The Bible

 

Ezekiel 36

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1 καὶ σύ υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου προφήτευσον ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη ισραηλ καὶ εἰπὸν τοῖς ὄρεσιν τοῦ ισραηλ ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου

2 τάδε λέγει κύριος κύριος ἀνθ' ὧν εἶπεν ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐφ' ὑμᾶς εὖγε ἔρημα αἰώνια εἰς κατάσχεσιν ἡμῖν ἐγενήθη

3 διὰ τοῦτο προφήτευσον καὶ εἰπόν τάδε λέγει κύριος κύριος ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι ὑμᾶς καὶ μισηθῆναι ὑμᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν κύκλῳ ὑμῶν τοῦ εἶναι ὑμᾶς εἰς κατάσχεσιν τοῖς καταλοίποις ἔθνεσιν καὶ ἀνέβητε λάλημα γλώσσῃ καὶ εἰς ὀνείδισμα ἔθνεσιν

4 διὰ τοῦτο ὄρη ισραηλ ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου τάδε λέγει κύριος τοῖς ὄρεσιν καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς καὶ ταῖς φάραγξιν καὶ τοῖς χειμάρροις καὶ τοῖς ἐξηρημωμένοις καὶ ἠφανισμένοις καὶ ταῖς πόλεσιν ταῖς ἐγκαταλελειμμέναις αἳ ἐγένοντο εἰς προνομὴν καὶ εἰς καταπάτημα τοῖς καταλειφθεῖσιν ἔθνεσιν περικύκλῳ

5 διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος κύριος εἰ μὴν ἐν πυρὶ θυμοῦ μου ἐλάλησα ἐπὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ιδουμαίαν πᾶσαν ὅτι ἔδωκαν τὴν γῆν μου ἑαυτοῖς εἰς κατάσχεσιν μετ' εὐφροσύνης ἀτιμάσαντες ψυχὰς τοῦ ἀφανίσαι ἐν προνομῇ

6 διὰ τοῦτο προφήτευσον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τοῦ ισραηλ καὶ εἰπὸν τοῖς ὄρεσιν καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς καὶ ταῖς φάραγξιν καὶ ταῖς νάπαις τάδε λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ζήλῳ μου καὶ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ μου ἐλάλησα ἀντὶ τοῦ ὀνειδισμοὺς ἐθνῶν ἐνέγκαι ὑμᾶς

7 διὰ τοῦτο ἐγὼ ἀρῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ περικύκλῳ ὑμῶν οὗτοι τὴν ἀτιμίαν αὐτῶν λήμψονται

8 ὑμῶν δέ ὄρη ισραηλ τὴν σταφυλὴν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν ὑμῶν καταφάγεται ὁ λαός μου ὅτι ἐγγίζουσιν τοῦ ἐλθεῖν

9 ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐπιβλέψω ἐφ' ὑμᾶς καὶ κατεργασθήσεσθε καὶ σπαρήσεσθε

10 καὶ πληθυνῶ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἀνθρώπους πᾶν οἶκον ισραηλ εἰς τέλος καὶ κατοικηθήσονται αἱ πόλεις καὶ ἡ ἠρημωμένη οἰκοδομηθήσεται

11 καὶ πληθυνῶ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἀνθρώπους καὶ κτήνη καὶ κατοικιῶ ὑμᾶς ὡς τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὑμῶν καὶ εὖ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ὥσπερ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν ὑμῶν καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος

12 καὶ γεννήσω ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἀνθρώπους τὸν λαόν μου ισραηλ καὶ κληρονομήσουσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ ἔσεσθε αὐτοῖς εἰς κατάσχεσιν καὶ οὐ μὴ προστεθῆτε ἔτι ἀτεκνωθῆναι ἀπ' αὐτῶν

13 τάδε λέγει κύριος κύριος ἀνθ' ὧν εἶπάν σοι κατέσθουσα ἀνθρώπους εἶ καὶ ἠτεκνωμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔθνους σου ἐγένου

14 διὰ τοῦτο ἀνθρώπους οὐκέτι φάγεσαι καὶ τὸ ἔθνος σου οὐκ ἀτεκνώσεις ἔτι λέγει κύριος κύριος

15 καὶ οὐκ ἀκουσθήσεται οὐκέτι ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἀτιμία ἐθνῶν καὶ ὀνειδισμοὺς λαῶν οὐ μὴ ἀνενέγκητε λέγει κύριος κύριος

16 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων

17 υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου οἶκος ισραηλ κατῴκησεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμίαναν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀκαθαρσίαις αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν τῆς ἀποκαθημένης ἐγενήθη ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν πρὸ προσώπου μου

18 καὶ ἐξέχεα τὸν θυμόν μου ἐπ' αὐτοὺς

19 καὶ διέσπειρα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἐλίκμησα αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς χώρας κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν ἔκρινα αὐτούς

20 καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐβεβήλωσαν τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι αὐτούς λαὸς κυρίου οὗτοι καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ ἐξεληλύθασιν

21 καὶ ἐφεισάμην αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ὃ ἐβεβήλωσαν οἶκος ισραηλ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὗ εἰσήλθοσαν ἐκεῖ

22 διὰ τοῦτο εἰπὸν τῷ οἴκῳ ισραηλ τάδε λέγει κύριος οὐχ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ ποιῶ οἶκος ισραηλ ἀλλ' ἢ διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ ἅγιον ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὗ εἰσήλθετε ἐκεῖ

23 καὶ ἁγιάσω τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ μέγα τὸ βεβηλωθὲν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὃ ἐβεβηλώσατε ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν καὶ γνώσονται τὰ ἔθνη ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ἐν τῷ ἁγιασθῆναί με ἐν ὑμῖν κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν

24 καὶ λήμψομαι ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ ἀθροίσω ὑμᾶς ἐκ πασῶν τῶν γαιῶν καὶ εἰσάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν γῆν ὑμῶν

25 καὶ ῥανῶ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ὕδωρ καθαρόν καὶ καθαρισθήσεσθε ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἀκαθαρσιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν εἰδώλων ὑμῶν καὶ καθαριῶ ὑμᾶς

26 καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν καρδίαν καινὴν καὶ πνεῦμα καινὸν δώσω ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν καρδίαν τὴν λιθίνην ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν καρδίαν σαρκίνην

27 καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά μου δώσω ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ ποιήσω ἵνα ἐν τοῖς δικαιώμασίν μου πορεύησθε καὶ τὰ κρίματά μου φυλάξησθε καὶ ποιήσητε

28 καὶ κατοικήσετε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς ἔδωκα τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἔσεσθέ μοι εἰς λαόν κἀγὼ ἔσομαι ὑμῖν εἰς θεόν

29 καὶ σώσω ὑμᾶς ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀκαθαρσιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ καλέσω τὸν σῖτον καὶ πληθυνῶ αὐτὸν καὶ οὐ δώσω ἐφ' ὑμᾶς λιμόν

30 καὶ πληθυνῶ τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ ξύλου καὶ τὰ γενήματα τοῦ ἀγροῦ ὅπως μὴ λάβητε ὀνειδισμὸν λιμοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

31 καὶ μνησθήσεσθε τὰς ὁδοὺς ὑμῶν τὰς πονηρὰς καὶ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα ὑμῶν τὰ μὴ ἀγαθὰ καὶ προσοχθιεῖτε κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀνομίαις ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς βδελύγμασιν ὑμῶν

32 οὐ δι' ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ποιῶ λέγει κύριος κύριος γνωστὸν ἔσται ὑμῖν αἰσχύνθητε καὶ ἐντράπητε ἐκ τῶν ὁδῶν ὑμῶν οἶκος ισραηλ

33 τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ καθαριῶ ὑμᾶς ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ κατοικιῶ τὰς πόλεις καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσονται αἱ ἔρημοι

34 καὶ ἡ γῆ ἡ ἠφανισμένη ἐργασθήσεται ἀνθ' ὧν ὅτι ἠφανισμένη ἐγενήθη κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς παντὸς παροδεύοντος

35 καὶ ἐροῦσιν ἡ γῆ ἐκείνη ἡ ἠφανισμένη ἐγενήθη ὡς κῆπος τρυφῆς καὶ αἱ πόλεις αἱ ἔρημοι καὶ ἠφανισμέναι καὶ κατεσκαμμέναι ὀχυραὶ ἐκάθισαν

36 καὶ γνώσονται τὰ ἔθνη ὅσα ἂν καταλειφθῶσιν κύκλῳ ὑμῶν ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ᾠκοδόμησα τὰς καθῃρημένας καὶ κατεφύτευσα τὰς ἠφανισμένας ἐγὼ κύριος ἐλάλησα καὶ ποιήσω

37 τάδε λέγει κύριος ἔτι τοῦτο ζητηθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ ισραηλ τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς πληθυνῶ αὐτοὺς ὡς πρόβατα ἀνθρώπους

38 ὡς πρόβατα ἅγια ὡς πρόβατα ιερουσαλημ ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς αὐτῆς οὕτως ἔσονται αἱ πόλεις αἱ ἔρημοι πλήρεις προβάτων ἀνθρώπων καὶ γνώσονται ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Life #86

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86. We have an earthly mind and a spiritual mind, the earthly mind below and the spiritual mind above. The earthly mind is our mind for this world and the spiritual mind is our mind for heaven. The earthly mind can be called the animal mind, while the spiritual mind can be called the human mind. We are differentiated from animals by our having a spiritual mind that makes it possible for us to be in heaven while we are in this world. It is also what makes it possible for us to live after death.

[2] We can use our faculty of understanding to be in the spiritual side of our mind, and thus to be in heaven, but we cannot use our faculty of willing to be so unless we turn our backs on evils because they are sins; and if our will is not in heaven as well [as our understanding], we ourselves are still not there, because our will drags our understanding back down and makes it just as earthly and animal as itself.

[3] We can be compared to a garden, our understanding to light, and our will to warmth. A garden has light in winter but no warmth, while it has both light and warmth in summer. So when all we have is the light of our understanding, we are like a garden in winter, but when we have both light in our understanding and warmth in our will we are like a garden in summer.

In fact, the wisdom in our understanding comes from spiritual light and the love in our will comes from spiritual warmth, for spiritual light is divine wisdom and spiritual warmth is divine love.

[4] If we fail to turn our backs on evils because they are sins, the cravings of our evils clog the deeper levels of our earthly mind on the side where our will resides and are like a thick veil, like black clouds beneath the spiritual mind, preventing it from opening. However, as soon as we turn our backs on evils because they are sins, the Lord flows in from heaven, takes the veil away, dispels the cloud, and opens the spiritual mind, thereby admitting us to heaven.

[5] As already noted, as long as cravings for evil behavior clog the deeper levels of the earthly mind, we are in hell, but as soon as those cravings are dispelled by the Lord, we are in heaven. Again, as long as cravings for evil behavior clog the deeper levels of the earthly mind we are earthly people, but as soon as those cravings are dispelled by the Lord, we are spiritual people. Again, as long as cravings for evil behavior clog the deeper levels of the earthly mind we are animals, differing from them only in that we are capable of thinking and talking, even about things we cannot see with our eyes (we can do this because of the ability of our understanding to be lifted up into heaven's light). As soon as those cravings have been dispelled by the Lord, though, we are human because we are thinking what is true in our understanding because of what is good in our will. And yet again, as long as cravings for evil behavior clog the deeper levels of the earthly mind we are like a garden in winter, but as soon as those cravings are dispelled by the Lord, we are like a garden in summer.

[6] In the Word, the union of our will and understanding is meant by "heart and soul" and by "heart and spirit," as when it says that we are to love God with all our heart and with all our soul (Matthew 22:37) and that God will give a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-27). Our "heart" means our will and its love, while our "soul" or "spirit" means our understanding and its wisdom.

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