The Bible

 

Амос 9

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1 Videh Gospoda, a On stajaše na oltaru, i reče: Udari u gornji prag od vrata da se zatresu dovratnici, i rascepi ih sve od vrha njihova; a šta ostane iza njih pobiću mačem; neće uteći između njih nijedan, niti će se koji spasti.

2 Da se zakopaju u najdonji kraj zemlje, odande će ih uzeti ruka moja; i da izađu na nebo, odande ću ih skinuti;

3 I da se sakriju na vrh Karmila, naći ću ih i uzeću ih odande; i da se sakriju ispred mojih očiju na dno morsko, onde ću zapovedati zmiji da ih ujede;

4 Da odu u ropstvo pred neprijateljima svojim, i onde ću zapovedati maču da ih pobije, i obratiću oči svoje njima na zlo a ne na dobro.

5 Jer Gospod Gospod nad vojskama kad se dotakne zemlje, ona se rastapa i tuže svi koji žive na njoj, i razliva se sva kao reka i potapa se kao od reke misirske.

6 On je sagradio sebi kleti na nebu i svod svoj osnovao na zemlji; zove vode morske i izliva ih po zemlji; ime Mu je Gospod.

7 Niste li mi, sinovi Izrailjevi, kao sinovi etiopski? Govori Gospod; ne izvedoh li Izrailja iz zemlje misirske, a Filisteje iz Kaftora i Sirce iz Kira?

8 Gle, oči su Gospodnje upravljene na ovo grešno carstvo da ga zatresem sa zemlje; ali neću sasvim zatrti dom Jakovljev, govori Gospod.

9 Jer, evo, ja ću zapovediti i razmetaću među svim narodima dom Izrailjev kao što se razmeće žito u rešetu da ni zrno ne padne na zemlju.

10 Od mača će poginuti svi grešnici između mog naroda, koji govore: Neće doći, niti će nas zadesiti zlo.

11 U to ću vreme podignuti opali šator Davidov, i zatvoriću mu pukotine, i opraviću mu šta je razvaljeno, i opet ću ga sagraditi kao što je bio pre,

12 Da bi nasledili ostatak edomski i sve narode na koje se priziva ime moje, govori Gospod, koji čini ovo.

13 Evo, idu dani, govori Gospod, kad će orač stizati žeteoca, i koji gazi grožđe sejača, i gore će kapati slatkim vinom, a svi će se humovi rastapati.

14 I povratiću roblje naroda svog Izrailja, i opet će sagraditi puste gradove i naseliće se, i nasadiće vinograde i piti vino iz njih, i načiniće vrtove i jesti rod iz njih.

15 I posadiću ih u zemlji njihovoj, i neće se više iščupati iz zemlje svoje, koju im dadoh, govori Gospod Bog tvoj.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Sacred Scripture #35

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35. 28 shows that the Old Testament prophets represented the Lord in respect to the Word and therefore meant the teaching of the church drawn from the Word, and that because of this they were addressed as “children of humanity.” It follows from this that by the various things they suffered and endured they represented the violence done to the literal meaning of the Word by Jews. Isaiah, for example, took the sackcloth off his waist and the sandals off his feet and went naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah 20:2-3). Similarly, Ezekiel the prophet took a barber’s razor to his head and his beard, burned a third of the hair in the middle of the city, struck a third with a sword, and scattered a third to the wind; also, he bound a few hairs in his hems and eventually threw a few into the midst of a fire and burned them (Ezekiel 5:1-4).

Since the prophets represented the Word and therefore meant the teaching of the church drawn from the Word (as just noted), and since the head means wisdom from the Word, the hair and the beard mean the outermost form of truth. It is because of this meaning that inflicting baldness on yourself was a sign of immense grief and being discovered to be bald was an immense disgrace. This and this alone is why the prophet shaved off his hair and his beard - to represent the state of the Jewish church in regard to the Word. This and this alone is why two she-bears tore apart forty-two boys who called Elisha bald (2 Kings 2:23-25)-because as just noted the prophet represented the Word, and his baldness signified the Word without an outermost meaning.

We shall see in §49 below that the Nazirites represented the Lord’s Word in its outermost forms, which is why they were commanded to let their hair grow and not to shave any of it. In Hebrew, “Nazirite” actually means “hair.” It was commanded also that the high priest was not to shave his head (Leviticus 21:10) and that the fathers of their families as well were not to do so (Leviticus 21:5).

That is why they regarded baldness as such an immense disgrace, as we can tell from the following passages:

There will be baldness upon all heads, and every beard will be cut off. (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37)

There will be shame upon all faces and baldness on all heads. (Ezekiel 7:18)

Every head was made bald and every shoulder hairless. (Ezekiel 29:18)

I will put sackcloth around all waists and baldness upon every head. (Amos 8:10)

Make yourself bald and cut off your hair because of your precious children; make yourself still more bald, because they have left you and gone into exile. (Micah 1:16)

Here making yourself bald and making yourself still more bald means distorting truths of the Word in its outermost forms. Once they have been distorted, as was done by Jews, the whole Word is ruined, because the outermost forms of the Word are what it rests on and what holds it up. In fact, every word in it is a base and support for the Word’s heavenly and spiritual truths.

Since a head of hair means truth in its outermost forms, in the spiritual world everyone who trivializes the Word and distorts its literal meaning looks bald; but those who respect and love it have good-looking hair. On this, see §49 below.

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