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Jeremiah 48

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1 Concerning Moab: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Wo unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been broken down.

2 There is no more praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised against it evil: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, thou art cut off, After thee goeth a sword.

3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction.

4 Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones.

5 For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard.

6 Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness.

7 For, because of thy trusting in thy works, And in thy treasures, even thou art captured, And gone out hath Chemosh in a removal, His priests and his heads together.

8 And come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah said.

9 Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them.

10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.

11 Secure is Moab from his youth, And at rest [is] he for his preserved things, And he hath not been emptied out from vessel unto vessel, And into captivity he hath not gone, Therefore hath his taste remained in him, And his fragrance hath not been changed.

12 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have sent to him wanderers, And they have caused him to wander, And his vessels they empty out, And his bottles they dash in pieces.

13 And ashamed hath been Moab because of Chemosh, As the house of Israel have been ashamed Because of Beth-El their confidence.

14 How do ye say, We [are] mighty, And men of strength for battle?

15 Spoiled is Moab, and her cities hath one gone up, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name.

16 Near is the calamity of Moab to come, And his affliction hath hasted exceedingly.

17 Bemoan for him, all ye round about him, And all knowing his name, say ye: How hath it been broken, the staff of strength, The rod of beauty.

18 Come down from honour, sit in thirst, O inhabitant, daughter of Dibon, For a spoiler of Moab hath come up to thee, He hath destroyed thy fenced places.

19 On the way stand, and watch, O inhabitant of Aroer, Ask the fugitive and escaped, Say, What hath happened?

20 Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,

21 And judgment hath come in unto the land of the plain -- unto Holon, And unto Jahazah, and on Mephaath,

22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, And on Beth-Diblathaim, and on Kirathaim,

23 And on Beth-Gamul, and on Beth-Meon,

24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, And on all cities of the land of Moab, The far off and the near.

25 Cut down hath been the horn of Moab, And his arm hath been broken, An affirmation of Jehovah.

26 Declare ye him drunk, For against Jehovah he made himself great And Moab hath stricken in his vomit, And he hath been for a derision -- even he.

27 And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.

28 Forsake cities, and dwell in a rock, Ye inhabitants of Moab, And be as a dove making a nest in the passages of a pit's mouth.

29 We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceeding proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart,

30 I -- I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and [it is] not right, His devices -- not right they have done.

31 Therefore for Moab I howl, even for Moab -- all of it, I cry for men of Kir-Heres, it doth mourn,

32 With the weeping of Jazer, I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah, Thy branches have passed over a sea, Unto the sea of Jazer they have come, On thy summer fruits, and on thy harvest, A spoiler hath fallen.

33 And removed hath been joy and gladness From the fruitful field, Even from the land of Moab, And wine from wine-presses I have caused to cease, Shouting doth not proceed, The shouting [is] no shouting!

34 Because of the cry of Heshbon unto Elealeh, Unto Jahaz they have given their voice, From Zoar unto Horonaim, A heifer of the third [year], For even waters of Nimrim become desolations.

35 And I have caused to cease to Moab, An affirmation of Jehovah, Him who is offering in a high place, And him who is making perfume to his god.

36 Therefore my heart for Moab as pipes doth sound, And my heart for men of Kir-Heres As pipes doth sound, Therefore the abundance he made did perish.

37 For every head [is] bald, and every beard diminished, On all hands cuttings, and on the loins -- sackcloth.

38 On all roofs of Moab, and in her broad-places, All of it -- [is] lamentation, For I have broken Moab as a vessel in which there is no pleasure, An affirmation of Jehovah.

39 How hath it been broken down! they have howled, How hath Moab turned the neck ashamed, And Moab hath been for a derision. And for a terror to all round about her.

40 For thus said Jehovah: Lo, as an eagle he doth flee, And hath spread his wings unto Moab.

41 Captured have been the cities, And the strongholds are caught, And the heart of the mighty of Moab Hath been in that day as the heart of a distressed woman.

42 And Moab hath been destroyed from [being] a people, For against Jehovah he exerted himself.

43 Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [are] for thee, O inhabitant of Moab -- an affirmation of Jehovah,

44 Whoso is fleeing because of the fear falleth into the snare, And whoso is coming up from the snare is captured by the gin, For I bring in unto her -- unto Moab -- The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.

45 In the shadow of Heshbon stood powerless have fugitives, For fire hath gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from within Sihon, And it consumeth the corner of Moab, And the crown of the sons of Shaon.

46 Wo to thee, O Moab, Perished hath the people of Chemosh, For thy sons were taken with the captives, And thy daughters with the captivity.

47 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Moab, In the latter end of the days, An affirmation of Jehovah! Hitherto [is] the judgment of Moab.

   

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9941

Studere hoc loco

  
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9941. Verses 39-40 And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen, 1 and you shall make the turban of fine linen; and the belt you shall make with the work of an embroiderer. And for Aaron's sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make belts for them, and you shall make headdresses for them, for glorious adornment. 2

'And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen' means the inmost things of the spiritual kingdom, emanating from the truths of celestial love. 'And you shall make the turban of fine linen' means the wisdom there. 'And the belt' means a bond, and a separation from the outward things of that kingdom. 'You shall make with the work of an embroiderer' means through cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth. 'And for Aaron's sons' means Divine Truths emanating in the heavens from the Lord's Divine Good. 'You shall make tunics' means the things that belong to faith there. 'And you shall make belts for them' means a holding in connection. 'And you shall make headdresses for them' means the intelligence there. 'For glorious adornment' means the spiritual Church's truth.

V:

1. i.e. an all-white garment made of linen containing checks in the weave

2. literally, for glory and for adornment (decus)

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

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1798

Studere hoc loco

  
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1798. That 'Abram said, See, to me You have not given seed' means that there was no internal dimension of the Church, [which is love and faith,] is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as love and faith, dealt with already in 255, 256, 1025, and in what follows below from the meaning of 'an heir'. The fact that love and faith deriving from love constitute the internal dimension of the Church has been stated and shown frequently already. No other kind of faith that constitutes the internal dimension of the Church is meant than the faith which is a product of love or charity, that is, which originates in love or charity.

[2] In a general sense faith embraces everything that is taught by the Church; but doctrinal teachings separated from love or charity do not in any way constitute the internal dimension of the Church, for such teachings are no more than knowledge which is present in the memory and which also exists with the worst of people, even with those in hell. But doctrinal teachings which originate in charity, that is, which are a product of charity, do constitute the internal dimension of the Church, for this dimension is essentially its life. The life itself constitutes the internal aspect of all worship, and so too do all doctrinal teachings that flow from the life that belongs to charity. It is these teachings when they comprise faith that are meant here, and it is faith such as this that constitutes the internal dimension of the Church, as may become clear from the single consideration that anyone who is leading a charitable life has an awareness of all things of faith.

[3] Just examine, if you care to do so, any doctrinal teachings, so that you may see what they are and what they are like. Do they not all have regard to charity, and so to faith that derives from charity? Take simply the Ten Commandments, the first of which is that you should worship the Lord God. Anyone who possesses the life of love or charity worships the Lord God, for it is in this that the life within him consists. Another commandment says that you should keep the Sabbath. Anyone in whom the life of love, that is, in whom charity, is present keeps the Sabbath holy since nothing delights him more than worshipping the Lord and declaring His glory day by day. The commandment that you should not kill has regard entirely to charity. Anyone who loves his neighbour as himself shudders at doing him any injury whatever, and even more at killing him. Likewise with the commandment that you should not steal, for the person who possesses the life of charity would rather give from what is his own to his neighbour than take away anything from him. Equally the commandment that you should not commit adultery. A man in whom the life of charity is present is minded rather to protect his neighbour's wife lest anyone should do such great harm to her, and regards adultery as a crime committed against conscience, such as destroys conjugial love and the responsibilities that go with it. Coveting things that belong to the neighbour is also contrary to the mind of those in whom the life of charity is present, for the essence of charity is to will good to others from oneself and what is one's own, thus they in no way covet what belongs to another.

[4] These Commandments, included among the Ten, are more external matters of doctrine concerning faith, which are not simply retained as knowledge in the memory of him in whom charity and the life of charity are present, but are in his heart. They are also inscribed upon him because they are grounded in his charity and so in his very life, in addition to other things of a dogmatic nature that are inscribed upon him which in a similar way he knows from charity alone. For he lives in accordance with a conscience for that which is right. Anything right or true which he is unable to understand and examine in this fashion he nevertheless believes in simplicity - that is, in simplicity of heart - to be right or true because the Lord has so said. Nor is anything wrong with such belief, even if that which is believed is not in itself true, only an appearance of truth.

[5] People may believe for example that the Lord can be angry, punish, tempt, and the like. Also, they may believe that in the Holy Supper the bread and wine have some spiritual meaning, or that flesh and blood are present in some way or other which they are able to explain. But whether they express the one or the other of these views about the Holy Supper, it makes no difference provided that two things are characteristic of these persons: Few people in fact give the matter any thought at all, and if any do give it any thought it makes no difference which view is held provided, a) It is done from a simple heart because it is what they have been taught, and b) They are leading charitable lives. When they hear that the bread and wine mean in the internal sense the Lord's love towards the whole human race, and the things that go with that love, and man's reciprocated love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, they believe it instantly and rejoice that it really is so. This is never the case with those who possess doctrine yet lack charity. They dispute everything and condemn anyone who does not speak - though they say it is to believe - as they do. From these considerations it may become clear to anyone that love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour constitute the internal dimension of the Church.

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