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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

 

Arcana Coelestia #1093

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1093. That 'cursed be Canaan' means that external worship separated from internal turned itself away from the Lord is clear from the meaning of 'Canaan' and from the meaning of 'being cursed'. That 'Canaan' is external worship separated from internal is clear from what has been stated already about Canaan, also from his being called 'cursed'; and from what follows about his being 'a slave of slaves'. And being a slave both to Shem and to Japheth cannot mean anything other than something separated from the Church itself, such as worship that is wholly external. This is clear from the meaning of 'being cursed' as turning oneself away, for the Lord in no way curses anybody, or is even angry. Instead it is man who brings the curse upon himself by turning himself away from the Lord. On these points see what has been shown already in 223, 245, 592. The Lord is as far from cursing or being angry with anyone as the sky is from the earth. Who can believe that the Lord, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, who with wisdom rules the universe, and so who is infinitely superior to all [human] weaknesses, is angry with such pitifully worthless dust, that is, with human beings who scarcely know anything of what they do and who of themselves are incapable of anything other than evil? With the Lord therefore anger is never present, only mercy.

[2] That arcana are contained here can be seen merely from the consideration that even though it was Ham who saw his father's nakedness and pointed it out to his brothers, he was not cursed but his son Canaan, who was not his only son nor even the firstborn but the fourth in line, as is clear from Chapter 10, verse 6 later on, where the sons of Ham are mentioned as being Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. It can in addition be seen from the Divine Law that no son was to bear his father's iniquity, as is clear in Ezekiel,

The soul that has sinned will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son. Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 14:16; 2 Kings 14:6.

And the same can also be seen from the consideration that this iniquity of merely seeing his father's nakedness and pointing it out to his brothers seems too slight for all of his descendants ever to have been cursed on that account. From these considerations it is clear that arcana are contained here.

[3] The reason Ham is not mentioned here but Canaan is that Ham means faith separated from charity in the spiritual Church, which cannot be cursed because in that Church faith has holiness present within it because truth is present there. And although there is no faith when there is no charity, it is still possible - since it is by means of the cognitions of faith that a person is regenerated - for separated faith to be allied to charity, and in this way to be in some sense 'a brother' or may become one. This was why Canaan was cursed and not Ham. Furthermore the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were for the most part people such as made all worship consist in external things, the Jews there as much as the gentiles. These are the arcana contained here, but for which Canaan would never have been substituted for Ham. That external worship separated from internal turns itself away and so brings a curse on itself is quite clear from the fact that people whose worship is external have no regard for anything other than worldly, bodily, and earthly things. Thus they look downwards, and immerse their minds (animus) and life in those things; such will be dealt with a little further on.

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

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