The Bible

 

Ezekiel 44

Study

   

1 Kaj li venigis min denove al la ekstera pordego de la sanktejo, al tiu, kiu estis turnita orienten; sed gxi estis sxlosita.

2 Kaj la Eternulo diris al mi:CXi tiu pordego estos sxlosita, kaj oni gxin ne malfermu, kaj neniu iru tra gxi; cxar la Eternulo, Dio de Izrael, eniris tra gxi, tial gxi restu sxlosita.

3 Nur la princo, la princo povas sidi en gxi, por mangxi panon antaux la Eternulo; tra la portiko de la pordego li eniru, kaj laux la sama vojo li eliru.

4 Kaj li venigis min al la domo tra la norda pordego; kaj mi ekvidis, ke jen la majesto de la Eternulo plenigis la domon de la Eternulo; kaj mi jxetis min vizagxaltere.

5 Kaj la Eternulo diris al mi:Ho filo de homo, atentu per via koro, rigardu per viaj okuloj, kaj auxskultu per viaj oreloj cxion, kion Mi diras al vi pri cxiuj legxoj de la domo de la Eternulo kaj pri cxiuj gxiaj instrukcioj; kaj atentu la eniron en la domon kaj cxiujn elirojn el la sanktejo.

6 Kaj diru al la malobeema domo de Izrael:Tiele diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo:Suficxaj estu por vi cxiuj viaj abomenindajxoj, ho domo de Izrael.

7 Vi venigis aligentulojn kun necirkumcidita koro kaj necirkumcidita karno, ke ili estu en Mia sanktejo, por malsanktigi Mian domon; vi alportadis Mian panon, grasajxon, kaj sangon, kaj rompadis Mian interligon per cxiuj viaj abomenindajxoj.

8 Vi ne plenumadis mem Mian sanktan servadon, sed vi faris ilin plenumantoj de Mia servado en Mia sanktejo.

9 Tiele diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo:Neniu aligentulo kun necirkumcidita koro kaj necirkumcidita karno eniru en Mian sanktejon, ecx el tiuj aligentuloj, kiuj logxas inter la Izraelidoj.

10 Sed la Levidoj, kiuj malproksimigxis de Mi, kiam la Izraelidoj erarvagis, kaj kiuj perfidis Min, por sekvi siajn idolojn, ili estu punataj pro siaj malbonagoj.

11 Ili estos en Mia sanktejo servistoj, havantaj sian oficon cxe la pordegoj de la domo, simplaj servistoj en la domo; ili bucxados por la popolo la bruloferon kaj bucxoferon, kaj ili staros antaux la homoj, por servi ilin.

12 Pro tio, ke ili servis ilin antaux iliaj idoloj kaj estis por la Izraelidoj logilo al malbonagoj, pro tio Mi levis Mian manon sur ilin, diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo, kaj ili estu punataj pro siaj malbonagoj.

13 Ili ne alproksimigxu al Mi, por fari pastran servadon antaux Mi kaj por aliri al cxiuj Miaj sanktajxoj, al la plejsanktejo; ili portu sur si sian malhonoron, kaj siajn abomenindajxojn, kiujn ili faris.

14 Mi destinis por ili esti servistoj en la domo por cxiuj laboroj en gxi, kaj por cxio, kio estas farata en gxi.

15 Sed la pastroj Levidoj, filoj de Cadok, kiuj plenumadis la servadon en Mia sanktejo en la tempo, kiam la Izraelidoj defalis de Mi, ili alproksimigxadu al Mi, por servi al Mi; ili staru antaux Mi, por alporti al Mi grasajxon kaj sangon, diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo.

16 Ili eniradu en Mian sanktejon, ili alproksimigxadu al Mia tablo, por servi al Mi, kaj ili plenumadu antaux Mi la servan oficon.

17 Kiam ili eniros en la pordegon de la interna korto, ili metu sur sin tolajn vestojn; kaj lanajxo ne devas esti sur ili, kiam ili servos en la pordego de la interna korto kaj en la domo.

18 Tola kapornamo estu sur ilia kapo, kaj linaj pantalonoj sur iliaj lumboj; ili ne zonu sin en sxvito.

19 Kaj kiam ili devos eliri sur la eksteran korton, sur la eksteran korton al la popolo, ili demetu de si siajn vestojn, en kiuj ili servis, kaj deponu ilin en la sanktaj cxambroj, kaj ili metu sur sin aliajn vestojn, por ke ili ne sanktigu la popolon per siaj vestoj.

20 Sian kapon ili ne razu, kaj ili ankaux ne lasu libere kreski siajn harojn, sed ili pritondu sian kapon.

21 Vinon trinku neniu el la pastroj, kiam ili devas iri en la internan korton.

22 Vidvinon aux eksedzinon ili ne prenu al si kiel edzinon; sed nur virgulinon el la idaro de la domo de Izrael, aux vidvinon, kiu vidvinigxis de pastro, ili prenu.

23 Mian popolon ili devas instrui distingi inter sanktajxo kaj nesanktajxo, inter malpurajxo kaj purajxo.

24 En disputa afero ili starigxu por jugxi, kaj ili jugxu laux Mia juro; Mian instruon kaj Miajn legxojn pri cxiuj Miaj festoj ili observu, kaj Miajn sabatojn ili tenu sankte.

25 Al homo mortinta ili ne aliru, por ne farigxi malpura; nur por la patro aux la patrino, por filo aux filino, por frato aux needzinigita fratino ili povas sin malpurigi.

26 Kaj kiam tia pastro repurigxos, oni kalkulu al li sep tagojn.

27 Kaj en la tago, kiam li venos en la sanktejon, en la internan korton, por servi en la sanktejo, li alportu sian pekoferon, diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo.

28 Kaj ilia heredajxo estu tio, ke Mi estas ilia heredajxo; terposedajxon ne donu al ili en Izrael:Mi estas ilia posedajxo.

29 La farunoferojn, pekoferojn, kaj kulpoferojn ili mangxu; kaj cxio anatemita en Izrael apartenu al ili.

30 Kaj la unuaajxo el cxio unuenaskita, kaj cxiaj oferdonoj el cxiuj viaj oferdonoj apartenu al la pastroj; kaj la unuaajxon de via pasto donu al la pastroj, por ke beno estu super via domo.

31 CXian kadavrajxon aux dissxiritajxon el la birdoj aux el la brutoj la pastroj ne mangxu.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2049

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

2049. 'From every son who is a foreigner and not of your seed' means those outside the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'son who is a foreigner' as those who are not born inside the Church and so are not governed by goods and truths of faith because they have no knowledge of them. 'Sons who are foreigners' also means people whose worship is external, dealt with in 1097, though in that context people inside the Church are the subject. Here however, the subject being the Lord's Church in its widest extent, 'sons who are foreigners' means those who, like gentiles, are not born inside the Church. Gentiles outside the Church can possess truths, but not the truths of faith. Their truths, like the Ten Commandments, are that parents should be honoured; that people should not murder, steal, commit adultery, or covet the things that belong to others; and also that they should worship God. Truths of faith consist however of all doctrinal teachings concerning eternal life, the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord. Such teachings cannot be known by gentiles because they do not possess the Word.

[2] These are the people who are meant by 'sons who are foreigners and not of your seed' but who are to be circumcised, that is to be purified. From this it is evident that they are just as much capable of being purified as those inside the Church, which purification was represented by being circumcised. They are purified when they cast aside filthy loves and live among one another in charity, for in their case truths have a part to play in their lives because charity and all truths go together, though such truths belong to the first of the two types mentioned above. When these truths play a part in their lives they then absorb the truths of faith with ease, if not during this life then in the next, because truths of faith are the interior truths of charity. Indeed at that point there is nothing they desire more than to be introduced into the interior truths of charity. Interior truths of charity are what constitute the Lord's kingdom. Regarding these, see 932, 1032, 1059, 1327, 1328, 1366.

[3] In the next life mere knowledge of the cognitions of faith is of no value at all, for the worst people, even those in hell, can have such knowledge, sometimes a better knowledge than others have. Leading a life in accordance with those cognitions is what matters, for all cognitions have life as their end in view. If life was not the reason for learning them they would have no use, apart from enabling people to discuss them and as a result to be considered learned in the world, to be raised to positions of importance, and to enhance reputation and wealth. From this it is clear that a life in keeping with the cognitions of faith is nothing other than the life of charity. Indeed love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour constitute the Law and the Prophets, that is, the doctrine of faith in its entirety together with all the cognitions of it, as is plain to anyone from the Lord's words in Matthew 22:35-40, and Mark 12:28-35.

[4] Matters of doctrine, or cognitions of faith, are nevertheless absolutely vital for the formation of the life of charity; it cannot be formed without them. This is the life which saves a person after death. The life of faith never exists without the life of charity, for without charity the life of faith is impossible. People in whom the life of love and charity dwells have the Lord's life within them. Nobody can be joined to Him by means of any other life. From this it is also clear that the truths of faith cannot possibly be acknowledged as truths - that is, no acknowledgement of what they are saying is possible - other than outwardly or with the lips, if they are not implanted within charity, since inwardly or at heart they are denied. For as has been stated, all truths of faith have charity as their end in view, and if charity is not present within them then inwardly they are rejected. The nature of the things that are interior is plain to see when those that are exterior are taken away, as is done in the next life, namely that they are utterly contrary to all the truths of faith. No people can possibly receive the life of charity, or mutual love, in the next life, when they have had none in this life; but their life as it has been with them in the world remains with them after death. Indeed they are averse to and hate mutual love. When merely approaching a community where the life that belongs to mutual love exists they quiver and shake, and experience torment.

[5] Although people such as these are born inside the Church, they are called 'sons who are foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh' who are not to be allowed into the sanctuary, that is, into the Lord's kingdom. They are also meant in Ezekiel,

No son who is a foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter the sanctuary. Ezekiel 44:7, 9.

And in the same prophet,

Whom have you thus become like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You will be made to go down with the trees of Eden into the nether world; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. Ezekiel 31:18.

This refers to Pharaoh who means types of knowledge in general, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. 'The trees of Eden' with which they were to go down into the nether world also means types of knowledge, but knowledge of the cognitions of faith. From this it is now evident what 'one uncircumcised' means in the internal sense, namely one in whom filthy loves and the life belonging to these are present.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1327

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

1327. 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth' means the state of this Ancient Church, that internal worship started to perish. This is clear from the fact that the phrase used is 'the lip of the whole earth' and not, as previously in verse 7, the lip of those who started to build a city and a tower. 'The face of the whole earth' means the state of the Church since 'the earth' is the Church, as shown already in 662, 1066. The story of the Churches after the Flood is as follows: There were three Churches which receive specific mention in the Word - the first Ancient Church which took its name from Noah, the second Ancient Church which took its name from Eber, and the third Ancient Church which took its name from Jacob, and subsequently from Judah and Israel.

[2] As regards the first Ancient Church, that called Noah, this was the parent so to speak of those that followed, and as is usually the case with Churches in their earliest phases, it was more untarnished and innocent, as is also clear from verse 1 of this chapter which says that it had one lip, that is, one doctrine. That is to say, everyone regarded charity as the essential. But in the course of time, as usually happens to Churches, that Church also started to decline, chiefly because many people started to divert worship to themselves so as to set themselves above others, as is clear from verse 4 above - 'they said, Let us build ourselves a city and a tower, and its head in heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves'. In the Church such people were inevitably like some fermenting agent, or like firebrands that start a fire. When the danger of profaning what is holy was consequently near at hand, referred to in 571, 582, the state of this Church was, in the Lord's Providence, altered. That is to say, its internal worship perished but its external worship remained, which here is meant by the statement that 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth'. From this it is also clear that the kind of worship called Babel was not prevalent in the first Ancient Church but in those that followed when people started to be worshipped in place of gods, especially after they had died. This was the origin of so many pagan deities.

[3] The reason internal worship was allowed to perish and external remain was to prevent what is holy being profaned. The profanation of what is holy carries eternal condemnation with it. Nobody is able to profane what is holy unless he possesses cognitions of faith and also acknowledges them. Anyone who does not possess them cannot acknowledge them, still less profane them. It is internal things which may be profaned, for it is in internal things, not external, that holiness resides. The situation is similar with someone who does evil but does not have evil in mind. The evil he does cannot be attributed to him any more than to someone who does not deliberately intend evil, or to anyone devoid of rationality. Thus anyone who does not believe in the existence of a life after death, but who nevertheless has external worship, cannot profane the things that belong to eternal life because he does not believe that they exist. The situation is different with those who do know and acknowledge them.

[4] This too is why a person is allowed rather to live engrossed in lusts and pleasures, and so to isolate himself from internal things, than to enter into a knowledge and acknowledgement of internal things and so profane them. The Jews of today therefore are allowed to immerse themselves in avarice so that in this way they may be removed from an acknowledgement of internal things, for they are the kind of people who, if they acknowledged them, would inevitably profane them. Nothing does more to isolate a person from internal things than avarice, for this is the lowest of all earthly desires. The same applies to many inside the Church, and to gentiles outside, though gentiles, least of all people, are able to profane anything. This then is the reason for the statement here that 'Jehovah confounded the lip of the whole earth', and the reason why these words mean that the state of the Church was altered, that is to say, its worship became external, having no internal worship within it.

[5] The same situation was represented and meant by the Babylonish captivity into which the Israelites, and later on the Jews, were carried away. This is spoken of in Jeremiah as follows,

And there will be a nation and a kingdom that will not serve the king of Babel, and who will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babel. With the sword and famine and pestilence I will visit this people, until I have consumed it by his hand. Jeremiah 27:8 and following verses.

'Serving the king of Babel and putting its neck in his yoke' is being utterly deprived of the knowledge and acknowledgement of the good and the truth of faith, and so of internal worship.

[6] The point is clearer still in the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah to all the people in this city, your brethren who did not go out with you into captivity, thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, Behold, I am sending on them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs. Jeremiah 29:16-17.

'Remaining in the city and not going out to the king of Babel' represented and meant people who possessed the cognitions of internal things, that is, of the truths of faith, and who profaned them - people on whom, it is said, He was sending 'the sword, famine, and pestilence', which are forms of punishment for profanation, and whom He was making 'like rotten figs'.

[7] That 'Babel' means people who deprive others of all knowledge and acknowledgement of truth was also represented and meant by the following words in the same prophet,

I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babel, and he will carry them off to Babel, and will smite them with the sword. And I will give over all the wealth of this city, and all its labour, and all its precious things; and I will give all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them and seize them. Jeremiah 20:4-5.

Here 'all its wealth, all its lab our, all its precious things, all the treasures of the kings of Judah' means in the internal sense cognitions of faith.

[8] In the same prophet,

With the families of the north I will bring the king of Babel against this land and against its inhabitants, and against all those nations round about, and I will utterly destroy them and make them into a ruin, a hissing, and everlasting wastes. And this whole land will be a waste. Jeremiah 25:9, 11.

Here 'Babel' is used to describe the vastation of the interior things of faith, that is, of internal worship. Indeed, as shown already, anyone whose worship is worship of self possesses no truth of faith. He destroys and lays waste, and leads off into captivity, everything that is true. This is why Babel is also called 'a destroying mountain' in Jeremiah 51:25.

For more concerning Babel, see what has been stated already in 1182.

  
/ 10837  
  

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