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Ezekiel 27

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1 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων

2 υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου λαβὲ ἐπὶ σορ θρῆνον

3 καὶ ἐρεῖς τῇ σορ τῇ κατοικούσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς εἰσόδου τῆς θαλάσσης τῷ ἐμπορίῳ τῶν λαῶν ἀπὸ νήσων πολλῶν τάδε λέγει κύριος τῇ σορ σὺ εἶπας ἐγὼ περιέθηκα ἐμαυτῇ κάλλος μου

4 ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης τῷ βεελιμ υἱοί σου περιέθηκάν σοι κάλλος

5 κέδρος ἐκ σανιρ ᾠκοδομήθη σοι ταινίαι σανίδων κυπαρίσσου ἐκ τοῦ λιβάνου ἐλήμφθησαν τοῦ ποιῆσαί σοι ἱστοὺς ἐλατίνους

6 ἐκ τῆς βασανίτιδος ἐποίησαν τὰς κώπας σου τὰ ἱερά σου ἐποίησαν ἐξ ἐλέφαντος οἴκους ἀλσώδεις ἀπὸ νήσων τῶν χεττιιν

7 βύσσος μετὰ ποικιλίας ἐξ αἰγύπτου ἐγένετό σοι στρωμνὴ τοῦ περιθεῖναί σοι δόξαν καὶ περιβαλεῖν σε ὑάκινθον καὶ πορφύραν ἐκ τῶν νήσων ελισαι καὶ ἐγένετο περιβόλαιά σου

8 καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντές σου οἱ κατοικοῦντες σιδῶνα καὶ αράδιοι ἐγένοντο κωπηλάται σου οἱ σοφοί σου σορ οἳ ἦσαν ἐν σοί οὗτοι κυβερνῆταί σου

9 οἱ πρεσβύτεροι βυβλίων καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ αὐτῶν ἦσαν ἐν σοί οὗτοι ἐνίσχυον τὴν βουλήν σου καὶ πάντα τὰ πλοῖα τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ οἱ κωπηλάται αὐτῶν ἐγένοντό σοι ἐπὶ δυσμὰς δυσμῶν

10 πέρσαι καὶ λυδοὶ καὶ λίβυες ἦσαν ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου ἄνδρες πολεμισταί σου πέλτας καὶ περικεφαλαίας ἐκρέμασαν ἐν σοί οὗτοι ἔδωκαν τὴν δόξαν σου

11 υἱοὶ αραδίων καὶ ἡ δύναμίς σου ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων σου φύλακες ἐν τοῖς πύργοις σου ἦσαν τὰς φαρέτρας αὐτῶν ἐκρέμασαν ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρμων σου κύκλῳ οὗτοι ἐτελείωσάν σου τὸ κάλλος

12 καρχηδόνιοι ἔμποροί σου ἀπὸ πλήθους πάσης ἰσχύος σου ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον καὶ σίδηρον καὶ κασσίτερον καὶ μόλυβον ἔδωκαν τὴν ἀγοράν σου

13 ἡ ἑλλὰς καὶ ἡ σύμπασα καὶ τὰ παρατείνοντα οὗτοι ἐνεπορεύοντό σοι ἐν ψυχαῖς ἀνθρώπων καὶ σκεύη χαλκᾶ ἔδωκαν τὴν ἐμπορίαν σου

14 ἐξ οἴκου θεργαμα ἵππους καὶ ἱππεῖς ἔδωκαν ἀγοράν σου

15 υἱοὶ ῥοδίων ἔμποροί σου ἀπὸ νήσων ἐπλήθυναν τὴν ἐμπορίαν σου ὀδόντας ἐλεφαντίνους καὶ τοῖς εἰσαγομένοις ἀντεδίδους τοὺς μισθούς σου

16 ἀνθρώπους ἐμπορίαν σου ἀπὸ πλήθους τοῦ συμμίκτου σου στακτὴν καὶ ποικίλματα ἐκ θαρσις καὶ ραμωθ καὶ χορχορ ἔδωκαν τὴν ἀγοράν σου

17 ιουδας καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ ισραηλ οὗτοι ἔμποροί σου ἐν σίτου πράσει καὶ μύρων καὶ κασίας καὶ πρῶτον μέλι καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ ῥητίνην ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸν σύμμικτόν σου

18 δαμασκὸς ἔμπορός σου ἐκ πλήθους πάσης δυνάμεώς σου οἶνος ἐκ χελβων καὶ ἔρια ἐκ μιλήτου

19 καὶ οἶνον εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν σου ἔδωκαν ἐξ ασηλ σίδηρος εἰργασμένος καὶ τροχὸς ἐν τῷ συμμίκτῳ σού ἐστιν

20 δαιδαν ἔμποροί σου μετὰ κτηνῶν ἐκλεκτῶν εἰς ἅρματα

21 ἡ ἀραβία καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄρχοντες κηδαρ οὗτοι ἔμποροί σου διὰ χειρός σου καμήλους καὶ κριοὺς καὶ ἀμνοὺς ἐν οἷς ἐμπορεύονταί σε

22 ἔμποροι σαβα καὶ ραγμα οὗτοι ἔμποροί σου μετὰ πρώτων ἡδυσμάτων καὶ λίθων χρηστῶν καὶ χρυσίον ἔδωκαν τὴν ἀγοράν σου

23 χαρραν καὶ χαννα οὗτοι ἔμποροί σου ασσουρ καὶ χαρμαν ἔμποροί σου

24 φέροντες ἐμπορίαν ὑάκινθον καὶ θησαυροὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς δεδεμένους σχοινίοις καὶ κυπαρίσσινα

25 πλοῖα ἐν αὐτοῖς καρχηδόνιοι ἔμποροί σου ἐν τῷ πλήθει ἐν τῷ συμμίκτῳ σου καὶ ἐνεπλήσθης καὶ ἐβαρύνθης σφόδρα ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης

26 ἐν ὕδατι πολλῷ ἦγόν σε οἱ κωπηλάται σου τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ νότου συνέτριψέν σε ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης

27 ἦσαν δυνάμεις σου καὶ ὁ μισθός σου καὶ τῶν συμμίκτων σου καὶ οἱ κωπηλάται σου καὶ οἱ κυβερνῆταί σου καὶ οἱ σύμβουλοί σου καὶ οἱ σύμμικτοί σου ἐκ τῶν συμμίκτων σου καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ πολεμισταί σου οἱ ἐν σοὶ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγή σου ἐν μέσῳ σου πεσοῦνται ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς πτώσεώς σου

28 πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν τῆς κραυγῆς σου οἱ κυβερνῆταί σου φόβῳ φοβηθήσονται

29 καὶ καταβήσονται ἀπὸ τῶν πλοίων πάντες οἱ κωπηλάται σου καὶ οἱ ἐπιβάται καὶ οἱ πρωρεῖς τῆς θαλάσσης ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν στήσονται

30 καὶ ἀλαλάξουσιν ἐπὶ σὲ τῇ φωνῇ αὐτῶν καὶ κεκράξονται πικρὸν καὶ ἐπιθήσουσιν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν γῆν καὶ σποδὸν ὑποστρώσονται

32 καὶ λήμψονται οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ σὲ θρῆνον καὶ θρήνημά σοι

33 πόσον τινὰ εὗρες μισθὸν ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης ἐνέπλησας ἔθνη ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους σου καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ συμμίκτου σου ἐπλούτισας πάντας βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς

34 νῦν συνετρίβης ἐν θαλάσσῃ ἐν βάθει ὕδατος ὁ σύμμικτός σου καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγή σου ἐν μέσῳ σου ἔπεσον πάντες οἱ κωπηλάται σου

35 πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὰς νήσους ἐστύγνασαν ἐπὶ σέ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν ἐκστάσει ἐξέστησαν καὶ ἐδάκρυσεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν

36 ἔμποροι ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν ἐσύρισάν σε ἀπώλεια ἐγένου καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #781

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781. "And merchandise of horses, and wagons, and the bodies and souls of people." This symbolically means that all of these things depend on an understanding of the Word and on doctrine drawn from it, and on the goods and truths in the Word's literal sense, which these Roman Catholics do not possess, because they have falsified and adulterated the Word by using the things in it contrary to their real meaning in order to gain dominion over heaven and the world.

The valuables here follow the preposition "of," because they involve all of the things that go before. That horses symbolize an understanding of the Word may be seen in no. 298. Chariots symbolize doctrine from the Word (no. 437); consequently so do wagons. The bodies and souls of people symbolize goods and truths in the literal sense of the Word, because they have the same symbolism as the body and blood in the Holy Supper. The body in that supper symbolizes the Lord's Divine goodness, and the blood the Lord's Divine truth; and because of this symbolism they also symbolize the Divine good and truth in the Word, because the Lord embodies the Word.

Instead of blood, however, the text here says souls. That is because the soul likewise symbolizes truth (see no. 681 above), and because blood in the Word is called the life or soul (Genesis 9:4-5). "Human lives" in Ezekiel 27:13 has a similar symbolic meaning. So does the "seed of men" in Daniel 2:43.

[2] Horses and wagons have a similar symbolic meaning in Isaiah:

Then they shall bring all your brethren... on horses and in chariots and in wagons, and on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem... (Isaiah 66:20)

This is said of the Lord's New Church, which Jerusalem is, regarding people in it who have an understanding of the Word and doctrine derived from it, which are the horses, chariots, and wagons.

Now because these people of the Roman Catholic religion falsify and adulterate the Word by using it to gain dominion over heaven and the world, the symbolic meaning here is that they do not possess any goods and truths from the Word, and so do not have any in their doctrine either.

Regarding this Jeremiah says the following:

...the king of Babylon has devoured me, has thrown me into confusion; He has made me an empty vessel; He has swallowed me up like a whale; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies... (Jeremiah 51:34-35)

A sword is against the horses (of Babylon), against her chariots, and... against her treasures, so that they are plundered. A drought is upon her waters, so that they are dried up. For the land is one of carved images, and they boast of their dreadful deeds. (Jeremiah 50:37-38)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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