The Bible

 

Tužaljke 1

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1 Kako osamljena sjedi prijestolnica, nekoć naroda puna; postade kao udovica, nekoć velika među narodima. Vladarica nad pokrajinama, na tlaku sad ide.

2 Noći provodi gorko plačući, suzama pokriva obraze. Nikog nema da je utješi, od svih koji su je ljubili. Svi je prijatelji iznevjeriše i postaše joj neprijatelji.

3 Izagnan je Juda, u nevolji je i u progonstvu teškom. Sad živi među poganima, ne nalazi počinka. Svi ga gonitelji sustižu u tjesnacima.

4 Putovi sionski tuguju jer nitko ne dolazi na svetkovine. Sva su vrata razvaljena, svećenici uzdišu, ucviljene su djevice njegove, a on je pun gorčine.

5 Tlačitelji njegovi sada gospodare, neprijatelji likuju: Jahve ga ucvili zbog grijeha njegovih premnogih. Djeca mu otišla u izgnanstvo pred tlačiteljem.

6 Povukla se od Kćeri sionske sva slava njezina. Knezovi joj postadoše k'o ovnovi koji paše ne nalaze; nemoćni vrludaju ispred goniča.

7 Jeruzalem se spominje danÄa bijede i lutanja, kad mu narod dušmanu u ruke pade a nitko mu pomoći ne pruži. Tlačitelji ga gledahu smijući se njegovoj propasti.

8 Teško sagriješi Jeruzalem, postade kao nečistoća ženina. Svi što ga štovahu, sada ga preziru: jer vidješe golotinju njegovu. On samo plače i natrag se okreće.

9 Skuti su mu uprljani, nije ni sanjao što ga čeka. Duboko je pao, a nikog da ga tješi. "Pogledaj, Jahve, moju nevolju: jer neprijatelj likuje."

10 Neprijatelj poseže rukom za svim dragocjenostima njegovim. Gledao je gdje pogani provaljuju u njegovo Svetište, oni kojima si zabranio i pristup u svoj zbor.

11 Sav narod njegov jeca, tražeći kruha; svi daju dragulje za hranu da bi ponovo živnuli. Evo, Jahve, pogledaj kako sam prezren.

12 Svi vi što putem prolazite, pogledajte i vidite ima li boli kakva je bol kojom sam ja pogođen, kojom me Jahve udari u dan žestokog gnjeva svoga!

13 S visine pusti oganj, utjera ga u kosti moje. Pred noge mrežu mi razape i tako me nauznak obori; ucvili me, ožalosti za sva vremena.

14 Natovario me mojim grijesima, rukom ih svojom pritegnuo; na vrat mi ih navalio, snagu mi oduzeo. Predao me Gospod u ruke njihove, ne mogu se uspraviti.

15 Sve junake iz moje sredine Gospod odbaci: digao je zbor protiv mene da uništi uzdanicu moju. U tijesku izgazi Gospod mene, djevicu, kćerku Judinu.

16 Zato moram plakati, oči mi suze liju, jer daleko je od mene moj tješitelj da mi duh povrati. Sinovi su moji poraženi, odveć silan bijaše neprijatelj.

17 Sion pruža ruke: nema mu tješitelja. Jahve je protiv Jakova sa svih strana pozvao tlačitelje; i tako Jeruzalem postade među njima strašilo.

18 Jahve, on je pravedan; jer riječi se njegovoj protivih. Oh, čujte, narodi svi, gledajte moju bol: djevice moje, moji mladići, svi odoše u izgnanstvo!

19 Pozvah sve ljubavnike svoje, ali me oni prevariše. Moji svećenici i starješine pogiboše u gradu tražeći hrane da bi ponovo živnuli.

20 Pogledaj, Jahve, u kakvoj sam tjeskobi, moja utroba strepi, srce mi se u grudima grči jer bijah opako prkosan! Vani mač pokosi moje sinove, a unutra - smrt.

21 Čuj kako stenjem: nema mi tješitelja! Svi neprijatelji čuju za moju nesreću i likuju što si to učinio! Daj da dođe dan što si ga objavio, da njima bude kao meni.

22 Neka se pokaže sva njina zloća pred licem tvojim, a onda postupaj s njima kao što si sa mnom postupio za sve grijehe moje! Jer samo uzdišem, a srce moje tuguje.

The Bible

 

Tužaljke 1:8

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8 Teško sagriješi Jeruzalem, postade kao nečistoća ženina. Svi što ga štovahu, sada ga preziru: jer vidješe golotinju njegovu. On samo plače i natrag se okreće.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #680

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680. The fact that goods and truths are man's real food may be clear to anyone, for the person who is deprived of them has no life within himself, and is a dead man. The food on which the soul of the person feeds who is dead in this sense consists of the delights arising from evils, and of the pleasures gained from falsities. These are the food of death. These delights and pleasures also derive from bodily, worldly, and natural things, which have no life at all within them. Furthermore such a person does not know what spiritual and celestial food is. Every time 'food' or 'bread' is mentioned in the Word he assumes that food for the body is meant. In the words of the Lord's Prayer, 'Give us our daily bread', for example, he thinks purely of nourishment for the body. There are some whose ideas do extend further and who assert that this petition includes all other physical requirements, such as clothing, money, and so on. Indeed they will argue fiercely that no other kind of food is meant, even though they clearly see that the petitions coming before and after it entail purely celestial and spiritual things, and refer to the Lord's kingdom, and possibly know as well that the Lord's Word is celestial and spiritual.

[2] From this and other similar considerations it becomes sufficiently clear just how bodily-minded the man of today is, and that like the Jews, he is unwilling to accept anything stated in the Word except in a very crude and materialistic way. The Lord Himself clearly teaches what His Word means by 'food' and 'bread': He speaks of food in John as follows,

Jesus said, Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man gives you. John 6:27.

And of bread He says in the same gospel,

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread he will live for ever. John 6:49-51, 58.

Even today there are people who, like those who first heard these words, declare,

This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? And some drew back and no longer walked with Him. John 6:60, 66.

To those people the Lord said,

The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

[3] It is similar with water, in that it means the spiritual things of faith: He speaks of water in John as follows,

Jesus said, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but he who drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:13-14.

Even today there are people like the woman to whom the Lord spoke at the spring, who replied,

Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. John 4:15.

[4] In the Word 'food' means nothing other than spiritual and celestial food, which is faith in the Lord and love. This is clear from many places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

The enemy has stretched out his hand over all the desirable things of Jerusalem, because she saw the nations come into her sanctuary, concerning whom You did command, They shall not enter your congregation. All the people groan as they search for bread. They have given their desirable things for food to restore the soul. Lamentations 1:10-11.

Here no other bread or food is meant than spiritual, for the subject is the sanctuary. In the same author,

I called to my lovers, they deceived me. My priests and my elders breathed their last in the city, for they sought food for themselves to refresh their soul. Lamentations 1:19.

Here the meaning is similar. In David,

They all look to You to give them their food in due season. You givest to them - they gather it up. You openest Your hand - they are satisfied with good. Psalms 104:27-28.

This in like manner stands for spiritual and celestial food.

[5] In Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1.

Here 'wine and milk' stands for spiritual and celestial drink. In the same prophet,

A virgin is conceiving and bearing a son, and you will call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey will He eat that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. It will be that because of the abundance of milk they produce he will eat butter, for butter and honey will everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land. Isaiah 7:14-15, 22.

Here 'eating honey and butter' means that which is celestial-spiritual, and 'those who are left' stands for remnants, which are referred to in Malachi as well,

Bring all the tithes 1 to the storehouse that there may be food in My house. Malachi 3:10.

'Tithes' 1 stands for remnants. Further concerning the meaning of 'food', see 56-58, 276.

Footnotes:

1. or tenths

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