice tertiary commanders' means all aspects together with specific details. 'Have been drowned in the Sea Suph' means that they have shut themselves up in falsities arising from evil. 'The depths have covered them' means that falsities resulting from evil desires have overwhelmed them. 'They went down into deep places like a stone' means that they sank down to lower levels as if on account of heaviness.
Note a piè di pagina:
1. literally, the choice of tertiary commanders. A tertiary commander was possibly an officer ranking third after Pharaoh, or possibly one in charge of a chariot in which there was also a driver and a warrior.
