The Bible

 

Ezekiel 11

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1 And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the east gate of the house of the Lord, which looketh towards the rising of the sun: and behold in the entry of the gate five and twenty men: and I saw in the midst of them Jezonias the son of Azur, and Pheltias the son of Banaias, princes of the people.

2 And he said to me: Son of man, these are the men that study iniquity, and frame a wicked counsel in this city,

3 Saying: Were not houses lately built? This city is the caldron, and we the flesh.

4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, thou son of man.

5 And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me: Speak: Thus saith the Lord: Thus have you spoken, O house of Israel, for I know the thoughts of your heart.

6 You have killed a great many in this city, and you have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Your slain, whom you have laid in the midst thereof, they are the flesh, and this is the caldron: and I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof.

8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord God.

9 And I will cast you out of the midst thereof, and I will deliver you into the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments upon you.

10 You shall fall by the sword: I will judge you in the borders of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

11 This shall not be as a caldron to you, and you shall not be as flesh in the midst thereof: I will judge you in the borders of Israel.

12 And you shall know that I am the Lord: because you have not walked in my commandments, and have not done my judgments, but you have done according to the judgments of the nations that; are round about you.

13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pheltias the son of Banaias died: and I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice: and said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God: wilt thou make an end of all the remnant of Israel?

14 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

15 Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all the house of Israel, all they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said: Get ye far from the Lord, the land is given in possession to us.

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because I have removed them far off among the Gentiles, and because I have scattered them among the countries: I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries whither they are come.

17 Therefore speak to them: Thus saith the Lord God: I will gather you from among the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries wherein you are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

18 And they shall go in thither, and shall take away all the scandals, and all the abominations thereof from thence.

19 And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:

20 That they may walk in my commandments, and keep my judgments, and do them: and that they may be my people, and I may be their God.

21 But as for them whose heart walketh after their scandals and abominations, I will lay their way upon their head, saith the Lord God.

22 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and the wheels with them: and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mount that is on the east side of the city.

24 And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to them of the captivity, in vision, by the spirit of God: and the vision which I had seen was taken up from me.

25 And I spoke to them of the captivity all the words of the Lord, which he had shewn me.

   

Commentary

 

Rise

  

It is common in the Bible for people to "rise up," and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a physical action. But in fact it represents an elevation in spiritual state, moving to a more internal frame of mind closer to the Lord. Often it has to do with understanding a new or important idea; we "rise up" to a state of greater perception and enlightenment. Obviously context is crucial to the exact meaning of the phrase in a given passage -- it matters greatly who it is that is rising up, and why.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4880

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4880. Verses 19-23 And she rose up and went, and took off her veil from upon her and put on the clothes of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of the she-goats by the hand of his companion the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand; and he did not find her. And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the harlot in the fountains on the wayside? And they said, There has been no harlot there. And he returned to Judah and said, I did not find her; and also the men of the place said, There has been no harlot there. And Judah said, Let her keep [them]; maybe we shall be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and you did not find her.

'She rose up' means a raising up. 'And went' means life. 'And took off her veil from upon her' means the obscurity. 'And put on the clothes of her widowhood' means intelligence. 'And Judah sent the kid of the she-goats' means a conjugial pledge. 'By the hand of his companion the Adullamite' means by means of falsity. 'To receive the pledge from the woman's hand' means instead of external pledges. 'And he did not find her' means because nothing of marriage existed on his side. 'And he asked the men of her place, saying' means that truths were consulted. 'Where is the harlot?' means as to whether it was something false. 'In the fountains on the wayside' means that had the appearance of being something true. 'And they said' means perception received from truths. 'There has been no harlot there' means that it was not something false. 'And he resumed to Judah' means reflection. 'And said, I did not find her' means that by falsity this cannot be discovered. 'And also the men of the place said, There has been no harlot there' means perception received from truths that it was not something false. 'And Judah said, Let her keep [them]' means that he was no longer interested. 'Maybe we shall be put to shame' means even though subject to reproach. 'Behold, I sent this kid' means it is enough that a pledge exists. 'And you did not find her' means even if nothing of marriage exists.

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