The Bible

 

Genesis 1

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1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first Day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The Bible

 

Exodus 20:11

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11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #284

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284. The details just quoted about the proclamation of the law, its holiness and power, are to be found in the following passages of the Word. Jehovah came down on Mount Sinai in fire, and the mountain then smoked and shook, there was thunder and lightning, an oppressive cloud and the sound of a trumpet: Exodus 19:16-18; Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:22-26. The people prepared and sanctified themselves for three days before Jehovah came down: Exodus 19:10-11, 15. The mountain was hedged about to prevent anyone approaching its foot and coming near and being killed; not even the priests approached, only Moses: Exodus 19:12-13, 20-23; 24:1-2. The law was proclaimed from Mount Sinai: Exodus 20:2-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The law was inscribed on two stone tablets, and written by the finger of God: Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16; Deuteronomy 9:10. When Moses carried the tablets down from the mountain the second time, his face shone so that he had to cover his face with a veil when talking with the people: Exodus 34:29-35. The tablets were laid up in the Ark: Exodus 25:16, 40:20; Deuteronomy 10:5; 1 Kings 8:9. The mercy-seat was mounted upon the Ark, and over it were placed cherubim made of gold: Exodus 25:17-21. The Ark together with the mercy-seat and the cherubim was put into the Tabernacle, constituting its first and thus most inward part; the table overlaid with gold, upon which was the bread of the Presence, the incense-altar of gold, and the lamp-stand and lamps of gold, made up the external part of the Tabernacle; the ten curtains of fine linen, purple and scarlet were its outermost part: Exodus 25:1-end; Exodus 26:1-end; Exodus 40:17-28. The place, where the Ark was, was called the Holy of Holies: Exodus 26:33. The whole people of Israel camped around the Tabernacle in the order of their tribes, and set out in order after it: Numbers 2:1-end. There was then a cloud over the Tabernacle by day and fire by night: Exodus 40:38; Numbers 9:15-end; Numbers 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:33. Jehovah spoke with Moses above the Ark, between the cherubim: Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89. The Ark was called from the law in it 'Jehovah-is-here'; for Moses said when the Ark set out 'Arise, Jehovah', and when it rested 'Return, Jehovah': Numbers 10:35-36; and further 2 Samuel 6:2 1 ; Psalms 132:7-8. On account of the holiness of the law Aaron was not allowed to go inside the veil, except with sacrifices and incense: Leviticus 16:2-14ff. By the presence of the Lord's power in the law contained in the Ark the waters of Jordan were parted, and the people crossed over on dry land, so long as it rested in the midst: ; 4:5-20. When the Ark was carried round them, the walls of Jericho fell down: Joshua 6:1-20. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fell to the ground in the presence of the Ark, and afterwards was found lying on the threshold of the shrine with his head torn off and the palms of his hands cut off: 1 Samuel 5. The men of Bethshemesh were smitten because of the Ark to the number of many thousands: 1 Samuel 5, 6. Uzzah was killed by touching the Ark: 2 Samuel 6:7. The Ark was brought into Zion by David with sacrifices and jubilation: 2 Samuel 6:1-19. The Ark was brought by Solomon into the Temple at Jerusalem, where he made its inner shrine: 1 Kings 6:19ff; 1 Kings 8:3-9.

Footnotes:

1. The author's copy has in the margin: '2 Chronicles 6:14' for '2 Samuel 6:2'.

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