The Bible

 

Ezekiel 30

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

2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Howl ye, Alas for the day!

3 For the day is at hand, yea, the day of Jehovah is at hand, a day of clouds; it shall be the time of the nations.

4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and there shall be anguish in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be overthrown.

5 Cush, and Phut, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

6 Thus saith Jehovah: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her strength shall come down: from Migdol to Syene shall they fall in her by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.

7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of the countries that are desolated, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

8 And they shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers shall be broken.

9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships, to make careless Ethiopia afraid; and anguish shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for behold, it cometh!

10 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with slain.

12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I Jehovah have spoken [it].

13 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt; and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgment in No.

15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

16 And I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be rent asunder, and at Noph [there shall be] enemies in open day.

17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these shall go into captivity.

18 And at Tehaphnehes the day shall be darkened, when I break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her strength shall cease in her; as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first [month], on the seventh of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it shall not be bound up to apply remedies, to put a bandage to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

22 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong one, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; and I will break Pharaoh's arms, so that he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly-wounded [man].

25 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall have stretched it out upon the land of Egypt.

26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries: and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2584

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2584. 'And they gave birth' means fertileness This is clear from the meaning of 'bearing' and 'childbirth'. In the internal sense of the Word none but spiritual and celestial things are meant, and therefore where the expressions conception or conceiving, childbirth or giving birth, birth or being born, generation or generating, are used, and when those who beget as father and mother, and those who are begotten as sons and daughters, are spoken of, such are not meant in any but a spiritual sense, for in itself the Word is spiritual and celestial. The same applies here also to 'giving birth', which means fertileness as regards matters of doctrine.

[2] The fact that no other kinds of childbirths are meant in the Word by childbirths may become clear from the following places: In Samuel,

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased to be so, until the barren has borne seven, and she who has many has left off. Jehovah takes life and He gives life; He causes [some] to go down into hell and [others] to come up. 1 Samuel 2:5-6.

In Jeremiah,

The bearer of seven languishes, she breathes her last. Her sun is going down while it is still day. Jeremiah 15:9.

In Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one, who did not bear, break forth into singing and shout, who has not gone into labour; for the sons of her that is desolate are more than the sons of her that is married, said Jehovah. Isaiah 54:1.

In David,

The voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve, and He strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone says, Glory. Psalms 29:9.

In Isaiah,

Blush, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not gone into labour, I have not given birth, nor have I reared young men or brought up young women. As when the report comes to Egypt, they go into labour over the report of Tyre. Isaiah 23:4-5.

In the same prophet,

Before she went into labour she gave birth, and before pain came to her she brought forth a male child. Who has heard of such a thing as this? Who has seen such? Does a land give birth in one day? And shall I [bring to the point of birth and not] cause to give birth? said Jehovah. Shall I who cause to give birth shut up [the womb]? said your God. Isaiah 66:7-9.

In Jeremiah,

Ask, now, and see whether a male can bear. Why then have I seen every man, hands on loins, like one giving birth? Jeremiah 30:6.

In Ezekiel,

I will send fire on Egypt, and Sin will certainly go into labour, and No will be [breached]. Ezekiel 30:16.

In Hosea,

As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird, away from birth, and from the womb, and from conception. Hosea 9:11.

In the same prophet,

The pains of childbirth have come upon Ephraim, he is an unwise son, for now he will not present himself at the mouth of the womb of sons. Hosea 13:13.

In John,

A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Carrying in the womb she cried out in labour, and was in anguish to give birth. A dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she had given birth to her child he might devour it. She gave birth therefore to a male child, who was to rule 1 all nations with an iron rod. But the boy was caught up to God and His throne. Revelation 12:1-2, 4-5.

[3] From all these places anyone may see that no other conceptions and births are meant than those which are conceptions and births of the Church. The same may also be seen from the things said about Abimelech, that 'God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his women servants, and they gave birth'; and that 'Jehovah had completely closed every womb in Abimelech's house on account of the matter of Sarah, Abraham's wife'. What is meant in the internal sense by these words may become clear from the explanation of them, namely the character of the doctrine of faith when regarded from Divine truths, and the character of it when regarded from the rational. That is to say, when regarded from Divine truths, that is, from the Word, every single thing, both rational and factual, is confirmatory. But it is different when it is regarded from human things, that is from reason and knowledge. When regarded from the latter no good or truth at all is conceived; for to regard things from the Word is to do so from the Lord, but to regard them from reason and knowledge is to do so from man. The former gives rise to all intelligence and wisdom, the latter to all insanity and stupidity.

Footnotes:

1. literally, to shepherd

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