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Ezekiel 16

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1 Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;

3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.

4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.

6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, [Though thou art] in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, [Though thou art] in thy blood, live.

7 I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.

8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.

11 And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.

14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.

15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.

16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].

17 Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;

18 and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.

19 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and [thus] it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.

20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,

21 that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through [the fire] unto them?

22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.

23 And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah,)

24 that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.

25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.

27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary [food], and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.

28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.

30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot;

31 in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire.

32 A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!

33 They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.

34 And thou art different from [other] women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:

36 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;

37 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.

39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.

40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

41 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.

42 So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use [this] proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as [if that were] a very little [thing], thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways.

48 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good].

51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.

52 Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous that thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

53 And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;

54 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

57 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.

58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah.

59 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

61 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder [sisters] and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;

63 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #655

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655. Where also our Lord was crucified.- That this signifies by means of which He was rejected and condemned, namely, by means of evils, and falsities therefrom springing from infernal love, is evident from this consideration, that evils themselves and their consequent falsities arising from infernal love are what reject and condemn the Lord, and these evils and the falsities therefrom are signified by Sodom and Egypt, therefore it is said concerning the city of Jerusalem that it is called so spiritually, for to be spiritually called signifies evil itself, and the falsity therefrom.

[2] The hells are separated into two kingdoms opposite the two kingdoms in the heavens; the kingdom opposite the celestial kingdom is at the back, and those who are there are called genii, and this kingdom is what is understood in the Word by "devil." But the kingdom opposite the spiritual kingdom is in front, and those who are there are called evil spirits; this kingdom is what is meant in the Word by "Satan." These hells, or these two kingdoms into which the hells are separated, are meant by Sodom and Egypt. Whether it is said evils and falsities therefrom, or those hells, it is the same thing, since from these all evils and falsities ascend.

[3] The Jews of Jerusalem crucifying the Lord signifies that the evils and the falsities therefrom which they loved crucified Him; for all things recorded in the Word concerning the Lord's passion represented the perverted state of the church with that nation. For although they accounted the Word holy, yet they perverted all things therein by their traditions until there was no longer any Divine Good and Truth remaining with them, and, when the Divine Good and Truth that are in the Word no longer remain, then evils and falsities from infernal love succeed in their place, and these are what crucify the Lord. That such things are signified by the Lord's passion, may be seen above (n. 83, 195:21, 627:16, at the end). The Lord is said to be slain because it signifies His being rejected and denied, as may be seen above (n. 328). Concerning the nature and quality of the Jews, see above (n. 122, 433:28, 619), and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248).

[4] Since it is here said "where our Lord was crucified," it shall be explained what crucifixion, or suspension upon wood, signified with the Jews. There were two punishments of death with them, crucifixion and stoning; and by crucifixion was signified condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of good in the church, and by stoning was signified condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of truth in the church. Crucifixion signified condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of good in the church, because wood, upon which they were suspended, signified good, and, in the opposite sense, evil, both pertaining to the will. Stoning signified condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of truth in the church, because stone, with which stoning was effected, signified truth, and, in the opposite sense falsity, both pertaining to the understanding. For all things instituted with the Israelitish and Jewish nation were representative, and thence significative. That wood signifies good, and, in the opposite sense, evil, and that stone signifies truth, and, in the opposite sense, falsity, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 643, 3720, 8354). But because it has been hitherto unknown whence the punishment of the cross and of stoning came to the Jews and Israelites, and since it is nevertheless important that this should be known, I will also adduce confirmations from the Word to show that these two punishments also were representative.

[5] That suspension upon wood, or crucifixion, was inflicted on account of the destruction of good in the church, and that thus was represented evil from infernal love, from which comes condemnation and a curse is evident from the following passages.

In Moses:

"If there be a stubborn and rebellious son, obeying not the voice of his father and mother, all the men of the city shall stone him with stones that he die. And if there be in a man sin and judgment of death, and he be slain, thou shalt hang him upon wood; his carcase shall not remain all night upon wood, but burying thou shalt bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is the curse of God, and thou shalt not defile thy land." (Deuteronomy 21:18, 20-23.)

Not obeying the voice of father and mother, signifies in the spiritual sense, to live contrary to the precepts and truths of the church; the punishment for it was therefore stoning. The men of the city who shall stone him signify those who are in the doctrine of the church, a city denoting doctrine. If there be in a man sin and judgment of death, thou shalt hang him upon wood, means if one has done evil against the good of the Word and of the church. Because this was a capital crime, he was to be hung upon wood, for wood, in the Word, signifies good, and in the opposite sense evil. His carcase shall not remain all night upon the wood, but thou shalt bury him the same day, signifies lest there be a representative of eternal damnation. Thou shalt not defile thy land, signifies that it would be a scandal to the church.

[6] In Lamentations:

"Our skins are become black as an oven, because of the storms of famine; they ravished the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah; their princes were hanged up by the hand, the faces of the elders are not honoured, the young men they have led away to grind, and the boys stumble under wood" (5:10-13).

Zion means the celestial church, which is in the good of love to the Lord; was represented by the Jewish nation. The virgins in the cities of Judah signify the affections for truth from the good of love; the perishing of truths from good by falsities from evil is signified by, their princes were hanged up by the hand. The faces of the elders which are not honoured signify the goods of wisdom; the young men who are led away to grind signify truths from good; and grinding signifies to acquire falsities and to confirm them from the Word; the boys who stumble under wood signify goods just springing up and perishing through evils.

[7] Since a baker, just as bread, signifies the good of love, and a butler, just as wine, signifies the truth of doctrine, therefore the baker was hanged on account of his crime against king Pharaoh. (Genesis 40:19-22; 41:13.) This may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 5139-5169). Since Moab means those who adulterate the goods of the church, and Baalpeor signifies the adulteration of good, therefore it came to pass, that all the chiefs of the people were hung up before the sun, because the people committed whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and bowed themselves down to their gods, and joined themselves to Baalpeor (Numbers 25:1-4). To commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab signifies to adulterate the goods of the church; and to be hung up before the sun signifies condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of the good of the church.

[8] Because Ai signified knowledges of good and in the opposite sense, confirmations of evil, therefore the king of Ai was hanged on wood, and afterwards thrown down at the entrance of the gate of the city, and the city itself was burned (Joshua 8:26-29). And because the five kings of the Amorites signified evils and falsities therefrom, destroying the goods and truths of the church, therefore those kings were hanged by Joshua, and afterwards cast into the cave of Makkedah (Joshua 10:26, 27). The cave of Makkedah signifies direful falsity from evil.

[9] To be hung upon wood, or crucified, signifies the punishment of evil destroying the good of the church, in Matthew Jesus said,

"I send unto you prophets, wise men, and scribes; some of them ye will kill, crucify, and scourge in the synagogues, and persecute them from city to city" (23:34).

All things which the Lord spoke He spoke from the Divine, but the Divine things from which He spoke fell into the ideas of natural thought and the resulting expressions according to correspondences, like those here and elsewhere in the Evangelists; and as all the words have a spiritual sense, therefore in that sense, prophets, wise men, and scribes, are not meant, but instead of them the truth and good of doctrine and of the Word. For spiritual thought and speech therefrom, like that of the angels, is without the idea of person, therefore by a prophet is signified the truth of doctrine, by wise men the good of doctrine, and by scribes the Word from which is doctrine. It therefore follows, that to kill has reference to the truth of the doctrine of the church, which is meant by a prophet, to crucify has reference to the good of doctrine, which is meant by a wise man, and to scourge has reference to the Word, which is meant by a scribe and that thus "to kill" signifies to extinguish, "to crucify" to destroy, and "to scourge" to pervert. That they will wander from one falsity of doctrine to another is signified by persecuting them from city to city, a city denoting doctrine. This is the spiritual sense of the above words.

[10] In the same,

Jesus said unto the disciples that He must suffer at Jerusalem, and that the Son of Man must be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and that "they shall condemn him, and deliver him up to the nations to be mocked, to be scourged, and to be crucified, and that on the third day he shall rise again" (Matthew 20:18, 19; Mark 10:32-34).

The spiritual sense of these words is, that Divine Truth, in the church where mere falsities of doctrine and evils of life reign, shall be blasphemed, its truth perverted, and its good destroyed. The Son of Man signifies Divine Truth, which is the Word, and Jerusalem signifies the church where mere falsities and evils reign. The chief priests and scribes signify the adulterations of good and falsifications of truth, both of them from infernal love. By condemning and delivering Him to the nations is signified to relegate Divine Truth and Divine Good to hell, and to deliver them to the evils and falsities which are therefrom, the nations signifying the evils which are from hell and which destroy the goods of the church. To be mocked, to be scourged, and to be crucified, signifies to blaspheme, falsify, and pervert the truth, and to adulterate and destroy the good of the church and of the Word (as above). And the third day He shall rise again, signifies the complete glorification of the Lord's Human.

[11] From these things it is evident what is signified in the spiritual sense by the crucifixion of the Lord, also what is signified by the various mockings on that occasion, as that they set a crown of thorns upon His head; that they smote Him with a reed, and that they spat in His face, besides other things related in the Evangelists, signifying that the Jewish nation thus impiously treated the Divine Truth and Good itself, which the Lord was. For the Lord suffered the impious state of that church to be represented in Himself; this also was signified by His bearing their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11). For it was a common thing for a prophet to take upon himself the representation of the impious states of the church. Thus the prophet Isaiah was commanded to go naked and barefoot three years, in order to represent the church as destitute of good and truth (Isaiah 20:3, 4). The prophet Ezekiel bound in cords laid siege against a tile, on which Jerusalem was portrayed, and ate a cake of barley made with the dung of an ox, to represent that the truth and good of the church were thus besieged by falsities and polluted by evils (Ezekiel 4:1-13). The prophet Hosea was commanded to take to himself a harlot for a woman, and children of whoredoms, in order to represent what was then the quality of the church (Hosea 1:1-11); besides other things of a similar nature. That this was bearing the iniquities of the house of Israel or the church is openly declared in Ezekiel (chap. 4:5, 6). From these things it is evident that everything recorded concerning the Lord's passion was representative of the state of the church with the Jewish nation at that time.

[12] Thus much concerning the punishment of suspension upon wood, or crucifixion. It does not belong to this place to confirm from the Word that the other punishment of death, which was stoning, signified condemnation and a curse on account of the destruction of the truth of the church, still it is evident from the passages in the Word where stoning is mentioned, as in Exodus 21:28-33; Leviticus 24:10-17, 23; Numbers 15:32-37; Deuteronomy 13:10; 17:5-7; 22:20, 21, 24; Ezekiel 16:39-41; 23:45-47; Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34; 20:6; John 8:7; 10:31, 32; and elsewhere.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.