Bibliorum

 

Exodus 23

Study

   

1 Du må ikke udsprede falske ygter. Gør ikke fælles Sag med den, der har Uret, ved at optræde som uretfærdigt Vidne.

2 Du må ikke følge Mængden i, hvad der er ondt, eller i dit Vidnesbyrd for etten tage Hensyn til Mængden, så du bøjer etten.

3 Du må ikke tage Parti for den ringe i hans etssag.

4 Når du træffer din Fjendes Okse eller Æsel løbende løse, skal du bringe dem tilbage til ham.

5 Når du ser din Uvens Æsel segne under sin Byrde, må du ikke lade ham i Stikken, men du skal hjælpe ham med at læsse Byrden af.

6 Du må ikke bøje din fattige Landsmands et i hans etssag.

7 Hold dig fra en uretfærdig Sag; og den, som er uskyldig og har et. må du ikke berøve Livet; nej, du må ikke skaffe den et, som har Uret.

8 Tag ikke mod Bestikkelse, thi Bestikkelse gør den seende blind og fordrejer Sagen for dem, der har et.

9 Undertryk ikke den fremmede; I ved jo, hvorledes den fremmede er til Mode, thi I,var selv fremmede i Ægypten.

10 Seks År igennem skal du tilså dit Land og indsamle dets Afgrøde;

11 men i det syvende skal du lade det hvile og ligge urørt, så at de fattige i dit Folk kan gøre sig til gode dermed, og Markens vilde Dyr kan æde, hvad de levner; ligeså skal du gøre med din Vingård og dine Oliventræer.

12 I seks Dage skal du gøre dit Arbejde, men på den syvende skal du hvile, for at dine Okser og Æsler kan få Hvile og din Trælkvindes Søn og den fremmede hvile ud.

13 Hold eder alt, hvad jeg siger eder, efterrettelig; du må ikke nævne andre Guders Navn, det må ikke høres i din Mund.

14 Tre Gange om Året skal du holde Højtid for mig.

15 Du skal fejre de usyrede Brøds Højtid; i syv Dage skal du spise usyret Brød, som jeg har pålagt dig, på den fastsatte Tid i Abib Måned, thi i den Måned vandrede du ud af Ægypten, Man må ikke stedes for mit Åsyn med tomme Hænder.

16 Fremdeles skal du fejre Højtiden for Høsten, Førstegrøden af dit Arbejde, af hvad du sår i din Mark, og Højtiden for Frugthøsten ved Årets Udgang, når du har bjærget Udbyttet af dit Arbejde hjem fra Marken.

17 Tre Gange om Året skal alle dine Mænd stedes for den Herre HE ENs Åsyn.

18 Du må ikke ofre Blodet af mit Slagtoffer sammen med syret Brød. Fedtet fra min Højtid må ikke gemmes til næste Morgen.

19 Du skal bringe det første, Førstegrøden af din Jord, til HE EN din Guds Hus. Du må ikke koge et Kid i dets Moders Mælk.

20 Se, jeg sender en Engel foran dig for at vogte dig undervejs og føre dig til det Sted, jeg har beredt.

21 Tag dig vel i Vare for ham og adlyd ham; vær ikke genstridig imod ham, thi han skal ikke tilgive eders Overtrædelser, efterdi mit Navn er i ham.

22 Når du adlyder ham og gør alt, hvad jeg siger, vil jeg være dine Fjenders Fjende og dine Modstanderes Modstander,

23 Ja, min Engel skal drage foran dig og føre dig til Amoriterne, Hetiterne, Perizziterne, Kana'anæerne, Hivviterne og Jebusiterne, og jeg vil udrydde dem.

24 Du må ikke tilbede eller dyrke deres Guder eller følge deres Skikke; men du skal nedbryde dem og sønderslå deres Stenstøtter.

25 I skal dyrke HE EN eders Gud, så vil jeg velsigne dit Brød og dit Vand og holde Sygdomme borte fra dig.

26 Utidige Fødsler eller Ufrugtbarhed skal ikke forekomme i dit Land, og dine Dages Mål vil jeg gøre fuldt.

27 Jeg vil sende min ædsel foran dig og bringe Bestyrtelse over alle de Folk, du kommer til, og jeg vil drive alle dine Fjender på Flugt for dig.

28 Jeg vil sende Gedehamse foran dig, og de skal drive Hivviterne, Kana'anæerne og Hetiterne bort foran dig.

29 Men jeg vil ikke drive dem bort foran dig i et og samme År, for at Landet ikke skal lægges øde, og for at Markens vilde Dyr ikke skal tage Overhånd for dig;

30 lidt efter lidt vil jeg drive dem bort foran dig, indtil du bliver så talrig, at du kan tage Landet i Besiddelse.

31 Jeg vil lade dine Landemærker nå fra det røde Hav til Filisternes Hav, fra Ørkenen til Floden, thi jeg giver Landets Indbyggere i eders Hånd, så du kan drive dem bort foran dig.

32 Du må ikke slutte Pagt med dem eller deres Guder.

33 De må ikke blive boende i dit Land, for at de ikke skal forlede dig til Synd imod mig, til at dyrke deres Guder, så det bliver dig til en Snare!

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9261

Studere hoc loco

  
/ 10837  
  

9261. 'You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie' means detesting falsity that arises from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lie' as falsity arising from evil, dealt with in 8908, 9248, falsity arising from evil being meant since it is the falsity people should keep well away from because it derives its essential nature from evil, and evil and good are contrary to each other because evil comes from hell and good comes from heaven, where it is received from the Lord (but falsity which does not arise from evil, being falsity due to lack of knowledge, is not the same, see 1679, 2863, 4551, 4552, 4729, 4736, 6359, 7272, 7574, 8149, 8311, 8318 (end), 9258); and from the meaning of 'keeping oneself well away from' as detesting. The origin of this meaning of 'keeping well away from' as detesting lies with things seen in the spiritual world, where people's differences, disagreements, and detestations in regard to aspects of spiritual life keep them apart from one another. For in that world people seen together in the same place are in a like state in regard to their feelings and consequently their thoughts. But as soon as there is disagreement among them they are separated and kept apart from one another, as far away as the degree of disagreement determines. This is what happens because in the spiritual world extensions of space, like periods of time, are states also, and therefore distances are differences between states. Nevertheless states manifest themselves visually there as extensions of space, and the differences between them as distances. Regarding extensions of space and distances, and also periods of time, that they are states, see 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 2625, 3356, 3387, 3404, 3638-3641, 4321, 4882, 7381, 9104. Yet nevertheless there appear to be extensions of space and distances, but such appearances are the direct product of the changes of the state which things on more internal levels undergo, 5605. From all this it is now evident that 'keeping well away from' in the internal sense means detesting.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #402

Studere hoc loco

  
/ 10837  
  

402. 'A city that was built' means all doctrinal or heretical teaching founded on that heresy. This is clear from the Word wherever the name of any city occurs. In the Word 'city' never means a city but something doctrinal or else something heretical. For angels are totally ignorant of what a city is or what the name of any city is. They never do nor can have any city in mind, for their ideas are of spiritual and celestial things, as shown already. Their perception is solely of what is meant spiritually by cities, and the names of them. For example, by the Holy City, which is also called the Holy Jerusalem, they understand nothing other than the Lord's kingdom in general, or as it exists with each individual who has the Lord's kingdom within him. And the city of Zion or Mount Zion they understand in a similar way, the latter being the celestial degree of faith, the former the spiritual.

[2] And the celestial and spiritual itself is also described by cities, palaces, houses, walls, the foundations of walls, ramparts, gates, bars, and by the temple at the centre, as in Ezekiel 48, and in Revelation 21:15-end. In Revelation 21:2, 10, it is called 'the Holy Jerusalem'; in Jeremiah 31:38 ['the city for Jehovah']; in David, Psalms 46:4, 'the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High'; and in Ezekiel 48:35, it is called 'the city, Jehovah is there'. And in Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls. They will bend down to the soles of your feet, all who disapprove of you, and they will call you the City of Jehovah, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:10, 14.

In Zechariah,

Jerusalem [will be called] the city of truth, and Mount Zion the mountain of holiness. Zechariah 8:3

Here 'city of truth', which is Jerusalem, means the spiritual things of faith, and 'the holy mountain', which is Zion, the celestial things of faith. And whereas the celestial and spiritual things of faith were represented by a city, so all matters of doctrine were meant by the cities of Judah and Israel, each one, when mentioned by name, meaning some specific point of doctrine, though exactly which nobody can know except from the internal sense.

[3] As cities meant matters of doctrine, cities also meant heretical ideas, each one when mentioned by name meaning some specific heretical idea. But at this point solely the consideration that in general a city means doctrinal teaching or else heretical may be established from the following places:

[4] In Isaiah,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. One of these will be called the city Heres. Isaiah 19:18.

This refers to man's knowledge of spiritual and celestial things at the time of the Lord's Coming. In the same prophet,

Full of tumults, a tumultuous city, an exultant city. Isaiah 22:1, 2.

This refers to 'the valley of vision', which is delusion. In Jeremiah,

The cities of the south are shut up, with none opening them. Jeremiah 13:10.

This refers to people who are in 'the south', that is, who dwell in the light of truth, but blot it out. In the same prophet,

Jehovah thought to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He causes rampart and wall to mourn; they have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:8-9.

Here anyone may see that nothing else is meant by 'wall, rampart, gates and bars' than matters of doctrine.

[5] Similarly in Isaiah,

This song will be sung in the land of Judah, Ours is a strong city, salvation will establish walls and a rampart. Open the gates that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Isaiah 26:1-2.

In the same prophet,

I will exalt You, I will confess Your name. You have made the city into a heap, the fortified city into a ruin; let not a palace of aliens be built of the city for ever. Therefore a strong people will honour You, the city of terrifying nations will fear You. Isaiah 25:1-3.

Nor does this refer to any actual city. In Balaam's prophecy,

Edom will be an inheritance, and out of Jacob one will have dominion, and he will accomplish the destruction of the remnant of the city. Numbers 24:18-19.

Here anyone may see that 'the city' does not mean an actual city. In Isaiah,

The city of hollowness has been broken down, every house has been shut up so that none may enter in. There is an outcry in the streets over the wine. Isaiah 24:10-11.

Here 'city of hollowness' stands for hollowness of doctrine. In this and other places 'streets' means the things that constitute a city, namely falsities or truths. In John,

When the seventh angel poured out his bowl the great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. Revelation 16:17, 19.

That 'a great city' means something heretical, as do 'the cities of the nations', may be clear to anyone. The explanation is also given in Revelation 17:18 that the great city means the woman whom John saw, 'the woman', as shown already, being a Church of that nature.

  
/ 10837  
  

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