3623. 'What would life hold for me?' means, and so there would not be any conjunction. This is clear from the meaning of 'life' as conjunction by means of truths and goods. For when it was not possible for any truth from a common stem or genuine source to be joined to natural truth, there could not be any alliance of the natural to the truth of the rational, in which case it seemed to the rational as though its own life were no life, 3493, 3620. This is why here 'what would life hold for me?' means, and so there would not be any conjunction. Here and in other places the word 'life' in the original language is plural, and the reason for this is that in man there are two powers of life. The first is called the understanding and is the receptacle of truth, the second is called the will and is the receptacle of good. These two forms or powers of life make one when the understanding is rooted in the will, or what amounts to the same, when truth is grounded in good. This explains why in Hebrew the noun 'life' is sometimes singular, sometimes plural. The plural form of that noun is used in all the following places, Jehovah God formed the man, dust from the ground; and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7. Jehovah God caused to spring up out of the ground every tree desirable to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the middle of the garden. Genesis 2:9. Behold, I am bringing a flood of waters over the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the spirit of life. Genesis 6:17.

They went in to Noah into the ark, two by two from all flesh in which there is the spirit of life. Genesis 7:15 (in 780).

Everything which had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils breathed its last. Genesis 7:12.

In David,

I believe [I am going] to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13.

In the same author,

Who is the man who desires life, who loves [many] days, that he may see good? Psalms 34:12

In the same author,

With You, O Jehovah, is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. Psalms 36:9.

In Malachi,

My covenant with Levi was [a covenant] of life and peace. Malachi 2:5.

In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jeremiah 21:8.

In Moses,

To love Jehovah your God, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land. Deuteronomy 30:20.

In the same author,

It is not an empty word from you; for it is your life, and through this word you will prolong your days in the land. Deuteronomy 32:47.

And in other places too the plural form of the noun 'life' is used in the original language because, as has been stated, there are two kinds of life which yet make one. It is similar with the word 'heavens' in the Hebrew language, in that the heavens are many and yet make one, or like the expression 'waters' above and below, in Genesis 1:7-9 , by which spiritual things in the rational and in the natural are meant which ought to be one through being joined together. As for the plural form of 'life', when this is used both the life of the will and that of the understanding are meant, and therefore both the life of good and that of truth are meant. For man's life consists in nothing else than good and truth which hold life from the Lord within them. Devoid of good and truth, and of the life which these hold within them, no one is human. For devoid of these no one would ever have been able to will or to think anything. Everything that a person wills originates in good or in that which is not good, and everything he thinks originates in truth or in that which is not truth. Consequently man possesses two kinds of life and these make one when his thinking flows from his willing, that is, when truth which is the truth of faith flows from good which is the good of love.

4997. 'How then shall I do this great evil, and sin against God?' means that, this being so, they exist set apart and not joined together. This is clear from the meaning of 'evil' and likewise of 'sin' as a state when things are set apart and not joined together. That is to say, it describes what happens if spiritual natural good is joined to unspiritual natural truth; being unlike and incompatible the two pull away from each other. The expressions 'doing evil' and 'sinning against God' are used because regarded in itself evil, and sin too, is nothing else than being parted from good. Also, evil exists essentially in disunion, as is evident from what good is. Essentially good is a joining together because all good stems from love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. The good of love to the Lord joins a person to the Lord and consequently to all good that goes forth from the Lord; and the good of love towards the neighbour joins him to heaven and the communities there, so that by means of this love as well he is joined to the Lord. For properly speaking, heaven is the Lord since He is the All in all there.

[2] But with evil the opposite applies. Evil stems from self-love and love of the world. Evil stemming from self-love sets a person apart not only from the Lord but also from heaven, for he loves no one but himself and others only insofar as he sees them as part of his self-interest, or as they identify themselves with him. Consequently he turns everyone's attention towards himself and entirely away from others, most of all away from the Lord. When a large number act like this within a single community it follows that all are set apart from one another; inwardly each sees another as his enemy. If anyone acts contrary to his self-interest he hates that person and takes delight in his destruction. The evil of the love of the world is not dissimilar, for this consists in a longing for other people's wealth and goods, and in a longing to gain possession of everything owned by others; and these longings too lead to all kinds of enmity and hatred, though in a lesser degree. For anyone to come to know what evil is, and so what sin is, let him merely try to see what self-love and love of the world are; and to come to know what good is, let him merely try to see what love to God and love towards the neighbour are. By trying to do this he will come to see what evil is, and as a consequence what falsity is; and from this he will come to see what good is, and as a consequence what truth is.