The Bible

 

Hosea 2

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1 καὶ ἦν ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν ισραηλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης ἣ οὐκ ἐκμετρηθήσεται οὐδὲ ἐξαριθμηθήσεται καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ οὗ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς ἐκεῖ κληθήσονται υἱοὶ θεοῦ ζῶντος

2 καὶ συναχθήσονται οἱ υἱοὶ ιουδα καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ ισραηλ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ θήσονται ἑαυτοῖς ἀρχὴν μίαν καὶ ἀναβήσονται ἐκ τῆς γῆς ὅτι μεγάλη ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ ιεζραελ

3 εἴπατε τῷ ἀδελφῷ ὑμῶν λαόσ-μου καὶ τῇ ἀδελφῇ ὑμῶν ἠλεημένη

4 κρίθητε πρὸς τὴν μητέρα ὑμῶν κρίθητε ὅτι αὐτὴ οὐ γυνή μου καὶ ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐξαρῶ τὴν πορνείαν αὐτῆς ἐκ προσώπου μου καὶ τὴν μοιχείαν αὐτῆς ἐκ μέσου μαστῶν αὐτῆς

5 ὅπως ἂν ἐκδύσω αὐτὴν γυμνὴν καὶ ἀποκαταστήσω αὐτὴν καθὼς ἡμέρᾳ γενέσεως αὐτῆς καὶ θήσομαι αὐτὴν ὡς ἔρημον καὶ τάξω αὐτὴν ὡς γῆν ἄνυδρον καὶ ἀποκτενῶ αὐτὴν ἐν δίψει

6 καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ ἐλεήσω ὅτι τέκνα πορνείας ἐστίν

7 ὅτι ἐξεπόρνευσεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῶν κατῄσχυνεν ἡ τεκοῦσα αὐτά εἶπεν γάρ ἀκολουθήσω ὀπίσω τῶν ἐραστῶν μου τῶν διδόντων μοι τοὺς ἄρτους μου καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ μου καὶ τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ τὰ ὀθόνιά μου καὶ τὸ ἔλαιόν μου καὶ πάντα ὅσα μοι καθήκει

8 διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ φράσσω τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῆς ἐν σκόλοψιν καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσω τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν τρίβον αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ εὕρῃ

9 καὶ καταδιώξεται τοὺς ἐραστὰς αὐτῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ καταλάβῃ αὐτούς καὶ ζητήσει αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐ μὴ εὕρῃ αὐτούς καὶ ἐρεῖ πορεύσομαι καὶ ἐπιστρέψω πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα μου τὸν πρότερον ὅτι καλῶς μοι ἦν τότε ἢ νῦν

10 καὶ αὐτὴ οὐκ ἔγνω ὅτι ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτῇ τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὸν οἶνον καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον καὶ ἀργύριον ἐπλήθυνα αὐτῇ αὐτὴ δὲ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χρυσᾶ ἐποίησεν τῇ βααλ

11 διὰ τοῦτο ἐπιστρέψω καὶ κομιοῦμαι τὸν σῖτόν μου καθ' ὥραν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν οἶνόν μου ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀφελοῦμαι τὰ ἱμάτιά μου καὶ τὰ ὀθόνιά μου τοῦ μὴ καλύπτειν τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην αὐτῆς

12 καὶ νῦν ἀποκαλύψω τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν αὐτῆς ἐνώπιον τῶν ἐραστῶν αὐτῆς καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐ μὴ ἐξέληται αὐτὴν ἐκ χειρός μου

13 καὶ ἀποστρέψω πάσας τὰς εὐφροσύνας αὐτῆς ἑορτὰς αὐτῆς καὶ τὰς νουμηνίας αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ σάββατα αὐτῆς καὶ πάσας τὰς πανηγύρεις αὐτῆς

14 καὶ ἀφανιῶ ἄμπελον αὐτῆς καὶ τὰς συκᾶς αὐτῆς ὅσα εἶπεν μισθώματά μου ταῦτά ἐστιν ἃ ἔδωκάν μοι οἱ ἐρασταί μου καὶ θήσομαι αὐτὰ εἰς μαρτύριον καὶ καταφάγεται αὐτὰ τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῆς γῆς

15 καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπ' αὐτὴν τὰς ἡμέρας τῶν βααλιμ ἐν αἷς ἐπέθυεν αὐτοῖς καὶ περιετίθετο τὰ ἐνώτια αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ καθόρμια αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπορεύετο ὀπίσω τῶν ἐραστῶν αὐτῆς ἐμοῦ δὲ ἐπελάθετο λέγει κύριος

16 διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πλανῶ αὐτὴν καὶ τάξω αὐτὴν εἰς ἔρημον καὶ λαλήσω ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῆς

17 καὶ δώσω αὐτῇ τὰ κτήματα αὐτῆς ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τὴν κοιλάδα αχωρ διανοῖξαι σύνεσιν αὐτῆς καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ἐκεῖ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας νηπιότητος αὐτῆς καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἀναβάσεως αὐτῆς ἐκ γῆς αἰγύπτου

18 καὶ ἔσται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ λέγει κύριος καλέσει με ὁ ἀνήρ μου καὶ οὐ καλέσει με ἔτι βααλιμ

19 καὶ ἐξαρῶ τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν βααλιμ ἐκ στόματος αὐτῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ μνησθῶσιν οὐκέτι τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν

20 καὶ διαθήσομαι αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ διαθήκην μετὰ τῶν θηρίων τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ μετὰ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῆς γῆς καὶ τόξον καὶ ῥομφαίαν καὶ πόλεμον συντρίψω ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ κατοικιῶ σε ἐπ' ἐλπίδι

21 καὶ μνηστεύσομαί σε ἐμαυτῷ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ μνηστεύσομαί σε ἐμαυτῷ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐν κρίματι καὶ ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς

22 καὶ μνηστεύσομαί σε ἐμαυτῷ ἐν πίστει καὶ ἐπιγνώσῃ τὸν κύριον

23 καὶ ἔσται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ λέγει κύριος ἐπακούσομαι τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπακούσεται τῇ γῇ

24 καὶ ἡ γῆ ἐπακούσεται τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὸν οἶνον καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον καὶ αὐτὰ ἐπακούσεται τῷ ιεζραελ

25 καὶ σπερῶ αὐτὴν ἐμαυτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐλεήσω τὴν οὐκ-ἠλεημένην καὶ ἐρῶ τῷ οὐ-λαῷ-μου λαός μου εἶ σύ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐρεῖ κύριος ὁ θεός μου εἶ σύ

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Conjugial Love #119

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119. That the church is called mother is apparent from the following passages:

(Jehovah said,) "Contend with your mother...; ...she is not My wife, and I am not her Husband." (Hosea 2:2)

"You are the daughter of your mother, who loathes her Husband...." (Ezekiel 16:45)

"Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away?" (Isaiah 50:1)

Your mother was like a vine..., planted by the waters, fruitful.... (Ezekiel 19:10)

"Mother" in those places refers to the Jewish Church.

(Jesus, stretching out His hand toward His disciples, said,) "My mother and My brothers are they who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21, cf. Matthew 12:48-50, Mark 3:33-35)

The church is meant by the Lord's disciples.

By the cross of Jesus stood His mother.... (And) Jesus...seeing His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, (also) said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" And He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" (Therefore) from that hour the disciple took her into his own [home]. (John 19:25-27)

The meaning here is that the Lord did not acknowledge Mary but the church as His mother. That is why He calls her "woman" and names her the mother of the disciple. He named her the mother of this disciple, John, because John represented the church in respect to its good acts of charity. These good acts are the church in actual practice. Therefore it is said that the disciple took Mary into his own [home].

(We explained in The Apocalypse Revealed that Peter represented truth and faith, James charity, and John works of charity - see nos. 5, 6, 790, 798, 879 - and that the twelve disciples together represented the church in all its elements - see nos. 233, 790 [798?], 903, 915.)

  
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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.