The Bible

何西阿书 14

Chinese: Union (Simplified)

Study the Inner Meaning

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¹ 以色列以色列啊，你要归向耶和华耶和华─你的神神；你是因自己的罪孽跌倒了。

² 当归向耶和华耶和华，用言语祷告他说说：求你除净罪孽，悦纳善行；这样，我们我们就把嘴唇嘴唇的祭代替牛牛犊献上。

³ 我们我们不向亚述求救救，不骑骑埃及的马马，也不再对我们我们手手所造的说说：你是我们我们的神神。因为孤儿孤儿在你─耶和华那里得蒙怜悯。

⁴ 我必医治他们背道的病，甘心爱爱他们；因为我的怒气向他们转转消。

⁵ 我必向以色列以色列如甘露露；他必如百合花百合花开放，如利巴嫩的树木扎根根。

⁶ 他的枝条必延长；他的荣华如橄榄橄榄树；他的香气香气如利巴嫩的香柏树。

⁷ 曾住住在他荫下的必归回，发旺如五谷，开花如葡萄树。他的香气香气如利巴嫩的酒。

⁸ 以法莲以法莲必说说：我与偶像还有甚麽关涉呢？我─耶和华回答回答他，也必顾念他。我如青翠的松树；你的果子从我而得。

⁹ 谁是智慧人，可以明白这些事；谁是通达人，可以知道知道这一切。因为，耶和华的耶和华的道是正直的；义义人必在其中行走，罪人却在其上跌倒。

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Study the Inner Meaning

Chapter summary

Exploring the Meaning of Hosea 14

By Helen Kennedy

At the outset of this chapter, Hosea says:

O Israel, return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
Take words with you, And return to the Lord. (Hosea 14:1)

Plainly, the Lord exhorts us to return to Him when our wrongdoing has made us turn away.

"Take words with you," is an interesting phrase. It means that we should listen to our conscience - the voice within us that urges us to repent.

The next line,“Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously” shows very clearly what the Lord will do if the people ask Him.

Next, we have this: "For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips". We need to pay attention to detail, not only what we do but also how we speak.

“We will not ride on horses”, in verse (3), shows us to stop thinking we can escape by running away, using intelligent rationales to justify wrong acts.

“Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods,’” shows us to stop thinking that the things we do in the world and from ourselves are the only path to follow. Instead believe the truth that God is the only source of salvation.

“For in You the fatherless finds mercy” is saying that the Lord leaves no one without protection, and abandons no one.

“I will heal their backsliding,” in verse (4) means that God has the ability to keep people from returning to their old ways. “I will love them freely,” shows that He gives His love freely and without reservation.

“For My anger has turned away,” means the sinners’ perception of the Lord will clear and people will see He was never angry, only loving.

“I will be like the dew to Israel,” in verse (5) signifies that His instruction will be gentle like dew on the grass in the morning.

“Grow like the lily,” means the errant one will change, and will grow in purity like the lily;

“Lengthen his roots. . .” like roots growing in the ground the Lord work is in the dark and unseen.

“Branches shall spread” in verse (6) means good and truth will spread into the open and be seen, like the branches on a tree.

“Beauty shall be like an olive tree,” the beauty of the olive tree is in its bearing fruit.

“Fragrance like Lebanon,” like an aroma rising up, the ones who reform will be grateful;

“Those who dwell under his shadow shall return” in verse (7) means those in the dark of false thinking about salvation will be brought into full sunlight.

“They shall be revived like grain and grow like the vine,” explains that where good can flourish like grain in the sunlit field or be abundant like grapes on the vine.

“Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon“ means that this new life emanates a good scent, like the aroma of a good wine. In spiritual terms it means the person can now think through or understand why it is so important to live with good and truth joined together (Apocalypse Explained 730:15).

“What have I to do anymore with idols?” in verse (8) explains that as people are renewed they will no longer depend on their own idols of false thinking and reasoning.

“I have heard and observed Him” because they have heard the Lord speaking in His Word.

“I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in me” means that like trees that bear fruit, they will have perceptions that lead them to the life the Lord wants for them.

“Who is wise? Let him understand these things,” in verse 9 means those who accept the Lord will have wisdom to see the good paths they are to follow.

“Who is prudent? Let him know them,” explains that those being renewed will use the new thinking the Lord is giving them.

“For the ways of the Lord are right,” means they will understand that only the Lord knows the way to heaven.

“The righteous walk in them,” explains that those who are prudent will follow the Lord’s leading.

“But transgressors stumble in them,” signifies that wrongdoers will find the way to heaven difficult, and will stumble and fall away.

From Swedenborg's Works

Main explanations:

The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 197

Other references to this chapter:

天堂的奥秘 886, 1069, 1186, 2761, 3579, 3580, 5113, ...

Apocalypse Revealed 242, 278, 298, 316, 401

References from Swedenborg's unpublished works:

Apocalypse Explained 279, 324, 355, 376, 507, 638

The White Horse - Appendix 1

Other New Christian Commentary

Chapter summary

Stories and their meanings:

Bible Study Videos:

To Heal the Sick

The Lord Knows the Way

Study the original Hebrew/Greek with qBible

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Word/Phrase Explanations

以色列
'Israel,' in Jeremiah 23:8, signifies the spiritual natural church. The children of Israel dispersed all the literal sense of the Word by falsities. 'The children...

神
The Lord is love itself, expressed in the form of wisdom itself. Love, then, is His essence, His inmost. Wisdom - the loving understanding of...

说
As with many common verbs, the meaning of “to say” in the Bible is highly dependent on context. Who is speaking? Who is hearing? What...

我们
Angels do give us guidance, but they are mere helpers; the Lord alone governs us, through angels and spirits. Since angels have their assisting role,...

唇
'A lip' signifies doctrine. A lip,' as in Isaiah 6:3, 7, signifies the interior parts of a person, consequently, internal worship, where adoration is grounded....

牛
Calves of the lips (Hos 14:2) are confessions from the affection of truth.

救
To be saved or rescued means getting true ideas that we can hold to even in the face of a storm of false thinking. Sometimes...

骑
'To ride' signifies being elevated regarding the intellectual part of the mind. To ride upon a cherub,' as in Psalm 18:9, 10, denotes the Lord’s...

马
'A horse' signifies knowledges or understanding of the Word. In an opposite sense it signifies the understanding of the Word falsified by reasonings, and likewise...

手
Scientists believe that one of the most crucial developments in the evolution of humans was bipedalism – walking on two legs. That left our hands...

孤儿
'Orphans' signify people who are in a state of innocence and charity, and desire to know and to do what is good but are not...

爱
To some degree, there really is no spiritual meaning to the word “love” in the Bible. Why? Because if you truly love another, that is...

转
Swedenborg says that the Lord is the sun of heaven, and like the natural sun of our world shines on everyone, good or evil. What...

露
Dew, in Deut. 32:2 signifies the multiplication of truth from good, and the fructification of good by truth.

百合
'To blossom as the lily,' as in Hosea 14:5, relates to the first state of the new birth, or of regeneration. For 'a lily' signifies...

根
'A root,' as in Malachi 4:1, signifies charity. The dried up root,' as in Hosea 9:16, 17, signifies charity which could not bear fruit.

橄榄
'An olive,' as in Isaiah 17:6, signifies celestial remains. 'An olive' signifies love and charity, because 'the olive tree' signifies the celestial church, and so...

香气
Fragrance means the affection of truth derived from good.

住
Many people were nomadic in Biblical times, especially the times of the Old Testament, and lived in tents that could be struck, moved and re-raised...

以法莲
Ephraim was the second son born to Joseph in Egypt and was, along with his older brother Manasseh, elevated by Jacob to the same status...

回答
To "answer" generally indicates a state of spiritual receptivity. Ultimately this means being receptive to the Lord, who is constantly trying to pour true ideas...

知道
Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases – when it...

耶和华的
The Lord, in the simplest terms, is love itself expressed as wisdom itself. In philosophic terms, love is the Lord's substance and wisdom is His...

义
The word "righteous" has taken on a bit of negative shading in modern language. That may be because we hear it most often as part...

Resources for parents and teachers

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Olive Tree and Branch
Coloring Page | Ages 7 - 14