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Ezekiel 18

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1 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων

2 υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου τί ὑμῖν ἡ παραβολὴ αὕτη ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς ισραηλ λέγοντες οἱ πατέρες ἔφαγον ὄμφακα καὶ οἱ ὀδόντες τῶν τέκνων ἐγομφίασαν

3 ζῶ ἐγώ λέγει κύριος ἐὰν γένηται ἔτι λεγομένη ἡ παραβολὴ αὕτη ἐν τῷ ισραηλ

4 ὅτι πᾶσαι αἱ ψυχαὶ ἐμαί εἰσιν ὃν τρόπον ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ πατρός οὕτως καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐμαί εἰσιν ἡ ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα αὕτη ἀποθανεῖται

5 ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἔσται δίκαιος ὁ ποιῶν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην

6 ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων οὐ φάγεται καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἐπάρῃ πρὸς τὰ ἐνθυμήματα οἴκου ισραηλ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ μιάνῃ καὶ πρὸς γυναῖκα ἐν ἀφέδρῳ οὖσαν οὐ προσεγγιεῖ

7 καὶ ἄνθρωπον οὐ μὴ καταδυναστεύσῃ ἐνεχυρασμὸν ὀφείλοντος ἀποδώσει καὶ ἅρπαγμα οὐχ ἁρπᾶται τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ τῷ πεινῶντι δώσει καὶ γυμνὸν περιβαλεῖ

8 καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τόκῳ οὐ δώσει καὶ πλεονασμὸν οὐ λήμψεται καὶ ἐξ ἀδικίας ἀποστρέψει τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ κρίμα δίκαιον ποιήσει ἀνὰ μέσον ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ

9 καὶ τοῖς προστάγμασίν μου πεπόρευται καὶ τὰ δικαιώματά μου πεφύλακται τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά δίκαιος οὗτός ἐστιν ζωῇ ζήσεται λέγει κύριος

10 καὶ ἐὰν γεννήσῃ υἱὸν λοιμὸν ἐκχέοντα αἷμα καὶ ποιοῦντα ἁμαρτήματα

11 ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ δικαίου οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων ἔφαγεν καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἐμίανεν

12 καὶ πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα κατεδυνάστευσεν καὶ ἅρπαγμα ἥρπασεν καὶ ἐνεχυρασμὸν οὐκ ἀπέδωκεν καὶ εἰς τὰ εἴδωλα ἔθετο τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ ἀνομίαν πεποίηκεν

13 μετὰ τόκου ἔδωκε καὶ πλεονασμὸν ἔλαβεν οὗτος ζωῇ οὐ ζήσεται πάσας τὰς ἀνομίας ταύτας ἐποίησεν θανάτῳ θανατωθήσεται τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται

14 ἐὰν δὲ γεννήσῃ υἱόν καὶ ἴδῃ πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἃς ἐποίησεν καὶ φοβηθῇ καὶ μὴ ποιήσῃ κατὰ ταύτας

15 ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων οὐ βέβρωκεν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔθετο εἰς τὰ ἐνθυμήματα οἴκου ισραηλ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐμίανεν

16 καὶ ἄνθρωπον οὐ κατεδυνάστευσεν καὶ ἐνεχυρασμὸν οὐκ ἐνεχύρασεν καὶ ἅρπαγμα οὐχ ἥρπασεν τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ τῷ πεινῶντι ἔδωκεν καὶ γυμνὸν περιέβαλεν

17 καὶ ἀπ' ἀδικίας ἀπέστρεψε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ τόκον οὐδὲ πλεονασμὸν οὐκ ἔλαβεν δικαιοσύνην ἐποίησεν καὶ ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασίν μου ἐπορεύθη οὐ τελευτήσει ἐν ἀδικίαις πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ζωῇ ζήσεται

18 ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐὰν θλίψει θλίψῃ καὶ ἁρπάσῃ ἅρπαγμα ἐναντία ἐποίησεν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ μου καὶ ἀποθανεῖται ἐν τῇ ἀδικίᾳ αὐτοῦ

19 καὶ ἐρεῖτε τί ὅτι οὐκ ἔλαβεν τὴν ἀδικίαν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἔλεος ἐποίησεν πάντα τὰ νόμιμά μου συνετήρησεν καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτά ζωῇ ζήσεται

20 ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀποθανεῖται ὁ δὲ υἱὸς οὐ λήμψεται τὴν ἀδικίαν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ λήμψεται τὴν ἀδικίαν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη δικαίου ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται καὶ ἀνομία ἀνόμου ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται

21 καὶ ὁ ἄνομος ἐὰν ἀποστρέψῃ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτοῦ ὧν ἐποίησεν καὶ φυλάξηται πάσας τὰς ἐντολάς μου καὶ ποιήσῃ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἔλεος ζωῇ ζήσεται οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ

22 πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτοῦ ὅσα ἐποίησεν οὐ μνησθήσεται ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ αὐτοῦ ᾗ ἐποίησεν ζήσεται

23 μὴ θελήσει θελήσω τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἀνόμου λέγει κύριος ὡς τὸ ἀποστρέψαι αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς καὶ ζῆν αὐτόν

24 ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀποστρέψαι δίκαιον ἐκ τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ καὶ ποιήσῃ ἀδικίαν κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἀνομίας ἃς ἐποίησεν ὁ ἄνομος πᾶσαι αἱ δικαιοσύναι αὐτοῦ ἃς ἐποίησεν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶσιν ἐν τῷ παραπτώματι αὐτοῦ ᾧ παρέπεσεν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτοῦ αἷς ἥμαρτεν ἐν αὐταῖς ἀποθανεῖται

25 καὶ εἴπατε οὐ κατευθύνει ἡ ὁδὸς κυρίου ἀκούσατε δή πᾶς οἶκος ισραηλ μὴ ἡ ὁδός μου οὐ κατευθύνει οὐχὶ ἡ ὁδὸς ὑμῶν οὐ κατευθύνει

26 ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέψαι τὸν δίκαιον ἐκ τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ καὶ ποιήσῃ παράπτωμα καὶ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν τῷ παραπτώματι ᾧ ἐποίησεν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποθανεῖται

27 καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέψαι ἄνομον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτοῦ ἧς ἐποίησεν καὶ ποιήσῃ κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην οὗτος τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐφύλαξεν

28 καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτοῦ ὧν ἐποίησεν ζωῇ ζήσεται οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ

29 καὶ λέγουσιν ὁ οἶκος τοῦ ισραηλ οὐ κατορθοῖ ἡ ὁδὸς κυρίου μὴ ἡ ὁδός μου οὐ κατορθοῖ οἶκος ισραηλ οὐχὶ ἡ ὁδὸς ὑμῶν οὐ κατορθοῖ

30 ἕκαστον κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ κρινῶ ὑμᾶς οἶκος ισραηλ λέγει κύριος ἐπιστράφητε καὶ ἀποστρέψατε ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀσεβειῶν ὑμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἔσονται ὑμῖν εἰς κόλασιν ἀδικίας

31 ἀπορρίψατε ἀπὸ ἑαυτῶν πάσας τὰς ἀσεβείας ὑμῶν ἃς ἠσεβήσατε εἰς ἐμέ καὶ ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς καρδίαν καινὴν καὶ πνεῦμα καινόν καὶ ἵνα τί ἀποθνῄσκετε οἶκος ισραηλ

32 διότι οὐ θέλω τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἀποθνῄσκοντος λέγει κύριος

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #238

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238. And miserable and poor, signifies that they do not know that they have neither knowledges of truth nor knowledges of good. This is evident from the signification of "miserable" or "pitiable," as meaning those who are in no knowledges of truth; and from the signification of "poor" as meaning those who are in no knowledges of good. That this is the meaning of "miserable" and "poor" is evident from many passages in the Word, and also from this, that spiritual misery and poverty are nothing else than a lack of the knowledges of truth and good, for the spirit is then miserable and poor; but when the spirit possesses these it is rich and wealthy; therefore also "riches" and "wealth" in the Word signifies spiritual riches and wealth, which are the knowledges of truth and good (as was shown just above, n. 236).

[2] "Miserable and poor" are terms used in many passages in the Word. He who is ignorant of the spiritual sense of the Word believes that by these no others are meant than the miserable and poor in the world. These, however, are not meant, but those who are not in truths and goods and in the knowledges thereof; and by the "miserable" indeed, those who are not in truths because not in the knowledges of truths, and by the "poor" those who are not in goods because not in the knowledges of goods. As these two, truths and goods, are meant by these two expressions, the two in many places are mentioned together; as in the passages that now follow. In David:

I am miserable and poor, Lord, remember me (Psalms 40:17; 70:5). Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, answer me, for I am miserable and poor (Psalms 86:1).

The "miserable and poor" here mean evidently those who are miserable and poor, not in respect to worldly riches but in respect to spiritual riches, as David says this of himself; therefore he also said, "Jehovah, incline thine ear, and answer me."

[3] In the same:

The wicked draw out the sword and bend their bow, to cast down the miserable and poor (Psalms 37:14).

Here also "the miserable and poor" mean evidently those who are spiritually such and yet long for the knowledges of truth and good, for it is said that "the wicked draw out the sword and bend the bow," "sword" signifying falsity combating against truth and striving to destroy it, and "bow" the doctrine of falsity fighting against the doctrine of truth; therefore it is said that they do this "to cast down the miserable and poor." (That "sword" signifies truth combating against falsity, and in a contrary sense, falsity combating against truth, see above, n. 131; and that "bow" signifies doctrine in both senses, see Arcana Coelestia 2686, 2709)

[4] So in another place in the same:

The wicked man hath persecuted the miserable and poor and the broken in heart, to slay them (Psalms 109:16).

In Isaiah:

The fool speaketh folly, and his heart doeth iniquity to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul, and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want. He counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment (Isaiah 32:6-7).

Here likewise "the miserable and poor" mean those who are destitute of the knowledges of truth and good; therefore it is said that "the wicked counseleth wicked devices to destroy the miserable by the words of a lie, even when the poor speaketh judgment;" "by the words of a lie" means by falsities, and "to speak judgment" is to speak what is right. Because such are treated of, it is also said that he "practices hypocrisy and speaketh error against Jehovah, to make empty the hungry soul and to make him who thirsteth for drink to want." "To practice hypocrisy and to speak error" is to do evil from falsity, and to speak falsity from evil; "to make empty the hungry soul" is to deprive those of the knowledges of good who long for them, and "to make him who thirsteth for drink to want" is to deprive those of the knowledges of truth who long for them.

In the same:

The miserable shall have joy in Jehovah, and the poor of men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 29:19).

Here also "the miserable and poor" signify those who are in lack of truth and good and yet long for them; of these, and not of those who are miserable and poor in respect to worldly wealth, it is said that they "shall have joy in Jehovah, and shall exult in the Holy One of Israel."

[5] From this it can be seen what is signified by the "miserable and poor" in other passages of the Word, as in the following. In David:

The poor shall not always be forgotten; and the hope of the miserable shall not perish for ever (Psalms 9:18).

In the same:

God shall judge the miserable of the people, He shall save the sons of the poor. He shall deliver the poor when he crieth, and the miserable. He shall spare the weak and the poor, and the souls of the poor He shall save (Psalms 72:4, 12-13).

In the same:

The miserable shall see, they that seek Jehovah 1 shall be glad. For Jehovah heareth the poor (Psalms 69:32-33).

In the same:

Jehovah deliverest the miserable from him that is too strong for him, the poor from them that despoil him (Psalms 35:10).

In the same:

The miserable and the poor praise Thy name (Psalms 74:21; 109:22).

In the same:

I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the miserable, and the judgment of the poor (Psalms 140:12).

Also elsewhere (as Isaiah 10:2; Jeremiah 22:16; Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12; 22:29; Amos 8:4; Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14). "The miserable" and "the poor" are both mentioned in these passages, because it is according to the style of the Word that where truth is spoken of, good is also spoken of; and in a contrary sense, where falsity is spoken of, evil is also spoken of, since they make a one, and as if it were a marriage; this is why "the miserable and the poor" are mentioned together; for, by "the miserable" those deficient in the knowledges of truth are meant, and by "the poor" those deficient in the knowledges of good. (That there is such a marriage almost everywhere in the prophetical parts of the Word, see Arcana Coelestia 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314.)

For the same reason it is said in what follows, "and blind and naked;" for by "the blind" one who is in no understanding of truth is meant, and by "the naked" one who is in no understanding and will of good. So in the following verse, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried by fire, and white garments that thou mayest be clothed;" for by "gold tried by fire" the good of love is meant, and by "white garments" the truths of faith. And further, "That the shame of thy nakedness be not manifest; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," which means, lest evils and falsities be seen. So also elsewhere. But that there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, none but those who know its internal sense can see.

Footnotes:

1. For "Jehovah" the Hebrew has "God."

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

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