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Yechezchial 18

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1 ויהי דבר־יהוה אלי לאמר׃

2 מה־לכם אתם משלים את־המשל הזה על־אדמת ישראל לאמר אבות יאכלו בסר ושני הבנים תקהינה׃

3 חי־אני נאם אדני יהוה אם־יהיה לכם עוד משל המשל הזה בישראל׃

4 הן כל־הנפשות לי הנה כנפש האב וכנפש הבן לי־הנה הנפש החטאת היא תמות׃ ס

5 ואיש כי־יהיה צדיק ועשה משפט וצדקה׃

6 אל־ההרים לא אכל ועיניו לא נשא אל־גלולי בית ישראל ואת־אשת רעהו לא טמא* ואל־אשה נדה לא יקרב׃

7 ואיש לא יונה חבלתו חוב ישיב גזלה לא יגזל לחמו לרעב יתן ועירם יכסה־בגד׃

8 בנשך לא־יתן ותרבית לא יקח מעול ישיב ידו משפט אמת יעשה בין איש לאיש׃

9 בחקותי יהלך ומשפטי שמר לעשות אמת צדיק הוא חיה יחיה נאם אדני יהוה׃

10 והוליד בן־פריץ שפך דם ועשה אח מאחד מאלה׃

11 והוא את־כל־אלה לא עשה כי גם אל־ההרים אכל ואת־אשת רעהו טמא׃

12 עני ואביון הונה גזלות גזל חבל לא ישיב ואל־הגלולים נשא עיניו תועבה עשה׃

13 בנשך נתן ותרבית לקח וחי לא יחיה את כל־התועבות האלה עשה מות יומת דמיו בו יהיה׃

14 והנה הוליד בן וירא את־כל־חטאת אביו אשר עשה ויראה ולא יעשה כהן׃

15 על־ההרים לא אכל ועיניו לא נשא אל־גלולי בית ישראל את־אשת רעהו לא טמא׃

16 ואיש לא הונה חבל לא חבל וגזלה לא גזל לחמו לרעב נתן וערום כסה־בגד׃

17 מעני השיב ידו נשך ותרבית לא לקח משפטי עשה בחקותי הלך הוא לא ימות בעון אביו חיה יחיה׃

18 אביו כי־עשק עשק גזל גזל אח ואשר לא־טוב עשה בתוך עמיו והנה־מת בעונו׃

19 ואמרתם מדע לא־נשא הבן בעון האב והבן משפט וצדקה עשה את כל־חקותי שמר ויעשה אתם חיה יחיה׃

20 הנפש החטאת היא תמות בן לא־ישא בעון האב ואב לא ישא בעון הבן צדקת הצדיק עליו תהיה ורשעת [כ= רשע] [ק= הרשע] עליו תהיה׃ ס

21 והרשע כי ישוב מכל־[כ= חטאתו] [ק= חטאתיו] אשר עשה ושמר את־כל־חקותי ועשה משפט וצדקה חיה יחיה לא ימות׃

22 כל־פשעיו אשר עשה לא יזכרו לו בצדקתו אשר־עשה יחיה׃

23 החפץ אחפץ מות רשע נאם אדני יהוה הלוא בשובו מדרכיו וחיה׃ ס

24 ובשוב צדיק מצדקתו ועשה עול ככל התועבות אשר־עשה הרשע יעשה וחי כל־[כ= צדקתו] [ק= צדקתיו] אשר־עשה לא תזכרנה במעלו אשר־מעל ובחטאתו אשר־חטא בם ימות׃

25 ואמרתם לא יתכן דרך אדני שמעו־נא בית ישראל הדרכי לא יתכן הלא דרכיכם לא יתכנו׃

26 בשוב־צדיק מצדקתו ועשה עול ומת עליהם בעולו אשר־עשה ימות׃ ס

27 ובשוב רשע מרשעתו אשר עשה ויעש משפט וצדקה הוא את־נפשו יחיה׃

28 ויראה [כ= וישוב] [ק= וישב] מכל־פשעיו אשר עשה חיו יחיה לא ימות׃

29 ואמרו בית ישראל לא יתכן דרך אדני הדרכי לא יתכנו בית ישראל הלא דרכיכם לא יתכן׃

30 לכן איש כדרכיו אשפט אתכם בית ישראל נאם אדני יהוה שובו והשיבו מכל־פשעיכם ולא־יהיה לכם למכשול עון׃

31 השליכו מעליכם את־כל־פשעיכם אשר פשעתם בם ועשו לכם לב חדש ורוח חדשה ולמה תמתו בית ישראל׃

32 כי לא אחפץ במות המת נאם אדני יהוה והשיבו וחיו׃ ף

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9965

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9965. 'That they may not bear iniquity and die' means the elimination of the whole of worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'bearing the iniquity', when the subject is the priestly office of Aaron and his sons, as a removal or shifting away of falsities and evils with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord, dealt with above in 9937. But when it speaks of them 'bearing iniquity and dying' the elimination of the whole of worship is meant, see 9928; for the representative worship died because nothing of it appeared any longer in heaven. The situation in all this may become clear from what has been stated and shown above in 9959-9961. They also died when they did not act in accordance with the statutes, 1 as is evident from Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, who were devoured by fire from heaven when they did not take the fire of the altar to burn incense but foreign 2 fire, Leviticus 10:1-2ff. 'The fire of the altar' represented God's love, thus love from the Lord, whereas 'foreign fire' represented love from hell. The elimination of worship was meant by their burning incense with this fire and their consequent death. For the meaning of 'fire' as love, see 5215, 6832, 7324, 7575, 7852.

[2] Many places in the Word state that they would bear iniquity when they did not do things in accordance with the statutes, and by this was meant damnation because sins had not been removed. Not that they themselves were condemned on account of disobeying the statutes. Rather by doing so they eliminated representative worship and in so doing represented the damnation of those who remain in their sins. For none are condemned because they fail in their performance of outward religious observances, only because of evils in the heart, thus because of failing in such observances as a result of evil in the heart. This is what 'bearing iniquity' means in the following places: In Moses,

If a soul sins and acts against any of Jehovah's commandments regarding what ought not to be done, 3 though he does not know it, yet he will be guilty and will bear his iniquity. Leviticus 5:17-18.

Here the retention of evils and consequent damnation should not be understood literally by 'bearing iniquity', although that is the spiritual meaning; for it says 'though he does not know it', implying that what the person has done does not spring from evil in the heart.

[3] In the same author,

If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, the one offering it will not be accepted. It is an abomination, and the soul that eats it will bear his iniquity, and will be cut off from his people. Leviticus 7:18; 19:7-8.

Here also 'bearing iniquity' means remaining in his sins and being as a result in a state of damnation. It does so not because the person ate some of his sacrifice on the third day, but because 'eating it on the third day' represented something abominable, namely an action leading to damnation. Thus 'bearing iniquity and being cut off from his people' represented the damnation of those who performed the abomination meant by that deed. Nevertheless there was no condemnation on account of his having eaten it, for interior evils that were represented are what condemn, not exterior actions in which those evils are not present.

[4] In the same author,

Every soul who eats a carcass 4 or that which has been torn, and does not wash his clothes and bathe his flesh shall bear his iniquity. Leviticus 17:15-16.

Since 'eating a carcass or that which has been torn' represented making evil or falsity one's own, the expression 'bearing iniquity' also has a representative meaning. In the same author,

If a man who is clean fails to keep the Passover, this soul shall be cut off from his people, because he did not bring the offering of Jehovah at its appointed time; he shall bear his sin. Numbers 9:13.

'The Passover' represented deliverance by the Lord from damnation, 7093 (end), 7867, 7995, 9286-9292; and 'the Passover supper' represented being joined to the Lord through the good of love, 7836, 7997, 8001. And since these things were represented it was decreed that anyone who did not keep the Passover should be cut off from his people and that he should bear his sin. The failure to keep it was not really so great a crime; rather it represented those who at heart refuse to accept the Lord and consequently deliverance from sins, and so who have no wish to be joined to Him through love. Thus it represented their damnation.

[5] In the same author,

The children of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting, or else they will bear iniquity and die. 5 Levites shall perform the work of the tent of meeting, and these shall bear the iniquity. Numbers 18:22-23.

The reason why the people would bear iniquity and die if they were to go near the tent of meeting to do the work there was that they would thereby eliminate the representative worship assigned to the function of the priests. The function of the priests or the priestly office represented the Lord's entire work of salvation, 9809; and this is why it says that the Levites, who also were priests, should bear the people's iniquity, by which expiation or atonement was meant, that is, removal from evils and falsities with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord alone, 9937. 'Bearing iniquity' means real damnation when this expression is used in reference to those who perform evil deeds because their heart is evil, such as those mentioned in Leviticus 20:17, 19-20; 24:15-16; Ezekiel 18:20; 23:49; and elsewhere.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. the laws of worship; see 8972.

2. i.e. unauthorized or profane

3. literally, and does one of [all] Jehovah's commandments [about] things which ought not to be done

4. i.e. an animal that had not been slaughtered but had died naturally

5. literally, to bear iniquity, dying

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