Bibliorum

 

Genezo 19

Study

   

1 Kaj la du angxeloj venis Sodomon vespere, kaj Lot tiam sidis cxe la pordego de Sodom. Kiam Lot ilin ekvidis, li levigxis renkonte al ili kaj klinigxis vizagxaltere.

2 Kaj li diris: Mi petas vin, sinjoroj, envenu en la domon de via sklavo kaj pasigu la nokton kaj lavu viajn piedojn, kaj vi levigxos matene kaj iros vian vojon. Kaj ili diris: Ne, ni pasigos la nokton sur la strato.

3 Kaj li tre petegis ilin, kaj ili direktis sin al li kaj envenis en lian domon; kaj li faris al ili festenon, kaj li bakis macojn, kaj ili mangxis.

4 Antaux ol ili kusxigxis, la homoj de la urbo, la homoj de Sodom, cxirkauxis la domon, de la junuloj gxis la maljunuloj, la tuta popolo, de cxiuj finoj.

5 Kaj ili vokis Loton, kaj diris al li: Kie estas la viroj, kiuj venis al vi dum la nokto? elirigu ilin al ni, por ke ni ilin ekkonu.

6 Kaj Lot eliris al ili antaux la sojlon, kaj la pordon li sxlosis post si.

7 Kaj li diris: Ho, miaj fratoj, ne agu malbone!

8 Jen mi havas du filinojn, kiuj ankoraux ne ekkonis viron; mi elirigos ilin al vi, kaj faru kun ili, kion vi deziras; nur al tiuj viroj nenion faru, cxar por tio ili venis sub la ombron de mia tegmento.

9 Sed ili diris: Iru for! Kaj ili diris plue: Vi venis cxi tien kiel fremdulo, kaj vi volas jugxi! nun ni pli malbone agos kun vi, ol kun ili. Kaj ili tre insiste postulis de la viro, de Lot, kaj ili aliris, por elrompi la pordon.

10 Tiam tiuj viroj etendis siajn manojn kaj envenigis Loton al si en la domon, kaj la pordon ili sxlosis;

11 kaj la homojn, kiuj estis antaux la sojlo de la domo, ili frapis per blindeco, de la malgrandaj gxis la grandaj, tiel ke tiuj lacigxis, sercxante la pordon.

12 Kaj la viroj diris al Lot: Kiun vi havas cxi tie? bofilon, aux viajn filojn aux viajn filinojn, aux cxiun ajn, kiun vi havas en la urbo, elirigu ilin el cxi tiu loko;

13 cxar ni ekstermos cxi tiun lokon, cxar granda farigxis ilia kriado antaux la Eternulo, kaj la Eternulo sendis nin, por gxin pereigi.

14 Kaj Lot eliris, kaj parolis kun siaj bofiloj, prenontaj liajn filinojn, kaj diris: Levigxu, eliru el cxi tiu loko, cxar la Eternulo pereigos la urbon. Sed liaj bofiloj rigardis lin kiel sxercanton.

15 Kiam levigxis la matenrugxo, la angxeloj rapidigis Loton, dirante: Levigxu, prenu vian edzinon kaj ambaux viajn filinojn, kiuj cxi tie trovigxas, por ke vi ne pereu pro la krimeco de la urbo.

16 Sed cxar li malrapidis, tial la viroj kaptis lian manon kaj la manon de lia edzino kaj la manojn de liaj du filinoj, pro kompato de la Eternulo al li, kaj ili elirigis lin kaj metis lin ekster la urbon.

17 Kaj kiam ili elkondukis lin eksteren, ili diris al li: Savu vin pro via animo; ne rigardu malantauxen kaj haltu nenie en la tuta cxirkauxajxo; sur la monton savu vin, por ke vi ne pereu.

18 Kaj Lot diris al ili: Ho, ne, mia Sinjoro!

19 Jen Via sklavo placxis al Vi, kaj granda estas la favorkoreco, kiun Vi montris al mi, konservante la vivon al mia animo; sed mi ne povas savi min sur la monton, cxar povus trafi min malfelicxo kaj mi mortus.

20 Jen cxi tiu urbo estas suficxe proksima, por kuri tien, kaj gxi estas malgranda; mi savos min tien; gxi estas ja malgranda; kaj mia animo restos viva.

21 Kaj Li diris al li: Jen Mi komplezos al vi ankaux en cxi tiu afero, kaj Mi ne renversos la urbon, pri kiu vi parolis.

22 Rapide savu vin tien, cxar Mi nenion povas fari, gxis vi venos tien. Tial tiu urbo ricevis la nomon Coar.

23 La suno levigxis super la teron, kiam Lot venis Coaron.

24 Kaj la Eternulo pluvigis sur Sodomon kaj Gomoran sulfuron kaj fajron de la Eternulo el la cxielo.

25 Kaj Li ruinigis tiujn urbojn kaj la tutan cxirkauxajxon kaj cxiujn logxantojn de la urboj kaj la kreskajxojn de la tero.

26 Kaj lia edzino ekrigardis malantauxen, kaj sxi farigxis kolono el salo.

27 Kaj matene Abraham levigxis kaj iris al la loko, kie li estis starinta antaux la Eternulo;

28 kaj li ekrigardis en la direkto al Sodom kaj Gomora kaj al la tuta lando de la cxirkauxajxo, kaj li vidis, ke jen fumo levigxas de la tero kiel fumo el forno.

29 Kaj kiam Dio estis pereiganta la urbojn de la cxirkauxajxo, Li rememoris pri Abraham, kaj Li elirigis Loton el la mezo de la ruinigado, kiam Li estis ruiniganta la urbojn, en kiuj logxis Lot.

30 Kaj Lot eliris el Coar kaj eklogxis sur la monto, kaj liaj du filinoj kun li; cxar li timis logxi en Coar. Kaj li logxis en kaverno, li kaj liaj du filinoj.

31 Kaj la pli maljuna diris al la pli juna: Nia patro estas maljuna, kaj en la lando ne ekzistas viro, kiu envenus al ni laux la moro de la tuta tero;

32 tial ni ebriigu nian patron per vino, kaj ni kusxu kun li, por ke ni aperigu de nia patro idaron.

33 Kaj ili ebriigis sian patron per vino en tiu nokto; kaj venis la pli maljuna kaj kusxis kun sia patro; kaj li ne sciis, kiam sxi kusxigxis kaj kiam sxi levigxis.

34 La morgauxan tagon la pli maljuna diris al la pli juna: Jen mi kusxis hieraux kun mia patro; ni ebriigu lin per vino ankaux en cxi tiu nokto, kaj vi venu, kusxu kun li, por ke ni aperigu de nia patro idaron.

35 Kaj ili ankaux en cxi tiu nokto ebriigis sian patron per vino; kaj la pli juna iris kaj kusxis kun li; kaj li ne sciis, kiam sxi kusxigxis kaj kiam sxi levigxis.

36 Kaj ambaux filinoj de Lot gravedigxis de sia patro.

37 Kaj la pli maljuna naskis filon, kaj sxi donis al li la nomon Moab; li estas la prapatro de la Moabidoj gxis nun.

38 Kaj la pli juna ankaux naskis filon, kaj sxi donis al li la nomon Ben- Ami; li estas la prapatro de la Amonidoj gxis nun.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #2373

Studere hoc loco

  
/ 10837  
  

2373. 'Now we will do more harm to you than to them' means that they would reject the good of charity even more than they rejected the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Lot' as good that flows from charity, for Lot represents those with whom the good of charity is present, 2324, 2351, 2371; and from the meaning of 'the men', who were angels, as the Lord as regards the Divine Human and His Holy proceeding, dealt with above. From this it is evident that 'doing more harm to you than to them' has this meaning. Those inside the Church who are immersed in evil reject charity even more than they deny the Lord, the reason being that in so doing they can look favourably upon their own lusts through a semblance of religion and engage in external worship which has no internal, that is, a worship of the lips and not of the heart; and the more they regard this worship to be Divine and Holy, the greater the positions and wealth they attain. And in addition to this there are many other hidden yet manifest reasons. For the fact of the matter is that the person who rejects charity, that is to say, rejects it in doctrine and at the same time in life, also rejects the Lord. Though he does not dare to do so with the lips he nevertheless does so in his heart, a fact which is expressed even in the sense of the letter by the statement 'they came near to break down the door' which means that they went so far as to try and destroy them both. But what prevents the actual realization of the attempt is no hidden matter.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1937

Studere hoc loco

  
/ 10837  
  

1937. That 'humble yourself beneath her hands' means that it ought by self-compulsion to place itself under the controlling power of that interior truth is clear without explanation. In the original language 'humbling oneself' is expressed by means of a word which means to fling down. That 'flinging oneself down' in the internal sense is compelling oneself becomes clear from very many places in the Word, the meaning of which will be dealt with later on. The need for the individual to compel himself to do good, to obey what the Lord has commanded, and to utter truths, meant by 'humbling herself beneath her mistress's hands', that is, submitting oneself beneath the controlling power of Divine good and truth, comprehends more arcana within itself than can be explained briefly.

[2] There are certain spirits who during their lifetime, having heard that all good originated in the Lord and that man was unable from himself to perform any good at all, had for these reasons held to a principle of not compelling themselves in anything and of remaining utterly passive; for they had supposed that, what they had heard being true, any effort at all made by them was totally ineffectual. They had therefore waited for immediate influx into the effort of their will and had not compelled themselves to do anything good. Indeed when anything evil had crept in, since they did not feel from within any resistance to it, they had gone so far as to abandon themselves to it, imagining that it was permissible to do so. But those spirits are such that they do not possess so to speak any selfhood, and so do not possess any mind of their own, and are therefore among the more useless; for they suffer themselves to be led just as much by the evil as by the good, and suffer much from the evil.

[3] But those who have practiced self-compulsion and set themselves against evil and falsity - even though at first they had imagined that they did so of themselves, or by their own power, but had after that been enlightened to the effect that their effort originated in the Lord, even the smallest of all the impulses of that effort - in the next life cannot be led by evil spirits, but are among the blessed. This shows that a person ought to compel himself to do what is good and to speak what is true. The arcanum Lying within this is that in so doing a person has a heavenly proprium bestowed on him from the Lord. This heavenly proprium is formed within the effort of his thought; but if he does not maintain that effort through self-compulsion - as this appears to be the way it is maintained - he does not by any means do so by abstaining from self-compulsion.

[4] To make this matter clearer let it be said that within all compulsion towards what is good a certain freedom exists, which is not recognized as freedom while a person is exercising self-compulsion, but is nevertheless inwardly present. Take for example one who is willing to risk death for the sake of some particular end, or one who is willing to endure physical pain for the sake of his health. There is a willingness and so a certain freedom in those actions, though while he is taking risks or suffering pain these remove any feeling of willingness or freedom. So also with those who compel themselves to do what is good. Present within them there is a willingness and thus freedom, which is the source of and the reason for their self-compulsion. That is to say, they compel themselves for the reason that they may obey the things which the Lord has commanded and that their souls may become saved after death; and within these a still greater reason is present, though the person himself is not aware of it, namely the Lord's kingdom, and indeed the Lord Himself.

[5] This applies most of all in times of temptation. In these, when a person practices self-compulsion and sets himself against the evil and falsity that are implanted and prompted by evil spirits, more freedom is present than there would ever be in any state outside those times of temptation, though the person cannot comprehend it then. It is an interior freedom, which produces in him the will to subdue evil and which is great enough to match the power and might of the evil assailing him; otherwise he would not be able to fight at all. This freedom comes from the Lord who implants it in his conscience and by means of it causes him to overcome evil as though he did so from his own proprium. By means of that freedom the person receives a proprium into which the Lord is able to exert good. Without a proprium acquired, that is, conferred, by means of freedom, no one can possibly be reformed, since he is unable to receive a new will, which is conscience. The freedom so conferred is the actual plane into which the influx of good and truth from the Lord passes. Consequently people who in times of temptation do not put up any resistance from that will or freedom conferred on them go under.

[6] Present in all freedom is a person's life, because present there is his love. Whatever a person does from love appears to him as freedom. But within that freedom, when the person practices self-compulsion, setting himself against evil and falsity and doing what is good, heavenly love is present which the Lord instills at that time and by means of which He creates that person's proprium. It is the Lord's will therefore that this proprium should appear to the person to be his own, though in fact it is not. This proprium which a person receives in this manner during his lifetime by means, as it seems, of compulsion, the Lord replenishes in the next life with limitless forms of delight and happiness. Such people are also by degrees enlightened, or rather are confirmed, in the truth that their self-compulsion has not commenced at all in themselves but that even the smallest of all the impulses of their will has been received from the Lord. They are also led to see that the reason why their compulsion had appeared to commence in themselves was that the Lord might give them a new will as their own, and in this way the life belonging to heavenly love might be imparted to them as their own. Indeed the Lord's will is to share with everyone that which is His, thus that which is heavenly, so that it may appear to be that person's and to be within him, though in fact it is not his. A proprium such as this exists with angels, and insofar as they accept the truth that everything good and true comes from the Lord the delight and happiness belonging to such a proprium exist with them.

[7] People however who despise and reject everything good and true and who are unwilling to believe anything that conflicts with their evil desires and their reasonings are unable to compel themselves and so are unable to receive this proprium imparted to conscience, that is, to receive a new will. From what has been stated above it is also evident that self-compulsion is not the same as being compelled, for no good ever results from being compelled, as when one person is being compelled by another to do good. What is being discussed here is self-compulsion which is the product of a certain freedom unknown to the individual, for the Lord is never the source of any compulsion. From this comes the universal law that everything good and true is implanted in freedom. Otherwise the ground never becomes receptive and able to foster what is good; indeed there is no ground for the seed to grow in.

  
/ 10837  
  

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