The Bible

 

Shemot 5

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1 ואחר באו משה ואהרן ויאמרו אל־פרעה כה־אמר יהוה אלהי ישראל שלח את־עמי ויחגו לי במדבר׃

2 ויאמר פרעה מי יהוה אשר אשמע בקלו לשלח את־ישראל לא ידעתי את־יהוה וגם את־ישראל לא אשלח׃

3 ויאמרו אלהי העברים נקרא עלינו נלכה נא דרך שלשת ימים במדבר ונזבחה ליהוה אלהינו פן־יפגענו בדבר או בחרב׃

4 ויאמר אלהם מלך מצרים למה משה ואהרן תפריעו את־העם ממעשיו לכו לסבלתיכם׃

5 ויאמר פרעה הן־רבים עתה עם הארץ והשבתם אתם מסבלתם׃

6 ויצו פרעה ביום ההוא את־הנגשים בעם ואת־שטריו לאמר׃

7 לא תאספון לתת תבן לעם ללבן הלבנים כתמול שלשם הם ילכו וקששו להם תבן׃

8 ואת־מתכנת הלבנים אשר הם עשים תמול שלשם תשימו עליהם לא תגרעו ממנו כי־נרפים הם על־כן הם צעקים לאמר נלכה נזבחה לאלהינו׃

9 תכבד העבדה על־האנשים ויעשו־בה ואל־ישעו בדברי־שקר׃

10 ויצאו נגשי* העם ושטריו ויאמרו אל־העם לאמר כה אמר פרעה אינני נתן לכם תבן׃

11 אתם לכו קחו לכם תבן מאשר תמצאו כי אין נגרע מעבדתכם דבר׃

12 ויפץ העם בכל־ארץ מצרים לקשש קש לתבן׃

13 והנגשים אצים לאמר כלו מעשיכם דבר־יום ביומו כאשר בהיות התבן׃

14 ויכו שטרי בני ישראל אשר־שמו עלהם נגשי פרעה לאמר מדוע לא כליתם חקכם ללבן כתמול שלשם גם־תמול גם־היום׃

15 ויבאו שטרי בני ישראל ויצעקו אל־פרעה לאמר למה תעשה כה לעבדיך׃

16 תבן אין נתן לעבדיך ולבנים אמרים לנו עשו והנה עבדיך מכים וחטאת עמך׃

17 ויאמר נרפים אתם נרפים על־כן אתם אמרים נלכה נזבחה ליהוה׃

18 ועתה לכו עבדו ותבן לא־ינתן לכם ותכן לבנים תתנו׃

19 ויראו שטרי בני־ישראל אתם ברע לאמר לא־תגרעו מלבניכם דבר־יום ביומו׃

20 ויפגעו את־משה ואת־אהרן נצבים לקראתם בצאתם מאת פרעה׃

21 ויאמרו אלהם ירא יהוה עליכם וישפט אשר הבאשתם את־ריחנו בעיני פרעה ובעיני עבדיו לתת־חרב בידם להרגנו׃

22 וישב משה אל־יהוה ויאמר אדני למה הרעתה לעם הזה למה זה שלחתני׃

23 ומאז באתי אל־פרעה לדבר בשמך הרע לעם הזה והצל לא־הצלת את־עמך׃

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7147

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7147. 'And your people have sinned' means that for this reason they are guilty of having done what is evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'sinning' as becoming guilty of evil; and, if guilty, as receiving deserved punishment. What the situation is in general regarding the matters contained in this verse and in those that come before it must be stated. Those who are on the lower earth are molested by the falsities and evils introduced by the surrounding hells. Such molestation takes place in order that evils and falsities may be removed and truths and forms of good may be instilled, as a result of which they are brought into a state in which they can be raised to heaven, see 7090, 7122. But near the end they are molested more harshly than ever before, for at that stage truths are taken away from them and utter falsities are allowed to molest them, even until they are made to despair. For it is in accordance with Divine order that despair should be the final stage of molestation and temptation, see 1787, 2694, 5279, 5280. In order that this state experienced by those belonging to the spiritual Church might be represented by the children of Israel, Pharaoh acted as the narrative describes here. He did what he did when the molestations were near the end, that is to say, when the children of Israel were about to be set free and led to the land of Canaan.

[2] It should be recognized that molestations take place in the following way: Falsities and evils are introduced into a person's thoughts by the hells, and truths and forms of good by heaven, that is, by the Lord through heaven; and that introduction takes place in him because no man or spirit has any thought that originates in himself. Rather, everything flows in from without. Although this is entirely contrary to anyone's perception of what is going on inside him and for that reason seems impossible to believe, it is nevertheless absolutely true. See what has already been brought forward and shown from experience on the matter in 2886, 4151, 4249, 5846, 5854, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626. From these places one may know how to understand the idea that molestations are effected by the introduction of falsities, and are increased until a person is made to despair.

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 21

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1 Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken.

2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

4 Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him.

6 Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me."

7 She said, "Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

8 The child grew, and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this handmaid and her son! For the son of this handmaid will not be heir with my son, Isaac."

11 The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son.

12 God said to Abraham, "Don't let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your handmaid. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For from Isaac will your seed be called.

13 I will also make a nation of the son of the handmaid, because he is your seed."

14 Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 The water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, "Don't let me see the death of the child." She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

17 God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Don't be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him in your hand. For I will make him a great nation."

19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink.

20 God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.

21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

22 It happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.

23 Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son. But according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have lived as a foreigner."

24 Abraham said, "I will swear."

25 Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this thing. Neither did you tell me, neither did I hear of it, until today."

27 Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant.

28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 Abimelech said to Abraham, "What do these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves mean?"

30 He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well."

31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore there.

32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.

34 Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.