The Bible

 

Jezekilj 45

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1 A kad stanete deliti zemlju u nasledstvo, prinesite prinos Gospodu, sveti deo od zemlje, u dužinu dvadeset i pet hiljada lakata, i u širinu deset hiljada, to neka bude sveto po svim međama svojim unaokolo.

2 Od toga neka bude za svetinju pet stotina lakata u dužinu i pet stotina u širinu, četvrtasto od svuda, i pedeset lakata u naokolo za podgrađa.

3 Po toj meri izmeri u dužinu dvadeset i pet hiljada i u širinu deset hiljada, i tu neka bude svetinja i svetinja nad svetinjama.

4 To neka bude svet deo od zemlje sveštenicima, koji služe u svetinji, koji pristupaju da služe Gospodu, i neka im bude mesto za kuće i sveto mesto za svetinju.

5 A dvadeset i pet hiljada lakata u dužinu i deset hiljada u širinu neka bude Levitima koji služe u domu u državu s dvadeset kleti.

6 I gradu podajte dostojanje pet hiljada lakata u širinu i dvadeset i pet hiljada u dužinu prema svetom delu; to neka je za sav dom Izrailjev.

7 A knezu neka bude s obe strane svetog dela i dostojanja gradskog pred svetim delom i pred gradskim dostojanjem, sa zapadne strane na zapad i s istočne strane na istok, a dužina da bude prema svakom od tih delova od zapadne međe do istočne međe.

8 Ta zemlja da mu je dostojanje u Izrailju, da više ne otimaju knezovi moji od naroda mog, nego ostalu zemlju da daju domu Izrailjevom po plemenima njihovim.

9 Ovako veli Gospod Gospod: Dosta je, knezovi Izrailjevi; prođite se nasilja i otimanja, i tvorite sud i pravdu, i skinite teške poslove svoje s mog naroda, govori Gospod Gospod.

10 Merila da su vam prava, i efa prava, i vat prav.

11 Efa i vat da su jedne mere, da vat bere desetinu homora, i efa desetinu homora; mera da im je prema homoru.

12 I sikal da je dvadeset gera, a mina da vam je dvadeset sikala, dvadeset i pet sikala, i petnaest sikala.

13 Ovo je prinos što ćete prinositi: Šestina efe od homora pšenice, tako i od ječma dajte šestinu efe od homora.

14 A za ulje je uredba ova: vat je mera za ulje; desetina vata od jednog kora, koji je homor od deset vata, jer je deset vata homor.

15 A od sitne stoke jedno od dve stotine s dobrih pasišta sinova Izrailjevih za dar i za žrtvu paljenicu i za žrtvu zahvalnu, da se čini očišćenje za njih, govori Gospod Gospod.

16 Sav narod zemaljski da daje ovaj prinos knezu Izrailjevom.

17 A knez je dužan davati žrtve paljenice s darom i nalivom na praznike i na mladine i u subote, o svim svetkovinama doma Izrailjevog; on neka prinosi žrtvu za greh s darom i žrtvu paljenicu i zahvalnu da čini očišćenje za dom Izrailjev.

18 Ovako veli Gospod Gospod: Prvog dana prvog meseca uzmi junca zdravog, i očisti svetinju njim.

19 I neka sveštenik uzme krvi od te žrtve za greh, i pomaže njom dovratnike na domu i četiri ugla od pojasa na oltaru i dovratnike od vrata na unutrašnjem tremu.

20 Tako učini i sedmog dana istog meseca za svakog koji zgreši iz neznanja i za prostog; tako ćete očistiti dom.

21 Prvog meseca četrnaestog dana da vam je pasha, praznik sedam dana, hlebovi presni da se jedu.

22 I taj dan neka prinese knez za se i za sav narod zemaljski junca na žrtvu za greh.

23 A za sedam dana praznika neka prinosi na žrtvu paljenicu Gospodu po sedam junaca i sedam ovnova zdravih na dan, za onih sedam dana, i na žrtvu za greh jarca na dan.

24 I za dar po efu na junca i efu na ovna neka prinosi, i in ulja na svaku efu.

25 Sedmog meseca petnaestog dana na praznik neka prinosi isto tako za sedam dana i žrtvu za greh i žrtvu paljenicu i dar i ulje.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #904

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904. 21:15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. This symbolically means that to people who possess the goodness of love, the Lord grants a faculty for understanding and knowing the nature of the Lord's New Church as regards its doctrine and its introductory truths, and as regards the Word from which they are drawn.

He who spoke with me symbolizes the Lord speaking from heaven, because it was an angel speaking, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls mentioned in verse 9, who means the Lord speaking from heaven (no. 895). A reed symbolizes a power or ability springing from the goodness of love - a reed symbolizing power or ability (no. 485), and gold the goodness of love (nos. 211, 726). To measure means, symbolically, to learn the character of a thing, thus to understand and know it (no. 486). The city, the holy Jerusalem, symbolizes the church in respect to its doctrine (nos. 879, 880). Its gates symbolize concepts of truth and goodness from the Word's literal sense, which are truths and goods owing to the spiritual life in them (no. 899). And the wall symbolizes the Word in its literal sense from which the doctrine and concepts come (no. 898).

It is apparent from this that "he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall," symbolically means that to people who possess the goodness of love, the Lord grants a faculty for understanding and knowing the nature of the Lord's New Church as regards its doctrine and its introductory truths, and as regards the Word from which they are drawn.

[2] These symbolic meanings cannot be seen at all in the literal sense, for one sees in it only that an angel speaking with John had a gold reed with which to measure the city and its gates and wall. But even so, that these words contain another meaning, a spiritual meaning, is clearly apparent from the fact that the city Jerusalem does not mean a real city, but the church. Consequently everything said about Jerusalem as a city symbolizes such things as have to do with the church, and everything having to do with the church is, in itself, spiritual.

Such a spiritual meaning is present also in what is said in chapter 11 above, where we are told the following:

I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood by, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there." (Revelation 11:1)

A similar spiritual meaning is present, too, in everything that the angel measured with a reed in Ezekiel 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48. Also in these verses in Zechariah:

I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what its width is and what its length." (Zechariah 2:1-2)

Indeed, such a spiritual meaning is present in everything connected with the Tabernacle and in everything connected with the Temple in Jerusalem, whose measurements we are told, and also in the measurements themselves. And yet nothing of this can be seen in the literal sense.

  
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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.

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 48

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1 Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath, (and they shall have their sides east [and] west), Dan, one [portion].

2 By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one [portion].

3 By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one [portion].

4 By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one [portion].

5 By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one [portion].

6 By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one [portion].

7 By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one [portion].

8 By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand [reeds] in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in its midst.

9 The offering that you shall offer to Yahweh shall be twenty-five thousand [reeds] in length, and ten thousand in breadth.

10 For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand [in length], and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of Yahweh shall be in its midst.

11 [It shall be] for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn't go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

12 It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.

13 Answerable to the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.

14 They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to Yahweh.

15 The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in its midst.

16 These shall be its measures: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.

17 The city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty.

18 The remainder in the length, answerable to the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable to the holy offering; and its increase shall be for food to those who labor in the city.

19 Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

20 All the offering shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering foursquare, with the possession of the city.

21 The residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, answerable to the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in its midst.

22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince.

23 As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one [portion].

24 By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one [portion].

25 By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one [portion].

26 By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one [portion].

27 By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one [portion].

28 By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook [of Egypt], to the great sea.

29 This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord Yahweh.

30 These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred [reeds] by measure;

31 and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.

32 At the east side four thousand and five hundred [reeds], and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.

33 At the south side four thousand and five hundred [reeds] by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.

34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred [reeds], with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.

35 It shall be eighteen thousand [reeds] around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh is there.