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Jeremias 44

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1 Dette er det ord som kom til Jeremias om alle de jøder som bodde i Egyptens land, dem som bodde i Migdol og i Tahpanhes og i Memfis og i landet Patros:

2 sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, Israels Gud: I har sett all den ulykke jeg har latt komme over Jerusalem og over alle Judas byer, og se, nu er de en ørken, og det er ingen som bor i dem,

3 for det onde som de gjorde, så de vakte min harme, da de gikk avsted og brente røkelse og dyrket andre guder, som de ikke kjente, hverken de eller I eller eders fedre.

4 Og jeg sendte alle mine tjenere, profetene, til eder tidlig og sent og sa: Gjør ikke denne vederstyggelige ting som jeg hater!

5 Men de hørte ikke og la ikke øret til, så de vendte om fra sin ondskap og holdt op med å brenne røkelse for andre guder.

6 Da blev min harme og vrede utøst, og den brente i Judas byer og på Jerusalems gater, og de blev til en ørken, til en ødemark, som det sees på denne dag.

7 Og nu sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, Israels Gud, så: Hvorfor gjør I så stor en ondskap mot eder selv, så mann og kvinne, barn og diebarn utryddes for eder av Judas midte, så det ikke levnes eder nogen rest,

8 og vekker min harme ved eders henders gjerninger, ved å brenne røkelse for andre guder i Egyptens land, dit I har draget for å bo der - så de* skal bli utryddet for eder, og I bli til en forbannelse og til spott blandt alle jordens folkeslag? / {* mann og kvinne o.s.v.; JE 44, 7.}

9 Har I glemt eders fedres onde gjerninger og Judas kongers onde gjerninger og dets kvinners onde gjerninger og eders egne onde gjerninger og eders kvinners onde gjerninger, det de gjorde i Juda land og på Jerusalems gater?

10 Til denne dag er de ikke blitt ydmyket, og de frykter ikke og lever ikke efter min lov og mine bud, som jeg har forelagt eder og eders fedre.

11 Derfor sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, Israels Gud, så: Se, jeg vender mitt åsyn imot eder til det onde, og jeg vil utrydde hele Juda.

12 Og jeg vil ta dem som er blitt igjen av Juda, dem som satte sig fore å dra til Egyptens land for å bo der, og de skal alle omkomme, i Egyptens land skal de falle; ved sverd og ved hunger skal de omkomme; både små og store skal ved sverd og ved hunger, og de skal bli til en ed, til en forferdelse og en forbannelse og til spott.

13 Og jeg vil hjemsøke dem som bor i Egyptens land, likesom jeg hjemsøkte Jerusalem, med sverd, med hunger og med pest.

14 Og av dem som er blitt tilbake av Juda, av dem som er kommet for å bo der i Egyptens land, skal ingen slippe unda og bli igjen, så han kommer tilbake til Juda land, som de stunder efter å komme tilbake til for å bo der; for ingen skal komme tilbake igjen uten nogen få undslopne.

15 Da svarte de Jeremias alle de menn som visste at deres kvinner brente røkelse for andre guder, og alle kvinnene som stod der i en stor flokk, og alt folket som bodde i Egyptens land, i Patros, og de sa:

16 Vi vil ikke høre på dig i det du har talt til oss i Herrens navn,

17 men vi vil gjøre alt det som vi har lovt med vår munn; vi vil brenne røkelse for himmelens dronning og utøse drikkoffer for henne, likesom vi har gjort, vi og våre fedre, våre konger og våre høvdinger, i Judas byer og på Jerusalems gater. Da blev vi mettet med brød, og det gikk oss vel, og ingen ulykke rammet oss.

18 Men fra den tid vi holdt op med å brenne røkelse for himmelens dronning og utøse drikkoffer for henne, har vi manglet alt, og ved sverd og hunger er vi omkommet.

19 Og når vi brente røkelse for himmelens dronning og utøste drikkoffer for henne, mon det da var uten våre menns vitende og vilje at vi laget kaker for henne og dyrket henne og utøste drikkoffer for henne?

20 Da sa Jeremias til alt folket, til mennene og til kvinnene og til alt folket som hadde svart ham:

21 Det at I har brent røkelse i Judas byer og på Jerusalems gater, I og eders fedre, eders konger og eders høvdinger og landets folk, mon Herren ikke har kommet det i hu og tenkt på det?

22 Og Herren kunde ikke mere tåle det for eders onde gjerningers skyld, for de vederstyggeligheters skyld som I gjorde, og så blev eders land til en ørken og en ødemark og til en forbannelse, så ingen bor der, som det sees på denne dag.

23 Fordi I brente røkelse og syndet mot Herren og ikke hørte på Herrens røst og ikke levde efter hans lov og bud og vidnesbyrd, derfor rammet denne ulykke eder, som det sees på denne dag.

24 Og Jeremias sa til alt folket og til alle kvinnene: Hør Herrens ord, alle I av Juda som er i Egyptens land!

25 sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, Israels Gud: I og eders kvinner, I talte med eders munn og fullbyrdet det med eders hender, og I sa: Vi vil holde de løfter som vi har gjort: å brenne røkelse for himmelens dronning og utøse drikkoffer for henne. Hold bare eders løfter og opfyll dem!

26 Hør derfor Herrens ord, alle I av Juda som bor i Egyptens land: Se, jeg har svoret ved mitt store navn, sier Herren: Sannelig, mitt navn skal ikke mere nevnes i nogen jødisk manns munn i hele Egyptens land, så han sier: Så sant Herren, Israels Gud, lever!

27 Se, jeg våker over dem til det onde og ikke til det gode, og hver mann av Juda som er i Egyptens land, skal omkomme ved sverd og ved hunger, inntil de er tilintetgjort.

28 Og de som undkommer fra sverdet, skal vende tilbake fra Egyptens land til Juda land, en liten flokk, og alle de som er blitt igjen av Juda, som er kommet til Egyptens land for å bo der, skal få merke hvis ord skal stå ved makt, mitt eller deres.

29 Og dette, sier Herren, skal være tegnet for eder på at jeg vil hjemsøke eder på dette sted, så I skal vite at mine ord om eder skal stå ved makt til ulykke for eder:

30 sier Herren: Se, jeg gir Egyptens konge Farao Hofra i hans fienders hånd og i deres hånd som står ham efter livet, likesom jeg har gitt Judas konge Sedekias i Babels konge Nebukadnesars hånd, som var hans fiende og stod ham efter livet.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4581

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4581. 'And he poured out a drink-offering onto it' means the Divine Good of Truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a drink-offering' as the Divine Good of Truth, dealt with below. But first one must say what the good of truth is. The good of truth is that which elsewhere has been called the good of faith, which is love towards the neighbour, or charity. There are two universal kinds of good, the first being that which is called the good of faith, the second that which is referred to as the good of love. The good of faith is the kind of good meant by 'a drink-offering', and the good of love the kind meant by 'oil'. The good of love exists with those whom the Lord brings to what is good by an internal way, while the good of faith exists with those He brings to it by an external way. The good of love exists with members of the celestial Church, and likewise with angels of the inmost or third heaven, but the good of faith with members of the spiritual Church, and likewise with angels of the middle or second heaven. Consequently the first kind of good is called celestial good, whereas the second kind is called spiritual good. The difference between the two is, on the one hand, willing what is good out of a will for good and, on the other, willing what is good out of an understanding of it. The second kind of good therefore - spiritual good or the good of faith, which is the good of truth - is meant by 'a drink-offering'; but the first - celestial good or the good of love - is meant in the internal sense by 'oil'.

[2] Nobody, it is true, can see that such things as these were meant by 'oil' and 'a drink-offering' unless he does so from the internal sense. Yet anyone may see that things of a holy nature were represented by them, for unless those holy things were represented by them what else would pouring out a drink-offering or pouring oil onto a stone pillar be but some ridiculous and idolatrous action? It is like the coronation of a king. What else would the ceremonies performed on that occasion be if they did not mean and imply things of a holy nature - placing the crown on his head; anointing him with oil from a horn, on his forehead and on his wrists; placing a sceptre in his hand, as well as a sword and keys; investing him with a purple robe, and then seating him on a silver throne; and after that, his riding in his regalia on a horse, and later still his being served at table by men of distinction, besides many other ceremonies? Unless these represented things of a holy nature and were themselves holy by virtue of their correspondence with the things of heaven and consequently of the Church, they would be no more than the kind of games that young children play, though on a grander scale, or else like plays that are performed on the stage.

[3] But all those ceremonies trace their origin back to most ancient times when ceremonies were holy by virtue of their representation of things that were holy and of their correspondence with holy things in heaven and consequently in the Church. Even today they are considered holy, though not because people know their spiritual representation and correspondence but through the interpretation so to speak they put on symbols in common use. If however people did know what the crown, oil, horn, sceptre, sword, keys, purple robe, silver throne, riding on a white horse, and eating while men of distinction act as the servers, all represented and to what holy thing each corresponded, they would conceive of those things in an even holier way. But they do not know, and surprisingly do not wish to know; indeed that lack of knowledge is so great that the representatives and the meaningful signs included within such ceremonies and within every part of the Word have been obliterated from people's minds at the present day.

[4] The fact that 'a drink-offering' means the good of truth, or spiritual good, may be seen from the sacrifices in which drink-offerings were used. When sacrifices were offered they were made either from the herd or from the flock, and they were representative of internal worship of the Lord, 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519. To these the minchah and the drink-offering were added. The minchah, which consisted of fine flour mixed with oil, meant celestial good, or what amounted to the same, the good of love - 'the oil' meaning love to the Lord and 'the fine flour' charity towards the neighbour. But the drink-offering, which consisted of wine, meant spiritual good, or what amounted to the same, the good of faith. Both these therefore, the minchah and the drink-offering, have the same meaning as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper.

[5] The addition of a minchah and a drink-offering to a burnt offering or to a sacrifice is clear in Moses,

You shall offer two lambs in their first year, each day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second you shall offer between the evenings; and a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin, and a drink-offering of a quarter of a hin of wine, for the first lamb; and so also for the second lamb. Exodus 29:38-41.

In the same author,

You shall offer on the day when you wave the sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest a lamb without blemish in its first year as a burnt offering to Jehovah, its minchah being two tenths of fine flour mixed with oil, and its drink-offering wine, a quarter of a hin. Leviticus 23:12-13, 18.

In the same author,

On the day when the days of Naziriteship are completed he is to offer his gift to Jehovah, sacrifices and also a basket of unleavened [loaves] of fine flour, cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, together with their minchah and their drink-offerings. Numbers 6:13-17.

In the same author,

Upon the burnt offering they shall offer a minchah of a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil, and wine as the drink-offering, a quarter of a hin - in one way upon the burnt offering of a ram, and in another upon that of a bull. Numbers 15:3-11.

In the same author,

With the continual burnt offering you shall offer a drink-offering, a quarter of a hin for a lamb; in the holy place pour out a drink-offering of wine to Jehovah. Numbers 28:6-7.

Further references to minchahs and drink-offerings in the different kinds of sacrifices are continued in Numbers 28:7-end; 29:1-end.

[6] The meaning that 'minchah and drink-offering' had may be seen in addition from the considerations that love and faith constitute the whole of worship, and that in the Holy Supper 'the bread' - described in the quotations above as fine flour mixed with oil - and 'the wine' mean love and faith, and so the whole of worship, dealt with in 1798, 2165, 2177, 2187, 2343, 2359, 3464, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217.

[7] But when people fell away from the genuine representative kind of worship of the Lord and turned to other gods and poured out drink-offerings to these, 'drink-offerings' came to mean things that were the reverse of charity and faith, namely the evils and falsities that go with the love of the world; as in Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink-offering to them, you have brought a minchah. Isaiah 57:5-6.

'Inflaming oneself among the gods' stands for cravings for falsity - 'gods' meaning falsities, 4402 (end), 4544. 'Under every green tree' stands for the trust in all falsities which leads to those cravings, 2722, 4552. 'Pouring out a drink-offering to them' and 'bringing a minchah' stand for the worship of those falsities. In the same prophet,

You who forsake Jehovah, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad, and fill a drink-offering for Meni. Isaiah 65:11.

In Jeremiah,

The sons gather pieces of wood, and the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 7:18.

[8] In the same prophet,

We will surely do every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we did, we and our fathers, and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 44:17-19.

'The queen of heaven' stands for all falsities, for 'the hosts of heaven' in the genuine sense means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, and so in the same way do 'king' and 'queen'. 'Queen' accordingly stands for all [falsities] and 'pouring out drink-offerings to her' means worshipping them.

[9] In the same prophet,

The Chaldeans will burn the city, and the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to Baal and poured out drink-offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 32:29.

'The Chaldeans' stands for people whose worship involves falsity. 'Burning the city' stands for destroying and laying waste those whose doctrines teach falsity. Upon the roofs of the houses burning incense to Baal' stands for the worship of what is evil, 'pouring out drink-offerings to other gods' for the worship of what is false.

[10] In Hosea,

They will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah. Hosea 9:3-4.

'Not dwelling in Jehovah's land' stands for not abiding in the good of love. 'Ephraim will return to Egypt' stands for the Church when its understanding will come to be no more than factual and sensory knowledge. 'In Assyria they will eat what is unclean' stands for impure and profane desires that are the product of reasoning. 'They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah' stands for no worship based on truth.

[11] In Moses,

It will be said, Where are their gods, the rock in which they trusted, who ate the fat of the sacrifices, [who] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let them rise up and help them! Deuteronomy 32:37-38.

'Gods' stands for falsities, as above. 'Who ate the fat of the sacrifices' stands for their destruction of the good belonging to worship, '[who] drank the wine of their drink-offering' for their destruction of the truth belonging to it. A reference to 'drink-offerings of blood' also occurs in David,

They will multiply their pains; they have hastened to another, lest I pour out their drink-offerings of blood, and take up their names upon My lips. Psalms 16:4.

By these 'drink-offerings' are meant profanations of truth, for in this case 'blood' means violence done to charity, 374, 1005, and profanation, 1003.

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