The Bible

 

Exode 20

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1 Alors Dieu prononça toutes ces paroles, disant :

2 Je suis l'Eternel ton Dieu, qui t'ai retiré du pays d'Egypte, de la maison de servitude.

3 Tu n'auras point d'autres dieux devant ma face.

4 Tu ne te feras point d'image taillée, ni aucune ressemblance des choses qui sont là-haut aux cieux, ni ici-bas sur la terre, ni dans les eaux sous la terre.

5 Tu ne te prosterneras point devant elles, et ne les serviras point; car je suis l'Eternel ton Dieu, le [Dieu] Fort, qui est jaloux, punissant l'iniquité des pères sur les enfants, jusqu'à la troisième et à la quatrième génération de ceux qui me haïssent;

6 Et faisant miséricorde en mille [générations] à ceux qui m'aiment, et qui gardent mes commandements.

7 Tu ne prendras point le Nom de l'Eternel ton Dieu en vain; car l'Eternel ne tiendra point pour innocent, celui qui aura pris son Nom en vain.

8 Souviens-toi du jour du repos, pour le sanctifier.

9 Tu travailleras six jours, et tu feras toute ton œuvre;

10 Mais le septième jour est le repos de l'Eternel ton Dieu. Tu ne feras aucune œuvre en ce [jour-là], ni toi, ni ton fils, ni ta fille, ni ton serviteur, ni ta servante, ni ton bétail, ni ton étranger qui est dans tes portes.

11 Car l'Eternel a fait en six jours les cieux, la terre, la mer, et tout ce qui est en eux, et s'est reposé le septième jour; c'est pourquoi l'Eternel a béni le jour du repos, et l'a sanctifié.

12 Honore ton père et ta mère, afin que tes jours soient prolongés sur la terre que l'Eternel ton Dieu te donne.

13 Tu ne tueras point.

14 Tu ne paillarderas point.

15 Tu ne déroberas point.

16 Tu ne diras point faux Témoignage contre ton prochain.

17 Tu ne convoiteras point la maison de ton prochain; tu ne convoiteras point la femme de ton prochain, ni son serviteur, ni sa servante, ni son bœuf, ni son âne, ni aucune chose qui soit à ton prochain.

18 Or tout le peuple apercevait les tonnerres, les éclairs, le son du cor, et la montagne fumante; et le peuple voyant cela tremblait, et se tenait loin.

19 Et ils dirent à Moïse : parle, toi, avec nous, et nous écouterons; mais que Dieu ne parle point avec nous, de peur que nous ne mourions.

20 Et Moïse dit au peuple : ne craignez point; car Dieu est venu pour vous éprouver, et afin que sa crainte soit devant vous, et que vous ne péchiez point.

21 Le peuple donc se tint loin, mais Moïse s'approcha de l'obscurité dans laquelle Dieu était.

22 Et l'Eternel dit à Moïse : tu diras ainsi aux enfants d'Israël : vous avez vu que je vous ai parlé des cieux :

23 Vous ne vous ferez point avec moi de Dieux d'argent, ni de Dieux d'or.

24 Tu me feras un autel de terre, sur lequel tu sacrifieras tes holocaustes, et tes oblations de prospérités, ton menu et ton gros bétail; en quelque lieu que ce soit que je mettrai la mémoire de mon Nom, je viendrai là à toi, et je te bénirai.

25 Que si tu me fais un autel de pierres, ne les taille point; car si tu fais passer le fer dessus, tu le souilleras.

26 Et tu ne monteras point à mon autel par des degrés, de peur que ta nudité ne soit découverte en y [montant].

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1022

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1022. To give unto her the cup of the wrath of His anger, signifies its devastation through direful falsities of evil. This is evident from the signification of a "cup," as being falsity from hell, which is the falsity of evil (See n. 960; and as it appears as if God were wrathful and angry on account of this it is called "the cup of the wrath of the anger of God," "wrath" on account of the falsity, and "anger" on account of the evil. So "to give unto her that cup" signifies to devastate, for the falsity of evil from hell devastates the church as to all good and truth. That the church meant by "Babylon" has been thus devastated will be made evident from the two following chapters.

(The Tenth Commandment)

[2] "Thou shalt not covet (or desire) thy neighbor's wife, his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass." These are lusts after what is man's own, because the wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, and ass, are within his house, and the things within a man's house mean in the spiritual internal sense the things that are his own, that is, the wife means the affection of spiritual truth and good, "manservant and maidservant," the affection of rational truth and good serving the spiritual, and "ox and ass" the affection of natural good and truth. These signify in the Word such affections; but because coveting and desiring these affections means to will and eagerly desire to subject a man to one's own authority or bidding, it follows that lusting after these affections means the lusts of the love of self, that is, of the love of ruling, for thus does one make the things belonging to a companion to be his own.

[3] From this it can now be seen that the lust of the ninth commandment is the lust of the love of the world, and that the lusts of this commandment are lusts of the love of self. For, as has been said before, all lusts are of love, for it is love that covets; and as there are two evil loves to which all lusts have reference, namely, the love of the world and the love of self, it follows that the lust of the ninth commandment has reference to the love of the world, and the lust of this commandment to the love of self, especially to the love of ruling. (That all evils and the falsities therefrom flow from these two loves may be seen above, n. 159, 171, 394, 506, 517, 650, 950, 951, 973, 982, 1010, 1016; and in the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 65-83.)

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #394

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394. Saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the earth? signifies sighings to the Lord, who is justice, respecting the judgment and removal of those who persecute and infest those who openly acknowledge the Lord and are in the life of charity. This is evident from the signification of "crying out and saying, How long, O Lord," as being to pour out to the Lord sighs from grief, for these are the words of those that groan and sigh and supplicate for justice. Also from the signification of "holy and true," as being the One who is Justice; for justice when predicated of the Lord, signifies that He does not tolerate such things, and this because He is holy and true. Also from the signification of "to judge and avenge our blood," as being the judgment and removal of those who persecute and infest those who openly acknowledge the Lord and are in the life of charity. This is the signification of these words because "blood" signifies all violence offered to Divine good and Divine truth, thus to the Lord; consequently violence offered to those who are in the life of charity and faith. To offer violence to these is to offer violence to the Lord Himself, according to the words of the Lord Himself in Matthew:

Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of My least brethren, ye did it unto Me (Matthew 25:40, 45).

That this is signified by "blood" in this sense, may be seen above (n. 329. Also from the signification of "those that dwell on the earth," as being those who were in "the former heaven" that afterwards passed away, for those dwelt in the spiritual world upon the earth, upon mountains, hills, and rocks, while those who acknowledged the Lord and were in the life of charity abode under the earth, or under heaven, and were there concealed and preserved (See above, n. 391, 392).

[2] From this the meaning of these words in their genuine sense can be seen; but no one can know that such things are meant unless it has been revealed to him. For otherwise who could know who are meant by "the souls of those slain," and what is meant by "to avenge their blood upon those that dwell on the earth?" One who does not know from revelation who these are must conclude that the martyrs only are meant; when yet these were not the martyrs, but all such as were persecuted and infested by those who were in the former heaven that passed away; for these were such that they thrust out from themselves all who openly acknowledged the Lord and were in the life of charity, because they were interiorly evil (as has been said above, n. 391, 392).

To this I will add the following: All in the spiritual world who are interiorly evil, however moral a life in externals they may have lived in the world, are utterly unable to tolerate anyone who worships the Lord and lives the life of charity; as soon as they see such, they infest and either do them injury or treat them shamefully. I have often wondered at this, and all who do not know about it must wonder, since these same persons, when in the world, tolerated preachings respecting the Lord and also respecting charity, and themselves talked about these things doctrinally, yet when they become spirits they cannot tolerate them. The reason is that this aversion is inherent in their evil in which they are; for in their evil there is hostility, yea, hatred against the Lord, and also against those who are led by the Lord, who are those who are in the life of charity; but this hostility and this hatred lie concealed in their spirit; consequently when they become spirits they are in them; then that antipathy or antagonism inherent in evil comes forth.

[3] Take, for example, those in whom the love of ruling has predominated; it is their delight to rule over others, and if possible over all; this delight is in them after death, nor can it be removed, since every delight is of the love, and the predominant love constitutes the life of everyone, and this life remains to eternity. When these have become spirits, they strive continually, from the delight of their love, to gain dominion over others as they did in the world; and when they are unable to obtain it, they are angry against the Lord; and as they are unable to harm the Lord Himself, they are angry against those who openly acknowledge Him; for the delight of their love is contrary to the delight of heavenly love; this delight is that the Lord may rule, while the other delight is that they themselves may rule; this is why there is inherent in this delight a hatred against the Lord and against all who are led by Him, who are those who are in the life of charity. From this it can be seen why those who openly acknowledged the Lord and lived the life of charity were delivered by the Lord from the violence of such spirits, and were concealed in the lower earth, and there preserved until the judgment. But after the judgment those who had dwelt above the earth, upon the mountains, hills, and rocks there, who were, as said above, interiorly evil, were cast out; and those who had been hidden under the earth, or under heaven, were elevated and allotted an inheritance in the places from which the former were cast out. From this it can now be more fully comprehended what is meant by what is said to them in the next verse, that "they should rest yet a little time, until they should be fulfilled."

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.