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Joel 3

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1 CXar jen en tiuj tagoj kaj en tiu tempo, kiam Mi revenigos la forkaptitojn de Judujo kaj de Jerusalem,

2 Mi kolektos cxiujn naciojn kaj venigos ilin en la valon de Jehosxafat; kaj tie Mi faros super ili jugxon pro Mia popolo kaj Mia heredajxo Izrael, kiun ili disjxetis inter la naciojn, dividinte Mian landon;

3 kaj pro tio, ke ili lotis pri Mia popolo, fordonis knabon pro mangxajxo kaj knabinon vendis pro vino, kaj drinkis.

4 Kaj kion vi volas de Mi, ho Tiro, Cidon, kaj cxiuj distriktoj Filisxtaj? cxu vi volas repagi al Mi? kaj se vi volos repagi al Mi, Mi facile kaj baldaux turnos vian repagon sur vian kapon.

5 Mian argxenton kaj Mian oron vi prenis, kaj Miajn plej bonajn valorajxojn vi transportis en viajn templojn,

6 kaj la filojn de Judujo kaj la filojn de Jerusalem vi vendis al la filoj de la Grekoj, por malproksimigi ilin de iliaj limoj;

7 sed jen Mi vekos ilin el tiu loko, kien vi vendis ilin, kaj vian agon Mi turnos sur vian kapon;

8 kaj Mi vendos viajn filojn kaj viajn filinojn en la manojn de la Judoj, kaj cxi tiuj vendos ilin al la SXebaanoj, al popolo malproksima; cxar la Eternulo tion diris.

9 Proklamu tion inter la nacioj; pretigxu al milito, veku la kuragxulojn; cxiuj militistoj levigxu kaj eliru.

10 Forgxu el viaj plugiloj glavojn, kaj el viaj rikoltiloj lancojn; la malfortulo diru:Mi estas forta.

11 Rapidu kaj venu, cxiuj nacioj de cxiuj flankoj, kaj kolektigxu; tien alkonduku, ho Eternulo, Viajn fortulojn.

12 La popoloj levigxu kaj iru en la valon de Jehosxafat; cxar tie Mi sidigxos, por jugxi cxiujn naciojn de cxiuj flankoj.

13 Svingu la rikoltilon, cxar la rikoltajxo estas matura; venu malsupren, cxar la premejoj estas plenaj kaj la tinoj troplenigxis; cxar granda estas ilia malboneco.

14 Amasoj post amasoj kolektigxas en la valo de la jugxo, cxar alproksimigxas la tago de la Eternulo en la valo de la jugxo.

15 La suno kaj la luno senlumigxos, kaj la steloj perdos sian brilon.

16 Kaj la Eternulo ektondros el Cion kaj auxdigos Sian vocxon el Jerusalem; ektremos la cxielo kaj la tero; sed la Eternulo estos rifugxejo por Sia popolo, kaj fortikajxo por la idoj de Izrael.

17 Kaj vi ekscios, ke Mi, la Eternulo, estas via Dio, kiu logxas en Cion, sur Mia sankta monto; kaj Jerusalem estos sanktejo, kaj fremduloj ne plu iros tra gxi.

18 En tiu tago la montoj elgutigos dolcxan sukon, el la montetoj fluos lakto, kaj cxiuj torentoj de Judujo estos plenaj de akvo; kaj fonto eliros el la domo de la Eternulo kaj liveros akvon al la valo SXitima.

19 Egiptujo farigxos dezerto, kaj Edom farigxos senviva dezerto, pro tio, ke ili premis la idojn de Jehuda kaj versxis senkulpan sangon en sia lando.

20 Sed Judujo estos logxata eterne, kaj Jerusalem en cxiuj generacioj.

21 Kaj Mi vengxos pro ilia sango, kiu ne estis vengxita de Mi; kaj la Eternulo logxados en Cion.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2184

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2184. That 'butter' is the celestial part of the rational, 'milk' the spiritual deriving from this, and 'the young bull' the corresponding natural part, is clear from the meaning of 'butter', and of 'milk', and also of 'a young bull'. As regards 'butter', this in the Word means that which is celestial, and this because of the fat present in butter; for 'fat' means that which is celestial, as shown in Volume One, in 353, and 'oil', being fat, means the celestial itself, in 886. That 'butter' has the same meaning becomes clear in Isaiah,

Behold, a virgin is bearing a son, and will call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey will he eat that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. Isaiah 7:14-15.

This refers to the Lord, who is Immanuel; and anyone may see that butter is not meant by 'butter', nor honey by 'honey'. But by 'butter' is meant His celestial, and by 'honey' that which is derived from that celestial.

[2] In the same chapter,

And it will be, because of the abundance of milk which they give, that he will eat butter, for butter and honey will everyone eat that is left in the midst of the land. Isaiah 7:22.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom, and to those on earth who are members of the Lord's kingdom. 'Milk' here stands for spiritual good, 'butter' for celestial good, and 'honey' for the happiness derived from this.

[3] In Moses,

Jehovah alone leads him, and there is no foreign god with him. He causes him to ride on the heights of the land, and He feeds [him] with the produce of the fields, and He causes him to suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock - butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs and of rams, the breed 1 of Bashan, and of goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape you will drink unmixed wine. Deuteronomy 32:12-14.

No one is able to understand what all these things mean unless he knows the internal sense of each one. It seems like a pile of expressions such as belong to the oratory employed by the wise men of the world. But yet each expression means that which is celestial and that which is spiritual going with it, and also the blessing and happiness which flow from these, and all of them in a co-ordinated sequence. 'Butter from the herd' is the celestial-natural, 'milk from the flock' the celestial-spiritual of the rational.

[4] As regards 'milk' however, this means, as has been stated, that which is spiritual derived from that which is celestial, that is, the celestial-spiritual. What the celestial-spiritual is, see Volume One, in 1577, 1824, and in various other places. The reason 'milk' means that which is spiritual derived from that which is celestial is that 'water' means that which is spiritual, 680, 739, while milk, because of the fat in it, means the celestial-spiritual; or (what amounts to the same) truth rooted in good; or (also amounting to the same) faith grounded in love or charity; or (yet the same) the understanding part of the good present in the will; or (likewise amounting to the same) the affection for truth that has the affection for good within it; or (still yet the same) the affection for cognitions and facts that springs from the affection that belongs to charity towards the neighbour, such as exists with those who love the neighbour and confirm themselves in this love from the cognitions of faith and also from factual knowledge, which they love because they love the neighbour. All these are the same as the celestial-spiritual, and may be used in reference to any particular matter under discussion.

[5] That the celestial-spiritual is meant is also evident from the Word, as in Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money on that which is not bread? Isaiah 55:1-2.

Here 'wine' stands for the spiritual element of faith, 'milk' for the spiritual element of love. In Moses,

He washes his garment in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are redder than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. Genesis 49:11-12.

This is the prophecy of Jacob, who by now was Israel, regarding Judah - 'Judah' being used here to describe the Lord. By 'teeth whiter than milk' is meant the celestial-spiritual which belonged to His Natural.

[6] In Joel,

It will be, on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will run with milk, and all the streams of Judah will run with water. Joel 3:18.

Here, where the subject is the Lord's kingdom, 'milk' stands for the celestial-spiritual. Also in the Word the land of Canaan, which represents and means the Lord's kingdom, is called 'a land flowing with milk and honey', as in Numbers 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 26:9, 15; 27:3; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6, 15. In these places nothing else is meant by 'milk' than the abundance of celestial-spiritual things, and by 'honey' the abundant happiness derived from these. 'Land' is the celestial part itself of the kingdom from which they come.

[7] As regards 'a young bull' meaning the celestial-natural, this has been shown just above in 2180. The celestial-natural is the same as natural good, that is, good within the natural. Man's natural, like his rational, has its own good and its own truth, for then a marriage of good and truth exists everywhere, as stated above in 2173. The good that belongs to the natural is the delight which is perceived from charity, that is, from the friendship that is the product of charity; and from that delight springs the joy or satisfaction which belongs properly to the body. The truth of the natural consists in that factual knowledge which gives support to that delight. All this shows what the celestial-natural is.

Footnotes:

1. literally, sons

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