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Lamentations 4

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1 πῶς ἀμαυρωθήσεται χρυσίον ἀλλοιωθήσεται τὸ ἀργύριον τὸ ἀγαθόν ἐξεχύθησαν λίθοι ἅγιοι ἐπ' ἀρχῆς πασῶν ἐξόδων

2 υἱοὶ σιων οἱ τίμιοι οἱ ἐπηρμένοι ἐν χρυσίῳ πῶς ἐλογίσθησαν εἰς ἀγγεῖα ὀστράκινα ἔργα χειρῶν κεραμέως

3 καί γε δράκοντες ἐξέδυσαν μαστούς ἐθήλασαν σκύμνοι αὐτῶν θυγατέρες λαοῦ μου εἰς ἀνίατον ὡς στρουθίον ἐν ἐρήμῳ

4 ἐκολλήθη ἡ γλῶσσα θηλάζοντος πρὸς τὸν φάρυγγα αὐτοῦ ἐν δίψει νήπια ᾔτησαν ἄρτον ὁ διακλῶν οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς

5 οἱ ἔσθοντες τὰς τρυφὰς ἠφανίσθησαν ἐν ταῖς ἐξόδοις οἱ τιθηνούμενοι ἐπὶ κόκκων περιεβάλοντο κοπρίας

6 καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθη ἀνομία θυγατρὸς λαοῦ μου ὑπὲρ ἀνομίας σοδομων τῆς κατεστραμμένης ὥσπερ σπουδῇ καὶ οὐκ ἐπόνεσαν ἐν αὐτῇ χεῖρας

7 ἐκαθαριώθησαν ναζιραῖοι αὐτῆς ὑπὲρ χιόνα ἔλαμψαν ὑπὲρ γάλα ἐπυρρώθησαν ὑπὲρ λίθους σαπφείρου τὸ ἀπόσπασμα αὐτῶν

8 ἐσκότασεν ὑπὲρ ἀσβόλην τὸ εἶδος αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπεγνώσθησαν ἐν ταῖς ἐξόδοις ἐπάγη δέρμα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὀστέα αὐτῶν ἐξηράνθησαν ἐγενήθησαν ὥσπερ ξύλον

9 καλοὶ ἦσαν οἱ τραυματίαι ῥομφαίας ἢ οἱ τραυματίαι λιμοῦ ἐπορεύθησαν ἐκκεκεντημένοι ἀπὸ γενημάτων ἀγρῶν

10 χεῖρες γυναικῶν οἰκτιρμόνων ἥψησαν τὰ παιδία αὐτῶν ἐγενήθησαν εἰς βρῶσιν αὐταῖς ἐν τῷ συντρίμματι τῆς θυγατρὸς λαοῦ μου

11 συνετέλεσεν κύριος θυμὸν αὐτοῦ ἐξέχεεν θυμὸν ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνῆψεν πῦρ ἐν σιων καὶ κατέφαγεν τὰ θεμέλια αὐτῆς

12 οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν βασιλεῖς γῆς πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅτι εἰσελεύσεται ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐκθλίβων διὰ τῶν πυλῶν ιερουσαλημ

13 ἐξ ἁμαρτιῶν προφητῶν αὐτῆς ἀδικιῶν ἱερέων αὐτῆς τῶν ἐκχεόντων αἷμα δίκαιον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς

14 ἐσαλεύθησαν ἐγρήγοροι αὐτῆς ἐν ταῖς ἐξόδοις ἐμολύνθησαν ἐν αἵματι ἐν τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς ἥψαντο ἐνδυμάτων αὐτῶν

15 ἀπόστητε ἀκαθάρτων καλέσατε αὐτούς ἀπόστητε ἀπόστητε μὴ ἅπτεσθε ὅτι ἀνήφθησαν καί γε ἐσαλεύθησαν εἴπατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὐ μὴ προσθῶσιν τοῦ παροικεῖν

16 πρόσωπον κυρίου μερὶς αὐτῶν οὐ προσθήσει ἐπιβλέψαι αὐτοῖς πρόσωπον ἱερέων οὐκ ἔλαβον πρεσβύτας οὐκ ἠλέησαν

17 ἔτι ὄντων ἡμῶν ἐξέλιπον οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν μάταια ἀποσκοπευόντων ἡμῶν ἀπεσκοπεύσαμεν εἰς ἔθνος οὐ σῷζον

18 ἐθηρεύσαμεν μικροὺς ἡμῶν τοῦ μὴ πορεύεσθαι ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις ἡμῶν ἤγγικεν ὁ καιρὸς ἡμῶν ἐπληρώθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι ἡμῶν πάρεστιν ὁ καιρὸς ἡμῶν

19 κοῦφοι ἐγένοντο οἱ διώκοντες ἡμᾶς ὑπὲρ ἀετοὺς οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων ἐξήφθησαν ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἐνήδρευσαν ἡμᾶς

20 πνεῦμα προσώπου ἡμῶν χριστὸς κυρίου συνελήμφθη ἐν ταῖς διαφθοραῖς αὐτῶν οὗ εἴπαμεν ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὐτοῦ ζησόμεθα ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

21 χαῖρε καὶ εὐφραίνου θύγατερ ιδουμαίας ἡ κατοικοῦσα ἐπὶ γῆς καί γε ἐπὶ σὲ διελεύσεται τὸ ποτήριον κυρίου καὶ μεθυσθήσῃ καὶ ἀποχεεῖς

22 ἐξέλιπεν ἡ ἀνομία σου θύγατερ σιων οὐ προσθήσει ἔτι ἀποικίσαι σε ἐπεσκέψατο ἀνομίας σου θύγατερ εδωμ ἀπεκάλυψεν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσεβήματά σου

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #252

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252. It is similar with many other expressions, as, for instance, when joy is mentioned, there is also a mention of gladness. This is clear in the following passages:

Look, joy and gladness, the slaughtering of an ox, Isaiah 22:13.

Joy and gladness will escort them; sorrow and groaning will flee away, Isaiah 35:10; 51:11.

Cut off from the house of our God are gladness and joy, Joel 1:16.

The sound of joy and the sound of gladness shall be banished, Jeremiah 7:34; 25:10.

The fast of the tenth [month] will become joy and gladness for the house of Judah, Zechariah 8:19.

Be glad in Jerusalem, rejoice in her, Isaiah 66:10.

Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, Lamentations 4:21.

The heavens will be glad, and the earth will rejoice, Psalms 96:11. 1

You 2 will make me hear joy and gladness, Psalms 51:8.

Joy and gladness will be found in Zion, confession and the sound of song, Isaiah 51:3.

There will be gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth, Luke 1:14.

I shall cause to cease the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10.

There will still be heard in this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, Jeremiah 33:10-11.

There are other passages too.

The reason why both joy and gladness are mentioned is that joy is used referring to good and gladness referring to truth, in other words joy is used of love and gladness of wisdom. For joy is an emotion of the heart, gladness of the spirit, in other words, joy is of the will and gladness of the understanding. It is plain that there is a marriage of the Lord and the church also in these, because it is said:

The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:10-11.

The Lord is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. For the Lord as bridegroom see Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; and for the church as bride, Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17. This is why John the Baptist said of Jesus:

He who has the bride is the bridegroom, John 3:29.

Footnotes:

1. Reference corrected in the author's copy from 68:4.

2. The Latin has 'they.'

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

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