THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 52

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. AWAKE, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on the garments of your beauty, O Jerusalem, you city of holiness! for no more shall enter into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

VERSE 1. "Zion", in the Word, signifies the celestial kingdom of the Lord, thus also the celestial church; and "Jerusalem", the spiritual kingdom and the spiritual church. What is the celestial kingdom, and what the spiritual kingdom, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 20-28. "The garments of beauty which Jerusalem should put on", are divine Truths; "the uncircumcised and the unclean who shall not come into her", are they who are in evils and falsities. Apocalypse Explained 195.

No more shall enter into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. "Circumcision", or the cutting off of the foreskin, signified nothing else but the removing and wiping away of those things which obstructed and defiled heavenly love, which are the evils originating in lusts, particularly in the lusts of self-love and the falsities thence derived. The reason of this signification is, because the genitals of both sexes represent heavenly love. There are three kinds of love which constitute the celestial things of the Lord's kingdom, that is, conjugial love, love towards infants, and the love of society, or mutual love. Of all these, conjugial love is the principal; for it has for its end the greatest use, that is, the propagation of the human race, and thereby of the Lord's kingdom, of which the human race is a seminary. Love towards infants follows next in order of preference, being derived from conjugial love. Afterwards succeeds the love of society, or mutual love. Whatsoever covers, obstructs, and defiles these loves, is signified by the foreskin, the cutting off of which, or "circumcision", was therefore made representative; for, in proportion as the evils originating in lusts and the falsities thence derived are removed, man is purified and heavenly love is enabled to appear. Hence it is plain that "circumcision", in the internal sense, signifies purity. That "circumcision" is only a sign of a covenant or of conjunction, may evidently appear from this consideration, that the circumcision of the foreskin is a thing of no consequence at all, without the circumcision of the heart", and that the "circumcision of the heart", which is purification from those defiling loves, is what is signified. This appears manifest from the following passages of the Word:

"Jehovah God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Jehovah God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you mayest live." (Deuteronomy 30:6)

From which words it is evident that to "circumcise the heart" signifies to be purified from defiling loves, so that Jehovah God, or the Lord, may be loved with all the heart and with all the soul. So in Jeremiah:

"Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns; circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem." (Jeremiah 4:3, 4)

To "circumcise themselves to Jehovah", and to "take away the foreskin of the heart", is nothing else but to remove such things as obstruct heavenly love; hence also it appears that "circumcision of the heart" is the interior thing which is signified by "circumcision of the foreskin." Arcana Coelestia 2039.

Verses 1, 2. Put on your strength, O Zion; put on the garments of beauty, O Jerusalem, you city of holiness! etc. - Where by "Zion" is understood the church which is in the Good of love to the Lord. The Truth from that Good is signified by "the strength which Zion shall put on"; and the Truths of doctrine appertaining to that church are understood by "the garments of beauty which Jerusalem shall put on"; by "the uncircumcised and the unclean who shall not come in any more", are signified the evils of earthly loves, and their falsities. By "shaking herself from the dust, arising, and sitting", when predicated of Jerusalem, is understood liberation from infernal falsities, and elevation to the Truths of heaven; by "loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion", is signified deliverance. from detention or from being withheld from Truths by falsities, which hinder the reception of influx out of heaven; the "daughter of Zion" denotes those who are in the affection of Truth from the Good of love from the Lord. In the following verses of this chapter it is said of the sons of Israel that "they went down to sojourn in Egypt", and that "the Assyrian had oppressed them", whereby is signified that they 'were secluded from Truths by reasonings from the scientifics of the natural man. Apocalypse Explained 811.

2. Shake yourself from the dust; arise; sit, O Jerusalem: loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

Verse 2. Treating of the establishment of the New Church by the Lord, which, together with its doctrine, is here signified by "Jerusalem", and by the "daughter of Zion." To reject falsities and evils, and to be in Truths and Goods, is signified by "shaking herself from' the dust, arising, and sitting"; likewise by "loosing herself from the bands of her neck", - the "bands of the neck" denoting falsities, which hinder 'Truths from entering. That to "sit" is an expression significative of essence and endurance in the state of a thing and of the life, may appear from those passages in the Word where mention is made of "standing before Jehovah", of "standing before Him ", and of "walking before Him." That to "sit before Jehovah" denotes esse, or to be with Him, thus also to will and to act from Him; and that to "stand before Him" denotes to look to, or regard and understand what He wills; and that to "walk before Him" denotes to live according to His precepts, thus from Him. Whereas to "sit" involves such things; therefore by the same expression, in the Hebrew tongue, is signified to abide and to dwell. Apocalypse Explained 687.

3. For thus says Jehovah, For nought have you sold yourselves; and not with silver shall you be redeemed.

4. For thus says the Lord Jehovih, My people went down at the first to Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them for nought.

Verses 3, 4. Treating of the desolation of Truth by scientifics, and by the reasonings of the natural man therefrom; for by "My people went down to Egypt, to sojourn there", is signified the instruction of the natural man by scientifics and by knowledges of Truth, - "Egypt" signifying scientifics and also knowledges, but such as are from the literal sense of the Word, and to "sojourn" signifies to be instructed.

By "the Assyrian oppressing them without cause [or by nothing]", is understood the falsification of those things by the reasonings of the natural man; the "Assyrian" signifying reasonings, and to "oppress by nothing" falsification; for falsities are nothing, because there is nothing of Truth in them, which is the case when the natural man, separate from the spiritual, draws conclusions. Hence it is that it is premised, "You are sold, or have sold yourselves for nought [gratis]; you shall not be redeemed by silver"; to be "sold gratis" signifying of themselves, or of the proprium, to alienate themselves and addict themselves to falsities; and "not to be redeemed by silver" signifying that they cannot be vindicated from the falsities of evil by Truth, - "silver" here denotes Truth, find to be "redeemed" signifies to be vindicated from the falsities of evil, and to be reformed. Apocalypse Explained 328.

5. And now, what have I here, says Jehovah, [seeing] that My people is taken away for nought? and they that rule over them make them to howl, says Jehovah; and continually every day is My name blasphemed.

Verse 5. Every day is My name blasphemed. - What is meant by "blaspheming the Lord's name", see above, Chapter 37:6, 7, 37, 38, the Exposition.

6. Therefore shall My people know My name; in that day shall they know that I am He that doth speak: behold, it is I.

Verse 6. As to the meaning of "name", and of being "called by a name", see Chapter 4:1; 26:8, the Exposition.

7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace! that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation! that says unto Zion, Your God reigns!

Verse 7. In this passage the Lord is treated of, and by the "peace" here mentioned is signified the Lord Himself and thence heaven to those who are conjoined to Him. To "publish good tidings", signifies to preach those things; and as that conjunction is effected by love, therefore mention is made of "mountains", and also of "Zion", -"mountains" signifying the Good of love to the Lord, and "Zion" the church which is principled in that Good. The Lord is also understood by "Your God reigns!" Inasmuch, you, as the conjunction of Truth and Good from conjunction with the Lord is signified by "peace", therefore it is said that "He publishes peace, brings good tidings of Good, and publishes salvation"; to "bring good tidings of Good" signifies conjunction with Him by Truths, and by a life according to them, for hereby comes salvation. Apocalypse Explained 365.

That brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation! -For what is said respecting "salvation" or " eternal life, " when mentioned in the Word, see Chap, Isaiah 46:13, the Exposition.

8. The voice of your watchmen; they shall lift up their voice; they shall sing together: for eye to eye shall they see, when Jehovah returns to Zion.

Verse 8. "Watchmen" signify those who examine the Scriptures concerning the coming of the Lord; their "voice" is the Word, which is the Divine Truth. Arcana Coelestia 9926.

9. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! for Jehovah has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem!

Verse 9. As to "joy and gladness", see Chapter 51:11; what it is to be deprived of these, see Chapter 16:10; and as to "singing", see Chapter 44:23, the Exposition.

10. Jehovah has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Verse 10. What the "arm of Jehovah" is His Divine Omnipotence in His Divine Human, see Chapter 33:2; 40:10, 12; 51:4, 5, 9, 10, the Exposition.

All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. - What is meant by "the ends of the earth", see Chapter 41:5, 18; 43:5, 6, the Exposition.

11. Depart. you, depart you, go you out from thence; touch no unclean thing: go you out from the midst of her; be you clean, you that bear the vessels of Jehovah!

Verse 11. Touch no unclean thing, etc. - By the "unclean things" which the people of Israel were commanded not to touch, (see Numbers 19:11, 13, 16, 21, 22; also Leviticus 11:31-36) are signified various kinds of evils, and hence of falsities, which are from the hells; and by "touching them" was meant communication, translation, and reception. Everything "unclean" denoted some evil in particular; for it is evils which render a man unclean, because they infect his soul. From evil spirits and genii exude the evils of their hearts, and according to the persuasions of evil they infect those present; it is this contagion which is signified by "the touch of unclean things." Arcana Coelestia 10130.

Be you clean, you that bear the vessels of Jehovah. - The "vessels of gold and silver" from the temple at Jerusalem signified the Goods and Truths of the church; the "vessels of brass", the Truths of natural Good, or subservient scientifics, Thus "vessels", in general, signify knowledges, and intellectual things recipient of Truths and Goods from the Lord. Apocalypse Explained 220, 355, 537.

[As all who are instructed in the knowledges of Truth and Goodness "bear these vessels", therefore the cornmaud - "Be you clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord", is of vital importance to every member of the church. In the most extended sense, everything created is a vessel receptive of life from the Lord; thus our bodies, as well as our minds, are vessels receptive of His life. To be "clean" as to our bodily life, is to keep in subjection all disorderly appetites, so that "whether we eat, or whether we drink, we may do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31.]

12. For not in haste shall you go forth; and not by flight shall you proceed: for Jehovah will go before you; and the God of Israel will gather up your rear.

Verse 12. The God of Israel will gather up your rear. - To "gather up the rear", is to go behind the army to protect them in the rear; thus "the angel and the pillar of the cloud went behind the people of Israel, to protect them against the Egyptians", (Exodus 14:19, 20) by which was signified protection lest the false of evil should flow into the will-principle; for, in the internal sense, the falsities of evil were in this case signified by the "Egyptians." The reason why it denotes lest they should flow into the will-principle is, because in the Grand Man, or in the spiritual world, the things of the will are presented from the back or behind, and the things of the understanding from the face or before. As to what concerns influx into the will-principle and into the intellectual-principle of man, it is to be noted that the utmost caution is used by the Lord to prevent the infernals from flowing in into the will-principle of man, for if they were to flow in into his will-principle after he is regenerated, or made a church, it would be all over with him, for his will-principle is nothing but evil. Hence it is that the man of the spiritual church is regenerated by the Lord as to the intellectual part, and that in this part a new will-principle is formed, which is altogether separated from the will-principle which man has hereditarily; on which subject, see Arcana Coelestia 863, 875. From these considerations it may now be manifest whence it is that by "going behind them" [or by "gathering up the rear "] is signified protection lest the false of evil should flow in into the will-principle. Arcana Coelestia 8184.

13. Behold, My Servant shall act prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14. In like manner as many were astonished at You; so disfigured was His countenance, more than that of any man, and His form more than that of the sons of men:

Verse 13. Treating of the Lord, whose Divine Human is called a "Servant", for the same reason that was mentioned above. (See the Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 42:19.) The glorification of His Human is understood by "He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." Apocalypse Explained 409.

15. Thus shall He sprinkle many nations; before Him shall kings shut their mouth: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Verse 15. These words treat of the Lord's advent. "Nations" stand for those who are affected with Goods, and "kings" for those who are affected with Truths. Arcana Coelestia 2015.

---

Isaiah Chapter 52.

1. AWAKE, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on the garments of your beauty, O Jerusalem, you city of holiness! for no more shall enter into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2. Shake yourself from the dust; arise; sit, O Jerusalem: loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

3. For thus says Jehovah, For nought have you sold yourselves; and not with silver shall you be redeemed.

4. For thus says the Lord Jehovih, My people went down at the first to Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them for nought.

5. And now, what have I here, says Jehovah, [seeing] that My people is taken away for nought? and they that rule over them make them to howl, says Jehovah; and continually every day is My name blasphemed.

6. Therefore shall My people know My name; in that day shall they know that I am He that doth speak: behold, it is I.

7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace! that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation! that says unto Zion, Your God reigns!

8. The voice of your watchmen; they shall lift up their voice; they shall sing together: for eye to eye shall they see, when Jehovah returns to Zion.

9. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! for Jehovah has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem!

10. Jehovah has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11. Depart. you, depart you, go you out from thence; touch no unclean thing: go you out from the midst of her; be you clean, you that bear the vessels of Jehovah!

12. For not in haste shall you go forth; and not by flight shall you proceed: for Jehovah will go before you; and the God of Israel will gather up your rear.

13. Behold, My Servant shall act prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14. In like manner as many were astonished at You; so disfigured was His countenance, more than that of any man, and His form more than that of the sons of men:

15. Thus shall He sprinkle many nations; before Him shall kings shut their mouth: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

2015. That 'kings will come out of you' means that all truth comes from Him is clear from the meaning of 'a king' as truth in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, as stated in 1672 but not yet shown to be so. From the meaning of 'nations' as goods, and from the meaning of 'kings' as truths, the nature of the internal sense of the Word becomes clear, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. No one reading the Word, especially the historical section, believes anything other than that 'nations' referred to there means nations, or that 'kings' there means kings, and therefore that the nations mentioned there, or the kings, are the real subject of the very Word itself. But when the idea of nations and also of kings reaches angels it perishes altogether, and good and truth take their place instead. This is bound to seem strange and indeed a paradox, but it is nevertheless the truth. The matter may also become clear to anyone from the fact that if nations were meant in the Word by 'nations' and kings by 'kings', the Word of the Lord would hardly embody anything more than some historical or other piece of writing and so would be something of a worldly nature, when in fact everything in the Word is Divine and so is celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take merely the statement in the present verse about Abraham's being made fruitful, nations being made of him, and kings coming out of him. What else is this but something purely worldly and nothing at all heavenly? Indeed these assertions entail no more than the glory of this world, a glory which is absolutely nothing in heaven. But if this is the Word of the Lord then its glory must be that of heaven, not that of the world. This also is why the sense of the letter is completely erased and disappears when it passes into heaven, and is purified in such a way that nothing worldly at all is intermingled. For 'Abraham' is not used to mean Abraham but the Lord; nor is 'being fruitful' used to mean his descendants who would increase more and more but the endless growth of good belonging to the Lord's Human Essence. 'Nations' do not mean nations but goods, and 'kings' do not mean kings but truths. Nevertheless the narrative in the sense of the letter remains historically true, for Abraham was indeed spoken to in this way; and he was indeed made fruitful in this way, with nations as well as kings descending from him.

[3] That 'kings' means truths becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. You will suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:10, 16.

What 'sucking the milk of nations and the breast of kings' means is not at all evident from the letter but from the internal sense, in which being endowed with goods and instructed in truths is meant. In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses. Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4.

'Riding in chariots and on horses' is a prophecy meaning the abundance of things of the understanding, as becomes clear from very many places in the Prophets. Thus the prophecy that 'kings will enter through the gates of the city' means in the internal sense that they were to be endowed with truths of faith. This sense of the Word is the heavenly sense into which the worldly sense of the letter passes.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah has spurned in His fierce indignation king and priest. The gates of Zion have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. King and princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Lamentations 2:6, 9.

Here 'king' stands for the truth of faith, 'priest' for the good of charity, 'Zion' for the Church, which is destroyed and its bars broken in pieces. Consequently 'king and princes among the nations', that is, truth and what belongs to truth, will be so completely banished that 'the law is no more', that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith will exist any more. In Isaiah,

Before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the ground will be abandoned which you loathe in the presence of its two kings. Isaiah 7:16.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'The land that will be abandoned' stands for faith which at that time would not exist. 'The kings' are the truths of faith which would be loathed.

[5] In the same prophet,

I will lift up My hand to the nations and raise My ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder. Kings will be your foster fathers and their queens your wet-nurses. Isaiah 49:22-23.

'Nations' and 'daughters' stand for goods, 'peoples' and 'sons' for truths, as shown in Volume One. That 'nations' stands for goods, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, as does 'daughters', 489-491, while 'peoples' stands for truths, 1259, 1260, as does 'sons', 489, 491, 533, 1147. 'Kings' therefore stands for truths, in general by which they will be nourished, and 'queens' for goods by which they will be suckled. Whether you speak of goods and truths or of those who are governed by goods and truths it amounts to the same.

[6] In the same prophet,

He will spatter many nations, kings will shut their mouths because of him, ¹ for that which has [not] been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood. Isaiah 52:15.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'Nations' stands for those who are stirred by an affection for goods, 'kings' those who are stirred by an affection for truths. In David,

Now, O kings, be intelligent; be instructed, O judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He perhaps be angry and you perish in the way. Psalms 2:10-12.

'Kings' stands for people who are governed by truths, and who by virtue of truths are also in many places called 'king's sons'. 'The Son' here stands for the Lord, and he is called the Son here because he is Truth itself, and the source of all truth.

[7] In John,

They will sing a new song, You are worthy to take the Book and to open its seals. You have made us kings and priests to our God so that we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10.

Here people who are governed by truths are called 'kings'. The Lord also calls them 'the sons of the kingdom' in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

In John,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the east. Revelation 16:12.

'Euphrates' clearly does not mean the Euphrates, nor does 'kings from the east' mean kings from that quarter. What 'Euphrates' does mean may be seen in 120, 1585, 1866, from which it is evident that 'the way of the kings who were from the cast' means truths of faith that derive from goods of love.

[8] In the same book,

The nations that are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:24.

Here 'nations' stands for people who are governed by goods, 'kings of the earth' for those who are governed by truths, which is also evident from the fact that the details here are prophetical, not historical. In the same book,

With the great harlot seated on many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom and have become drunk with the wine of her whoredom. Revelation 17:2.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Revelation 18:1, 3, 9.

Here similarly it is clear that 'the kings of the earth' does not mean kings, for the subject is the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, which are 'whoredom'. 'Kings of the earth' stands for truths that have been falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same book,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but are receiving authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These will be of one mind, and they will hand over power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13.

That 'kings' here does not mean kings may also be evident to anyone. If kings were meant, then 'ten kings receiving authority as kings for one hour' would be quite unintelligible, as similarly with the following words in the same book,

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse, and with His army. Revelation 19:19

In verse 13 of the same chapter it is stated explicitly that the One who was sitting on the horse was The Word of God, against which the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered. 'The beast' stands for goods of love that have been profaned, 'kings' for truths of faith that have been adulterated; these are called 'kings of the earth' because they exist within the Church - 'earth' meaning the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262. 'The white horse' stands for the understanding of truth, 'He who was sitting on the horse' for the Word. This matter is plainer still in Daniel 11, describing the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, by which is meant the conflict of truths with falsities. Here such conflicts are described as a war that took place in history.

[10] Since 'a king' means truth, what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called King, and also a Priest, is made clear; and what essential quality of the Lord was represented by kings, and what by priests, is also made clear. 'Kings' represented His Divine Truth, and 'priests' His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King are truths, while all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest and by which He rules even over truths themselves are goods. For government from truths alone condemns everyone to hell, but government from goods lifts them out of that place and raises them up into heaven; see 1728. Because, in the Lord's case, these two - truths and goods - are joined together, they were also represented in ancient times by kingship and priesthood combined, as with Melchizedek who was at one and the same time king of Salem and priest to God Most High, Genesis 14:18. And at a later time among the Jews where the representative Church was established in a form of its own He was represented by judges and priests, and after that by kings.

[11] But because 'kings' represented truths which ought not to be paramount for the reason, already stated, that they condemn, the very idea was so objectionable that the Jews were reproached for it. The nature of truth regarded in itself has been described in 1 Samuel 8:11-18, as the rights of a king; and previous to that, in Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14-18, they had been commanded through Moses to choose genuine truth deriving from good, not spurious truth, and not to pollute it with reasonings and factual knowledge. These are the considerations which the directive concerning a king given in the place in Moses referred to above embodies within itself. No one can possibly see this from the sense of the letter, but it is nevertheless evident from the details within the internal sense. This shows why 'a king' and 'kingship' represented and meant nothing other than truth.

Bilješke: