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Ezekiel 44

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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 #4434

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4434. 'And his soul clung to Dinah, [the daughter of Jacob]' means the inclination to be joined to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the soul clinging' as an inclination. It is evident that an inclination to be joined is meant because things connected with conjugial love imply in the internal sense the joining together of truth and good, and of good and truth. The reason why things connected with conjugial love imply in the internal sense that spiritual joining together is that conjugial love has its origin in the marriage of truth and good and of good and truth, see 2618, 2727-2729, 2737, 2803, 3132. Consequently the adulteration of good is meant by an act of adultery, and the falsification of truth by an act of whoredom described in the Word, 2466, 2729, 2750, 3399. From these considerations it may be seen that all the details mentioned in this chapter concerning Shechem and Dinah mean nothing else in the internal sense than the joining of truth, represented by 'Shechem', to the affection for truth, represented by 'Dinah', so that the words 'his soul clung to Dinah' mean the inclination to be joined to this affection.

[2] Since the subject in the whole of this chapter is Shechem's love towards Dinah and how he sought to make her his wife, and since things connected with conjugial love mean spiritual joining together, let it now be established from the Word that marriages and things that have a connection with marriages do not imply anything else: In John,

Let us be glad and exult, and let us give glory to Him, for the time of the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Wife has made herself ready. Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:7, 9.

In the same book,

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. One of the seven angels spoke to me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. He carried me away in the spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:2, 9-10.

It is quite evident that betrothal and marriage in these places mean nothing other than the joining of the Lord to the Church, which is effected by means of truth and good. For 'the holy city' and 'the new Jerusalem' mean nothing other than the Church - 'city' meaning the truth of the Church, see 402, 2268, 2449, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, and 'Jerusalem' the spiritual Church, 402, 2117, 3654.

[3] In Malachi,

Judah has acted faithlessly, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, for he loved and married the daughter of a foreign god. Jehovah was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have acted faithlessly. Malachi 2:11, 14-15.

'Loving and marrying the daughter of a foreign god' means joining oneself to falsity instead of truth, which is 'the wife of one's youth'.

[4] In Ezekiel,

You took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them so as to be devoured. Was the matter of your acts of whoredom a small one? You are your mother's daughter who loathes her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who loathed their husbands and their sons. Ezekiel 16:20, 45.

This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem which, because they were the product of evils and falsities, are described in this chapter by means of the kind of things that are the direct opposite of marriages, that is to say, acts of adultery and of whoredom. 'The husbands' whom they loathed are goods, 'the sons' truths, and 'the daughters' the affections for these.

[5] In Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; resound with singing and cry out for joy, O one that has not been in travail, for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that is married. You will not remember any more the reproach of your widowhood, for your Maker is your Husband, 1 Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth He is called. For Jehovah has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth when she is put away, said your God. All your sons are taught by Jehovah, and much is the peace of your sons. Isaiah 54:1, 4-6, 13.

Since 'a marriage' means the joining together of truth and good and of good and truth, one may see what is meant by husband and wife, sons and daughters, widows, women who have been put away, and by bearing, giving birth, being desolate, and being barren; for all these expressions have some connection with marriage. The meaning in the spiritual sense of each of these expressions has been shown many times in the explanatory sections.

[6] In the same prophet,

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest. You will no more be called Deserted, but your land will be named Married, for Jehovah will take His pleasure in you, and your land will be married. Forasmuch as a young man will marry a virgin, your sons will marry you; and there will be the joy of a bridegroom over a bride, your God will rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:1, 4-5.

Anyone unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word may suppose that such imagery in the Word is simply an employment of comparisons like many of those used in everyday speech, and that this is the reason why the Church is compared to a daughter, a virgin, and a wife, and so why matters of faith and charity are compared to things which have some connection with marriage. But in the Word everything is representative of that which is spiritual or celestial, and it is a real correspondence; for the Word has come down from heaven, and because it has come down from there it is in origin something Divinely celestial and spiritual, to which everything in the sense of the letter corresponds. Consequently things connected with the heavenly marriage, which is good and truth joined together, pass into those that correspond to them, and so into those which have some connection with marriages on earth.

[7] This also explains why the Lord likened the kingdom of heaven - that is, His kingdom in heaven and His kingdom on earth, which is the Church - to a certain king, who arranged a wedding for his son and invited many to it, Matthew 22:2 and following verses, and also to ten virgins who took lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom, Matthew 25:1 and following verses. The Lord also referred to those who belong to the Church as 'the sons of the wedding',

Jesus said, Can the sons of the wedding mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matthew 9:15.

[8] For the same reasons the affection for good and the affection for truth are called 'the joy and gladness of a bridegroom and bride', for heavenly joy is the product of those affections and resides within them, as in Isaiah,

Your sons will marry you; and there will be the joy of a bridegroom over a bride, Jehovah your God will rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5.

In Jeremiah,

The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those that say, Give thanks 2 to Jehovah, for Jehovah is good. Jeremiah 33:11.

In the same prophet,

I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land will turn into a waste. Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10.

And in John,

The light of a lamp will not shine in Babylon any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in it any more. Revelation 18:23.

[9] Since marriages on earth correspond through truly conjugial love to the heavenly marriage which is that of good and truth, the laws laid down in the Word concerning betrothals and marriages correspond completely to the spiritual laws of the heavenly marriage, such as the law that men were to marry one wife only, Mark 10:2-8; Luke 16:18; for in the case of the heavenly marriage the situation is that no good can be joined to any but its own truth, or truth to any but its own good. If joined to any truth other than its own, good could not possibly be held together but would be torn apart and so would perish. In the spiritual Church 'wife' (uxor) represents good and 'man' (vir) represents truth, but in the celestial Church 'husband' (maritus) represents good and 'wife' (uxor) truth. Furthermore - and this is an arcanum - they not only represent those things but also in actual fact correspond to them.

[10] The laws also concerning marriages which have been laid down in the Old Testament have in a similar way a correspondence with the laws of the heavenly marriage, such as those in Exodus 21:7-11; 22:15-16, 17; 34:16; Numbers 36:6; Deuteronomy 7:3-4; 22:28-29; and also the laws about the forbidden degrees of affinity, Leviticus 18:6-20. In the Lord's Divine mercy these will be dealt with individually in some other place. The fact that the degrees and laws of marriages have their origin in the laws of truth and good which belong to the heavenly marriage and with which they correlate is evident in Ezekiel,

The priests the Levites shall not take as wives for themselves a widow or a woman that has been put away, but virgins from the seed of the house of Israel; only a widow who is the widow of a priest may they take. Ezekiel 44:22.

This refers to the holy city, the new Jerusalem, and to the heavenly Canaan which clearly mean the Lord's kingdom and His Church. Consequently 'the Levites' do not mean Levites, nor do 'a widow and a woman who has been put away' mean a widow and one put away, but the kind of things they correspond to.

Footnotes:

1. In both the Latin and the original Hebrew the words meaning Maker and Husband are plural at this point.

2. literally, Confess

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