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Jeremija 48

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1 Moabi kohta: Nõnda ütleb vägede Issand, Iisraeli Jumal: 'Häda Nebole, sest ta hävitatakse! Häbisse jääb, vallutatakse Kirjataim, häbisse jääb ja purustatakse pelgupaik!

2 Moabi kuulsus kaob, Hesbonis kavatsetakse kurja tema vastu: 'Mingem ja hävitagem ta rahvaste hulgast!' Ka sina, Madmen, hukkud - su kannul käib mõõk!

3 Kuule! Hooronaimist kostab kisa: 'Hävitus ja suur kokkuvarisemine!'

4 'Moab on purustatud!' kostab ta lapsukeste kisa.

5 Jah, mööda Luuhiti tõusuteed minnakse nuttes üles, jah, Hooronaimi nõlvakult kostab hädakisa hävingu pärast:

6 'Põgenege, päästke oma elu ja olge nagu kadakas kõrbes!'

7 Sellepärast et sa loodad oma tegude ja varanduste peale, vallutatakse ka sind. Ja Kemos läheb vangi üheskoos oma preestrite ja vürstidega.

8 Hävitaja tuleb iga linna kallale ja ükski linn ei pääse; org hukkub ja tasandik rikutakse, nagu Issand on ütelnud.

9 Andke Moabile tiivad, ta lennaku ära! Ta linnad muutuvad õudseks, keegi ei ela neis.

10 Neetud olgu, kes Issanda tööd teeb loiult, ja neetud olgu, kes hoiab oma mõõga verest eemal!

11 Moab on olnud muretu oma noorusest alates ja on vaikselt seisnud oma pärmi peal; teda ei ole kallatud astjast astjasse ega ole ta pidanud minema vangi; seepärast on talle jäänud alles ta maitse ja ta lõhn ei ole muutunud.

12 Seepärast, vaata, päevad tulevad, ütleb Issand, mil ma läkitan tema kallale veinilaskjad, kes teda kallutavad; need tühjendavad tema astjad ja purustavad tema kruusid.

13 Siis Moab tunneb häbi Kemose pärast, nagu Iisraeli sugu tundis häbi Peeteli pärast, kelle peale nad lootsid.

14 Kuidas te võite öelda: 'Me oleme vägevad ja vaprad sõjamehed!'?

15 Moab hävitatakse ja ta linnad tõusevad üles kui suits; ta valitud noored mehed laskuvad tapetavaiks, ütleb kuningas, kelle nimi on vägede Issand.

16 Moabi hukatus ligineb ja tema õnnetus tõttab väga.

17 Tundke temale kaasa, kõik ta naabrid ja kõik, kes tunnete tema nime, öelge: 'Kuidas küll on murtud tugev kepp, see tore sau!'

18 Astu alla oma auhiilgusest ja istu janus, elanik, Diiboni tütar! Sest Moabi hävitaja tuleb su kallale, hävitama su kindlustatud linnu.

19 Seisa tee ääres ja vaata, Aroeri elanik! Küsi põgenikelt ja pääsenuilt: 'Mis on juhtunud?'

20 Moab on jäänud häbisse, sest ta on purustatud. Hüüdke ja karjuge, andke teada Arnoni ääres, et Moab on hävitatud.

21 Ja kohus tuleb tasasele maale, Holonile, Jahsale, Meefatile,

22 Diibonile, Nebole, Beet-Diblataimile,

23 Kirjataimile, Beet-Gaamulile, Beet-Meonile,

24 Kerijotile, Bosrale ja kõigile Moabimaa linnadele kaugel ja ligidal.

25 Moabi sarv raiutakse maha ja tema käsivars murtakse, ütleb Issand.

26 Jootke ta purju, sest ta on suurustanud Issanda vastu, et Moab vehiks kätega oma okse juures ja et temagi saaks naeruks!

27 Eks ole Iisrael olnud sulle naeruks? Või tabati ta varaste hulgast, et sa vangutad pead iga kord, kui sa temast räägid?

28 Jätke linnad ja elage kaljudes, Moabi elanikud, olge nagu tuvi, kes pesitseb koopasuus!

29 Me oleme kuulnud Moabi kõrkusest - ta on väga ülbe, tema uhkusest, hooplemisest ja upsakusest ning tema südame suurelisusest.

30 Mina tunnen, ütleb Issand, tema jultumust ja valejutte - nad on teinud valesti.

31 Seetõttu ulun ma Moabi pärast, kisendan kogu Moabi pärast, kurdan Kiir-Heresi inimeste pärast.

32 Rohkem kui on nuttu Jaaseri pärast, nutan ma sinu pärast, Sibma viinapuu. Su lokkavad kasvud tungisid üle mere, ulatusid Jaaseri mereni. Su suvivilja ja viinamarjalõikuse kallale sööstab hävitaja.

33 Rõõm ja ilutsemine võetakse viljapuuaiast ja Moabimaalt. Ma lõpetan veini surutõrrest, enam ei tallata seda rõõmuhüüetega, rõõmuhüüd ei olegi enam rõõmuhüüd.

34 Hädahüüded on Hesbonist kuni Elaaleni ja Jahaseni, nad annavad kuulda oma häält Soarist kuni Hooronaimini ja Eglat-Selisijani, sest ka Nimrimi veed muutuvad kõrbeks.

35 Ja ma lõpetan Moabist selle, ütleb Issand, kes ohverdab künkal ja suitsutab oma jumalatele.

36 Seetõttu kaebleb mu süda Moabi pärast otsekui vilepill; ja mu süda kaebleb Kiir-Heresi inimeste pärast otsekui vilepill, et nende kogutud vara on hävinud.

37 Tõesti, kõik pead on siis paljad ja kõik habemed aetud, kõigil kätel on sisselõiked ja kõigil niudeil kotiriie.

38 Kõigil Moabi katuseil ja tänavail on üldine leinakaebus, sest ma purustan Moabi otsekui kõlbmatu astja, mis kellelegi ei meeldi, ütleb Issand.

39 Kuidas ta küll on purustatud! Ulguge! Kuidas küll on Moab häbiga pööranud selja! Moab saab naeruks ja hirmutuseks kõigile oma naabritele.

40 Sest nõnda ütleb Issand: Vaata, ta lendab nagu kotkas ja laotab oma tiibu Moabi kohal.

41 Linnad vallutatakse ja kindlused saadakse kätte: sel päeval on Moabi kangelaste süda otsekui lapsevaevas oleva naise süda.

42 Ja Moab hävitatakse rahvaste seast, sest ta on suurustanud Issanda vastu.

43 Pelg, püügiauk ja püüdepael on su ees, Moabi elanik, ütleb Issand.

44 Kes siis põgeneb pelju eest, langeb püügiauku; ja kes tuleb välja püügiaugust, selle püüab püüdepael; sest ma toon temale, Moabile, nende karistusaasta, ütleb Issand.

45 Hesboni varjus seisavad põgenikud jõuetult; sest Hesbonist lähtub tuli ja Siihoni keskelt leek: see põletab Moabi oimud ja lärmajate pealae.

46 Häda sulle, Moab! Kaduma peab Kemose rahvas, sest su pojad võetakse vangi ja su tütred peavad olema vangis!

47 Aga viimseil päevil ma pööran Moabi vangipõlve, ütleb Issand.' Niipalju kohtust Moabi üle.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #3021

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3021. 'Put now your hand under my thigh' means being bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power, dealt with in 878, and from the meaning of 'the thigh' as the good of conjugial love, dealt with in what follows. A binding of this good to that power is indeed the meaning, as is clear from the consideration that those who were bound by an obligation to carry out some matter connected with conjugial love put their hand, according to ancient custom, under the thigh of the one to whom they were so bound, and in so doing swore by him. This was done because 'the thigh' meant conjugial love, and 'the hand' power, or the full extent of whatever one's capability might be. For all parts of the human body correspond to spiritual and celestial things in the Grand Man, which is heaven, as shown in 2996, 2998, and will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown more extensively later on. The thighs themselves, together with the loins, correspond to conjugial love. Those things were well known to the most ancient people, and for that reason so many customs came down from them, including that of putting their hands under the thigh when being bound by an obligation to carry out something connected with the good of conjugial love. Their knowledge of such things, which was valued most highly by the ancients, and belonged among the chief things that constituted their knowledge and intelligence, is totally lost today, so much so that not even the existence of any such correspondence is known, and for this reason people will probably be astounded that such things are meant by that custom. Here, because the subject is the betrothal of Isaac his son to another member of Abraham's family, and the oldest servant was called on to perform that task, this custom was therefore followed.

[2] It has been stated that 'the thigh', because of its correspondence, means conjugial love, and this may also be seen from other places in the Word, for example, from the procedure to be followed when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery, in Moses,

The priest shall make the woman take the oath of a curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, Jehovah will make you a curse and an oath in the midst of your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh fall away and your belly swell. When he has made her drink the water, then it will happen, if she has defiled herself and committed a trespass against her husband, that the water causing the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse in the midst of her people. Numbers 5:21, 27.

'The falling away of the thigh' means the evil of conjugial love, which is adultery. Every other detail in the same procedure had some specific meaning, so that not even the smallest detail fails to embody something, though anyone reading the Word who has no concept of its sacredness will wonder why such things are included there. It is because 'the thigh' means the good of conjugial love that the expression 'those coming out of the thigh' is used frequently, as in a reference to Jacob,

Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will go out from your thighs. Genesis 35:11.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt, who came out of his thigh. Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5.

And in a reference to Gideon, Gideon had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh. Judges 8:30.

[3] Since 'the thigh' and 'the loins' mean the things that belong to conjugial love they also mean those that belong to love and charity, the reason being that conjugial love underlies every other kind of love, see 686, 2733, 2737-2739. These all have the same source - the heavenly marriage - which is a marriage of good and truth, regarding which see 2727-2759. For 'the thigh' means the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, as may be seen from the following places: In John,

He who sat on the white horse had on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Word, and so the Lord, who is the Word, see 2760-2762. 'Robe' means Divine Truth, 2576, and for that reason He is called 'King of kings', 3009. From this it is evident what 'the thigh' means, namely the Divine Good which flows from His love, on account of which He is also named 'Lord of lords', 3004-3011. And this being the Lord's essential nature, it is said that He had a name written on His robe and on His thigh, for 'name' means essential nature, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006.

[4] In David,

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your glory and honour! Psalms 45:3.

This refers to the Lord. 'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 'thigh' for the good of love. 'Girding the sword on the thigh' means that the truth which He was to use in the fight was allied to the good of love. In Isaiah,

Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isaiah 11:5.

This too refers to the Lord. Because 'righteousness' has reference to the good that flows from love, 2235, it is called 'the girdle of His loins', while 'truth' because it comes from good, is called 'the girdle of His thighs'. Thus 'loins' is used in reference to the love within good, and 'thighs' to the love within truth.

[5] In the same prophet'

None will be weary, and none will stumble in Him. He will not slumber nor sleep. Nor has the girdle of His thighs been loosed, nor the thong of His shoes torn away. Isaiah 5:27.

This refers to the Lord. 'The girdle of His thighs' stands, as above, for the love within truth. In Jeremiah Jehovah told the prophet to buy a linen girdle and put it over his loins but not dip it in water. He was then told to go away to the Euphrates and hide it in a cleft of the rock. When he went back at a later time to retrieve it from that place it was spoiled, Jeremiah 13:1-7. 'A linen girdle' stands for truth, but the placing of it over his loins was representative of the fact that truth was the outward expression of good. Anyone may see that these actions are representative. Their meaning however cannot be known except from correspondences, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with at the ends of certain chapters further on.

[6] It is similar with the meaning of the things seen by Ezekiel, Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar: Ezekiel saw,

Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man (Homo) upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about. From the appearance of His loins and upwards, and from the appearance of His loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it like the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud on the day of rain; so was the appearance of the brightness round about, thus was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of Jehovah. Ezekiel 1:26-28.

This scene was clearly representative of the Lord and His kingdom. 'The appearance of His loins upwards and the appearance, of His loins downwards' is descriptive of His love, as is evident from the meaning of 'fire' as love, 934, and from the meaning of 'brightness' and of 'the rainbow' as wisdom and intelligence from that love, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] Daniel saw,

A man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and whose body was like tarshish, 1 and whose face was like the appearance of lightning and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet were like the shine of burnished bronze. Daniel 10:5-6.

What each of these expressions means - the loins, the body, the face, the eyes, the arms, and the feet - does not become clear to anyone except from representations and correspondences involved in these. From these it is evident that in what Daniel saw the Lord's heavenly kingdom was represented, in which Divine Love constitutes the loins, and 'the gold of Uphaz' with which He was girded, the good resulting from wisdom that is grounded in love, 113, 1551, 1552.

[8] In Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was fine gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet partly iron, partly clay, Daniel 2:32-33. This statue represented consecutive states of the Church. The head of gold represented the first state, which was celestial because it was a state of love to the Lord; the breast and arms of silver represented the second state, which was spiritual because it was a state of charity towards the neighbour; the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third state, which was a state of natural good meant by 'bronze', 425, 1551 - natural good being love or charity towards the neighbour as this exists on a lower level than spiritual good - while the feet of iron and clay were the fourth state, which was a state of natural truth meant by 'iron', 425, 426, and also a state involving complete lack of cohesion with good, which is meant by 'clay'.

From all this one may see what is meant by the thighs and loins, namely conjugial love primarily, and from this love every genuine kind of love, as is evident from the places quoted and also from Genesis 32:25, 31-32; Isaiah 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Psalms 69:23; Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35-36. The thighs and loins also mean in the contrary sense those loves that are the reverse of conjugial love and all genuine loves, namely self-love and love of the world, 1 Kings 2:5-6; Isaiah 32:10-11; Jeremiah 30:6; 48:37; Ezekiel 29:7; Amos 8:10.

Footnotes:

1. A Hebrew word for a particular kind of precious stone, possibly a beryl.

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