The Bible

 

Postanak 19

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1 A uveče dođoše dva anđela u Sodom; a Lot seđaše na vratima sodomskim; i kad ih ugleda, ustade te ih srete, i pokloni se licem do zemlje,

2 I reče: Hodite, gospodo, u kuću sluge svog, i prenoćite i operite noge svoje; pa sutra rano kad ustanete pođite svojim putem. A oni rekoše: Ne, nego ćemo prenoćiti na ulici.

3 Ali on navali na njih, te se uvratiše k njemu i uđoše u kuću njegovu, i on ih ugosti, i ispeče hlebova presnih, i jedoše.

4 I još ne behu legli, a građani Sodomljani slegoše se oko kuće, staro i mlado, sav narod sa svih krajeva,

5 I vikahu Lota i govorahu mu: Gde su ljudi što dođoše sinoćk tebi? Izvedi ih k nama da ih poznamo.

6 A Lot iziđe k njima pred vrata zatvorivši vrata za sobom,

7 I reče im: Nemojte, braćo, činiti zla.

8 Evo imam dve kćeri, koje još ne poznaše čoveka; njih ću vam izvesti, pa činite s njima šta vam je volja; samo ne dirajte u ove ljude, jer su zato ušli pod moj krov.

9 A oni rekoše: Hodi amo. Pa onda rekoše: Ovaj je sam došao amo da živi kao došljak, pa još hoće da nam sudi; sad ćemo tebi učiniti gore nego njima. Pa navališe jako na čoveka, na Lota, i stadoše istavljati vrata.

10 A ona dva čoveka digoše ruke, i uvukoše Lota sebi u kuću, i zatvoriše vrata.

11 A ljude što behu pred vratima kućnim ujedanput oslepiše od najmanjeg do najvećeg, te ne mogahu naći vrata.

12 Tada ona dva čoveka rekoše Lotu: Ako imaš ovde još koga svog, ili zeta ili sina ili kćer, ili koga god svog u ovom gradu, gledaj nek idu odavde;

13 Jer hoćemo da zatremo mesto ovo, jer je vika njihova velika pred Gospodom, pa nas posla Gospod da ga zatremo.

14 I iziđe Lot, i kaza zetovima svojim, za koje htede dati kćeri svoje, i reče im: Ustajte, idite iz mesta ovog, jer će sada zatrti Gospod grad ovaj. Ali se zetovima njegovim učini da se šali.

15 A kad zora zabele, navališe anđeli na Lota govoreći: ustani, uzmi ženu svoju, i dve kćeri svoje koje su tu, da ne pogineš u bezakonju grada tog.

16 A on se stade ščinjati, te ljudi uzeše za ruku njega i ženu njegovu i dve kćeri njegove, jer ga beše žao Gospodu i izvedoše ga i pustiše ga iza grada.

17 I kad ih izvedoše napolje, reče jedan: Izbavi dušu svoju i ne obziri se natrag i u celoj ovoj ravni da nisi stao; beži na ono brdo da ne pogineš.

18 A Lot im reče: Nemoj, Gospode!

19 Gle, sluga tvoj nađe milost pred Tobom, i milost je Tvoja prevelika koju mi učini sačuvavši mi život; ali ne mogu uteći na brdo da me ne stigne zlo i ne poginem.

20 Eno grad blizu; onamo se može uteći, a mali je; da bežimo onamo; ta mali je, te ću ostati živ.

21 A on mu reče: Eto poslušaću te i zato, i neću zatrti grada, za koji reče.

22 Brže beži onamo; jer ne mogu činiti ništa dok ne stigneš onamo. Zato se prozva onaj grad Sigor.

23 I kad sunce ogranu po zemlji, Lot dođe u Sigor.

24 Tada pusti Gospod na Sodom i na Gomor od Gospoda s neba dažd od sumpora i ognja,

25 I zatre one gradove i svu onu ravan, i sve ljude u gradovima i rod zemaljski.

26 Ali žena Lotova beše se obazrela idući za njim, i posta slan kamen.

27 A sutradan rano ustavši Avram, otide na mesto gde je stajao pred Gospodom;

28 I pogleda na Sodom i Gomor i svu okolinu po onoj ravni, i ugleda, a to se dizaše dim od zemlje kao dim iz peći.

29 Ali kad Bog zatiraše gradove u onoj ravni, opomenu se Bog Avrama, i izvede Lota iz propasti kad zatre gradove gde živeše Lot.

30 A Lot otide iz Sigora i stani se na onom brdu s dve kćeri svoje, jer se bojaše ostati u Sigoru; i živeše u pećini s dve kćeri svoje.

31 A starija reče mlađoj: Naš je otac star, a nema nikoga na zemlji da dođe k nama, kao što je običaj po svoj zemlji.

32 Hajde da damo ocu vina neka se opije, pa da legnemo s njim, eda bismo sačuvale seme ocu svom.

33 I dadoše ocu vina onu noć; i došavši starija leže s ocem svojim, i on ne oseti ni kad ona leže ni kad ustade.

34 A sutradan reče starija mlađoj: Gle, noćas spavah s ocem svojim. Da mu damo vina i doveče, pa idi ti i lezi s njim, eda bismo sačuvale seme ocu svom.

35 Pa i to veče dadoše ocu vina, i ustavši mlađa leže s njim, i on ne oseti ni kad ona leže ni kad ustade.

36 I obe kćeri Lotove zatrudneše od oca svog.

37 I starija rodi sina, i nadede mu ime Moav; od njega su Moavci do današnjeg dana.

38 Pa i mlađa rodi sina, i nadede mu ime Ven-Amije; od njega su Amonci do današnjeg dana.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #468

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468. THE INTERNAL SENSE.

From what has been said and shown in the foregoing chapter, it is evident that by names are signified heresies and doctrines. Hence it may be seen that by the names in this chapter are not meant persons, but things, and in the present instance doctrines, or churches, which were preserved, notwithstanding the changes they underwent, from the time of the Most Ancient Church even to “Noah.” But the case with every church is that in course of time it decreases, and at last remains among a few; and the few with whom it remained at the time of the flood were called “Noah.”

[2] That the true church decreases and remains with but few, is evident from other churches which have thus decreased. Those who are left are in the Word called “remains” and a “remnant” and are said to be “in the midst” or “middle” “of the land.” And as this is the case in the universal, so also it is in the particular, or as it is with the church, so it is with every individual man; for unless remains were preserved by the Lord in everyone, he must needs perish eternally, since spiritual and celestial life are in the remains. So also in the general or universal-if there were not always some with whom the church, or true faith, remained, the human race would perish; for, as is generally known, a city, nay, sometimes a whole kingdom, is saved for the sake of a few. It is in this respect with the church as it is with the human body; so long as the heart is sound, life is possible for the neighboring viscera, but when the heart is enfeebled, the other parts of the body cease to be nourished, and the man dies. The last remains are those which are signified by “Noah;” for (as appears from Genesis 6:12, as well as from other places) the whole earth had become corrupt.

[3] Of remains as existing in each individual as well as in the church in general, much is said in the Prophets; as in Isaiah:

He that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy to Him, even everyone that is written unto lives in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have washed away the bloods of Jerusalem from the midst thereof (Isaiah 4:3-4),

in which passage holiness is predicated of the remains, by which are signified the remains of the church, and also of a man of the church; for “those left” in Zion and Jerusalem could not be holy merely because they were “left.” Again:

It shall come to pass in that day, that the remains of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon Jehovah the Holy One of Israel in truth. The remains shall return, the remains of Jacob, unto the mighty God (Isaiah 10:20-21).

In Jeremiah:

In those days, and in that time, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon him whom I shall make a remnant (Jeremiah 50:20).

In Micah:

The remains of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as the dew from Jehovah, as the showers upon the grass (Micah 5:7).

[4] The residue or remains of a man, or of the church, were also represented by the tenths, which were holy; hence also a number with ten in it was holy, and “ten” is therefore predicated of remains; as in Isaiah:

Jehovah shall remove man, and many things [shall be] left in the midst of the land; and yet in it [shall be] a tenth part, and it shall return, and shall be for exterminating; as an oak, and an ilex, when the stock is cast forth from them, the holy seed is the stock thereof (Isaiah 6:12-13); where the residue is called a “seed of holiness.” And in Amos:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, The city that goeth forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which goeth forth a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel (Amos 5:3).

In these and many other passages, in the internal sense are signified the “remains” of which we have been speaking. That a city is preserved for the sake of the remains of the church, is evident from what was said to Abraham concerning Sodom:

Abraham said, Peradventure ten may be found there; and He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake (Genesis 18:32).

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

The Bible

 

Jeremiah 50

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1 The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don't conceal: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.

3 For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal.

4 In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Yahweh their God.

5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, [saying], Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.

6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

7 All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.

8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.

9 For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.

10 Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied, says Yahweh.

11 Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out [the grain], and neigh as strong horses;

12 your mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of Yahweh she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she has sinned against Yahweh.

15 Shout against her all around: she has submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh: take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.

17 Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.

18 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

19 I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: kill and utterly destroy after them, says Yahweh, and do according to all that I have commanded you.

22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren't aware: you are found, and also caught, because you have striven against Yahweh.

25 Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work [to do] in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the utmost border; open her storehouses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.

27 Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp against her all around; let none of it escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her men of war will be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh.

31 Behold, I am against you, you proud one, says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies; for your day has come, the time that I will visit you.

32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are around him.

33 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer is strong; Yahweh of Armies is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is on the Chaldeans, says Yahweh, and on the inhabitants of Babylon, and on her princes, and on her wise men.

36 A sword is on the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is on her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

37 A sword is on their horses, and on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is on her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

38 A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols.

39 Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation.

40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.

41 Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

42 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Behold, [the enemy] shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who can stand before me?

45 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.

46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.