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Ezekiel 24

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1 HE ENs Ord kom i det niende år på den tiende dag i den tiende Måned til mig således:

2 Menneskesøn, opskriv dig Navnet på denne Dag, Dagen i Dag, thi netop i Dag har Babels Konge kastet sig over Jerusalem.

3 Og tal i Lignelse til den genstridige Slægt og sig: Så siger den Herre HE EN: Sæt kedelen over, sæt den over; kom også Vand deri;

4 læg Kødstykker i, alle Hånde gode Stykker, Kølle og Bov, fyld den med udsøgte Knogler;

5 tag af Hjordens bedste Dyr og læg en Stabel Brænde under den; kog Stykkerne, så også Knoglerne koges ud!

6 Derfor, så siger den Herre HE EN: Ve Blodbyen, den rustne Kedel, hvis ust ikke er gået af. Stykke efter Stykke giver den fra sig; der kastes ikke Lod om dem;

7 thi Blodet er endnu midti Byen; den hældte det på den nøgne Klippe og udgød det ikke på Jorden for at dække det med Muld.

8 For at fremkalde Vrede, for at tage Hævn hældte jeg Blodet på den nøgne klippe uden at dække det.

9 Derfor, så siger den Herre HE EN: Ve Blodbyen! Nu vil også jeg gøre brændestabelen stor;

10 hent brænde i Mængde, lad Ilden lue og Kødet blive mørt, hæld Suppen ud og lad Benene brændes

11 og sæt kedelen tom på de glødende kul, for at den kan blive så hed, at Kobberet gløder og Urenheden smelter; usten skal svinde!

12 Møje har den kostet, men den megen ust gik ikke af. I Ilden med usten!

13 Fordi du er uren af Utugt, fordi du ikke kom af med din Urenhed, skønt jeg rensede dig, skal du ikke blive ren igen, før jeg har kølet min Harme på dig.

14 Jeg, HE EN, har talet, og det kommer! Jeg griber ind og opgiver det ikke, jeg skåner ikke og angre ej heller; efter dine Veje og dine Gerninger vil jeg dømme dig, lyder det fra den Herre HE EN.

15 HE ENs Ord kom til mig således:

16 Menneskesøn! Se, jeg tager dine Øjnes Lyst fra dig ved en brat Død; men du skal ikke klage eller græde; du skal ikke fælde Tårer;

17 suk i Stilhed og hold ikke Døde klage, bind Huen på og tag Sko på Fødderne, tilhyl ikke dit Skæg og spis ikke Sørgebrød!

18 Tal så om Morgenen til Folket! - Så døde min Hustru om Aftenen, og næste Morgen gjorde jeg, som mig var pålagt.

19 Og da Folket sagde til mig: "Vil du ikke lade os vide, hvad det, du der gør, skal sige os?"

20 svarede jeg: "HE ENs Ord kom til mig således:

21 Sig til Israels Hus: Så siger den Herre HE EN: Se, jeg vil vanhellige min Helligdom, eders Hovmods Stolthed, eders Øjnes Lyst, eders Sjæles Længsel; og de Sønner og Døtre, I lod tilbage, skal falde for Sværdet!

22 Og I skal gøre, som jeg nu gør: I skal ikke tilhylle eders Skæg eller spise Sørgebrød;

23 eders Huer skal blive på Hovederne og eders Sko på Fødderne; I skal ikke klage eller græde, men svinde hen i eders Synder og sukke for hverandre.

24 Ezekiel skal være eder et Tegn; når det sker, skal I gøre, som han gør; og I skal kende, at jeg er den Herre HE EN,"

25 Og du, Menneskesøn! På den Dag jeg tager deres Værn, deres herlige Fryd, deres Øjnes Lyst og deres Sjæles Længsel, deres Sønner og Døtre fra dem,

26 på den Dag skal en Flygtning komme til dig og melde det for dine Ører;

27 på den Dag skal din Mund åbnes, når Flygtningen kommer, og du skal tale og ikke mere være stum; du skal være dem et Tegn; og de skal kende, at jeg er HE EN.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4744

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4744. 'And the pit was empty, there was no water in it' means that at that time there was no truth at all. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pit' as falsities, dealt with in 4728; from the meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth at all because there is no good at all, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'water' as truth, dealt with in 680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424. The meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth at all because there is no good at all is clear from other places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

The nobles sent their inferiors for water, they came to the pits, and they found no water; they resumed with empty vessels, they were subjected to shame and ignominy, and they covered their heads. Jeremiah 14:3.

'Empty vessels' stands for truths in which there is no truth derived from good. In the same prophet,

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel has devoured me, he has troubled me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up. Jeremiah 51:34.

'An empty vessel' stands for where there is no truth, 'Babel' for those who lay waste, that is, divest others of truths, 1327 (end). In the same prophet,

I looked to the earth, and behold, it was void and empty; and towards the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.

In Isaiah.

The spoonbill and the duck will possess it, and the owl and the raven will dwell in it; and they will stretch over it the line of a void and the plumb-line of emptiness. Isaiah 34:11.

[2] In the same prophet,

The city of emptiness will be broken down, every house will be shut up so that no one may enter in. There is an outcry in the streets over [the lack of] wine. The joy of the earth will be banished; what is left in the city will be a waste. Isaiah 24:10-12.

In this case a different word is used in the original language to denote that which is 'empty', but it carries a similar meaning. The meaning of 'empty' as a place where there is no truth because there is no good is evident from the particular expressions here in the internal sense, that is to say, from the meaning of 'city', 'house', 'outcry', 'wine' and 'streets'. In Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih said, Woe to the city of bloodshed! 1 I too will make the hearth great, placing the pot empty on the burning coals, so that it is heated and is bronze becomes hot and is filthiness in it may be melted, its scum consumed. Ezekiel 24:9, 11.

Here it is quite plain what 'empty' means - 'the pot' is said to be 'empty', having filthiness and scum, that is, evil and falsity, inside it.

[3] Similarly in Matthew,

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person he goes through dry places seeking rest, but does not find it. Then he says, I will return into my house from which I came out; and when he comes and finds it empty, and swept, and prepared for him, he goes away and links to himself seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter and dwell there. Matthew 12:43-45.

'The unclean spirit' stands for the unclean life led by a person and also for the unclean spirits that reside with him, for unclean spirits dwell in a person's unclean life. 'Dry places', or places where there is no water, stands for where there are no truths. 'The house that is empty' stands for that person's interiors which have been filled again with forms of uncleanness, that is, with falsities that are the products of evil. In Luke,

God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Luke 1:53.

'The rich' stands for those who know a great deal, for in the spiritual sense factual knowledge, matters of doctrine, and cognitions of good and truth are meant by 'riches'. People are called 'rich' but 'empty' if they know these things but do not carry them out; for with them truths are not truths because these are devoid of good, 4736.

Footnotes:

1. literally, bloods

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