The Bible

 

Ezekiel 12

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1 The word of Jehovah also came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.

3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

4 And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing; and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.

5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I digged through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.

8 And in the morning came the word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This burden [concerneth] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.

11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.

12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.

13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are round about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

15 And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.

16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

17 Moreover the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with fearfulness;

19 and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, [and despoiled] of all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.

20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

21 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

22 Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision.

24 For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.

25 For I am Jehovah; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

26 Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many day to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.

28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord Jehovah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #591

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591. 13:10 Anyone who leads into captivity shall go into captivity. This symbolically means that someone who uses that heresy to draw others away from believing rightly and living rightly is drawn by his own falsities and evils into hell.

To lead into captivity means, symbolically, to persuade and win over to one's side so that people consent to and attach themselves to that heresy meant by the dragon and the beast, and thus to draw them away from believing rightly and living rightly. To go into captivity means, symbolically, to be drawn by one's own falsities and evils into hell.

Captivity here means spiritual captivity, which is to be led astray and so to be drawn away from truths and goods into falsities and evils.

That captivity in the Word means this spiritual captivity can be seen from the following passages:

Hear now, all peoples, and behold my sorrow; my virgins and my young men have gone into captivity. (Lamentations 1:18)

(God) forsook His dwelling..., (and) the tent where He dwelt among men, and delivered His strength into captivity... (Psalms 78:60-61)

The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; ...then you will be ashamed... because of all your wickedness. (Jeremiah 22:22)

I will make My arrows drunk... with the blood of the slain and the captivity... (Deuteronomy 32:42)

They stooped (and) bowed down..., and their soul will go into captivity. (Isaiah 46:1-2)

(Jehovah) has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, ...to the bound, ...to the blind... (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18-19)

I will stir him up in righteousness...; he shall... let My captives go free, not for price nor reward... (Isaiah 45:13)

You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive... (Psalms 68:18)

Shall... the captivity of the righteous be delivered? ..."Even the captivity of the strong shall be taken away, and the captured of the violent be delivered." (Isaiah 49:24-25)

Shake yourself from the dust...; sit, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! (Isaiah 52:1-2)

And so on elsewhere, as in Jeremiah 48:46-47; 50:33-34, Ezekiel 6:1-10; 12:1-12, Obadiah 1:11, Psalms 14:7; 53:6.

The captivities of the children of Israel by their enemies described in the book of Judges, in 2 Kings 25, and in the prophets represented and so symbolized spiritual captivities, as discussed elsewhere.

The bound have the same symbolic meaning as captives in the following places:

...by the blood of your covenant I will set the bound free from the... pit. (Zechariah 9:11)

The groaning of the bound shall come to You. (Psalms 79:11)

...the bound shall be gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison. (Isaiah 24:22)

He made the world a wilderness..., He did not open the house to his bound ones. (Isaiah 14:17)

(The king said, "I was) in prison and you did not come to Me." (Matthew 25:43)

(Jesus said,) "Ought not this... daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound..., be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" (Luke 13:16)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.