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Ezequiel 13

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1 Y FUÉ á mí palabra de Jehová, diciendo:

2 Hijo del hombre, profetiza contra los profetas de Israel que profetizan, y di á los que profetizan de su corazón: Oid palabra de Jehová.

3 Así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: ­Ay de los profetas insensatos, que andan en pos de su propio espíritu, y nada vieron!

4 Como zorras en los desiertos fueron tus profetas, oh Israel.

5 No habéis subido á los portillos, ni echasteis vallado en la casa de Israel, estando en la batalla en el día de Jehová.

6 Vieron vanidad y adivinación de mentira. Dicen: Ha dicho Jehová; y Jehová no los envió: y hacen esperar que se confirme la palabra.

7 ¿No habéis visto visión vana, y no habéis dicho adivinación de mentira, por cuanto decís, Dijo Jehová; no habiendo yo hablado?

8 Por tanto, así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: por cuanto vosotros habéis hablado vanidad, y habéis visto mentira, por tanto, he aquí yo contra vosotros, dice el Señor Jehová.

9 Y será mi mano contra los profetas que ven vanidad, y adivinan mentira: no serán en la congregación de mi pueblo, ni serán escritos en el libro de la casa de Israel, ni á la tierra de Israel volverán; y sabréis que yo soy el Señor Jehová.

10 Por tanto, y por cuanto engañaron á mi pueblo, diciendo, Paz, no habiendo paz; y el uno edificaba la pared, y he aquí que los otros la encostraban con lodo suelto;

11 Di á los encostradores con lodo suelto, que caerá; vendrá lluvia inundante, y daré piedras de granizo que la hagan caer, y viento tempestuoso la romperá.

12 Y he aquí, cuando la pared habrá caído, no os dirán: ¿Dónde está la embarradura con que encostrasteis?

13 Por tanto, así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: Y haré que la rompa viento tempestuoso con mi ira, y lluvia inundante vendrá con mi furor, y piedras de granizo con enojo para consumir.

14 Así desbarataré la pared que vosotros encostrasteis con lodo suelto, y echaréla á tierra, y será descubierto su cimiento, y caerá, y seréis consumidos en medio de ella; y sabréis que yo soy Jehová.

15 Cumpliré así mi furor en la pared y en los que la encostraron con lodo suelto; y os diré: No existe la pared, ni aquellos que la encostraron,

16 Los profetas de Israel que profetizan á Jerusalem, y ven para ella visión de paz, no habiendo paz, dice el Señor Jehová.

17 Y tú, hijo del hombre, pon tu rostro á las hijas de tu pueblo que profetizan de su corazón, y profetiza contra ellas,

18 Y di: Así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: ­Ay de aquellas que cosen almohadillas á todos codos de manos, y hacen veletes sobre la cabeza de toda edad para cazar las almas! ¿Habéis de cazar las almas de mi pueblo, para mantener así vuestra propia vida?

19 ¿Y habéis de profanarme entre mi pueblo por puñados de cebada y por pedazos de pan, matando las almas que no mueren, y dando vida á las almas que no vivirán, mintiendo á mi pueblo que escucha la mentira?

20 Por tanto, así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: He aquí yo contra vuestras almohadillas, con que cazáis ahí las almas volando; yo las arrancaré de vuestros brazos, y dejaré las almas, las almas que cazáis volando.

21 Romperé asimismo vuestro veletes, y libraré mi pueblo de vuestra mano, y no estarán más en vuestra mano para caza; y sabréis que yo soy Jehová.

22 Por cuanto entristecisteis con mentira el corazón del justo, al cual yo no entristecí, y esforzasteis las manos del impío, para que no se apartase de su mal camino, infundiéndole ánimo;

23 Por tanto no veréis vanidad, ni más adivinaréis adivinación; y libraré mi pueblo de vuestra mano; y sabréis que yo soy Jehová.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8908

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8908. 'You shall not answer as a witness of a lie against your neighbour' means that good must not be called evil, nor truth falsity, and conversely that evil must not be called good, nor falsity truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'witness of a lie' as the confirmation of falsity. For the meaning of 'witness' as confirmation, see 4197; and the meaning of 'a lie' as falsity of faith will be evident from what follows below. 'Answering against the neighbour' is speaking to someone in that manner; for 'neighbour' means any and every person, in particular everyone governed by good, and in the abstract sense good itself, 3419, 5025, 6704, 6706-6711, 6818, 8123, so that in the internal sense 'you shall not answer as the witness of a lie against your neighbour' means not saying what is false to anyone, that is, not saying that good is evil and truth is falsity, or vice versa.

[2] What this implies must be explained briefly. None who are ruled by self-love or by love of the world, that is, whose end in view is either to have high and honoured positions or to possess wealth and gain, care when they tell and persuade others that something just is unjust or something unjust is just, and by doing this behave as 'witnesses of a lie'. The reason why they are like this is that their will is in complete subjection to those loves and accompanying desires; it is completely possessed and dominated by them. At the same time the understanding, which is the other part of the mind, indeed has the ability to see what is just or unjust but has no wish to see it. For the will prevails over the understanding; it flows into and persuades it, and at length also makes it blind. Those same people possess no conscience, nor do they know that conscience consists in saying that something just is just, and for no other reason than because it is so, that is, from a love of what is just. People who are like this in the world are also like it in the next life, except for the difference that they do not then say something just is unjust. Instead they call the good of faith evil, and truth falsity, since what is just in dealings with people in the world corresponds to what is good and true in the spiritual world. This is done by them without conscience and also without any shame because it was something they had learned to do during their lifetime and grown accustomed to.

[3] Many times in the Word the expression 'a lie' is used, and wherever it occurs the falsity and evil of faith is meant in the internal sense. And 'the witness of a lie', who is also called 'the witness of violence', means confirming something false, whether before a judge, or before someone else, or before oneself by convincing oneself in one's inner thinking, as in Exodus 23:1ff; Leviticus 19:11-12ff; Deuteronomy 19:16-20. The fact that 'a lie' in the spiritual sense is the evil and falsity of faith is clear from the following places: In John,

You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie he speaks from the things that are his own, for he is the teller of a lie and the father of it. John 8:44.

Here 'a lie' stands for falsity of faith, for it refers to the unwillingness of the Jews to acknowledge the Lord. 'The devil' in the spiritual sense here is falsity, and 'the father of it' is evil; for falsity springs from evil like son from father. The falsity that is the devil's is the falsity of faith, the evil that is his is the evil of self-love and love of the world.

[4] In Isaiah,

Moab is exceedingly proud; his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger - his lies are not firm. Isaiah 16:6.

'Lies' stands for falsities of faith, since 'Moab' is those who, ruled by the evil of self-love, therefore falsify truths, 2468, 8315. In the same prophet,

We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we have shaped a vision. We have put our trust in a lie, and we have hidden in falsity. Isaiah 28:15.

In the same prophet,

They were a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who did not wish to hear the law of Jehovah. Isaiah 30:9.

In Jeremiah,

They deceive one another, 1 and do not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak a lie Jeremiah 9:5.

In the same prophet,

Behold, I am against those that prophesy lying dreams 2 and tell them in order that they may mislead My people by their lies. Jeremiah 23:32.

In the same prophet,

O sword, [be] against the liars, that they may become foolish. Jeremiah 50:36.

In Ezekiel,

They have seen vanity and lying divination, 3 saying, Jehovah has said! when Jehovah has not sent them. Therefore thus has the Lord Jehovih said, Because you speak vanity and see a lie, therefore behold, I am against you. Ezekiel 13:6-9.

In Nahum,

Woe to the city of blood! 4 It is all full of lies and plunder. Nahum 3:1.

In Zephaniah,

The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity or speak any lie; nor will a fraudulent tongue be found in their mouth. They will feed and rest. Zephaniah 3:13.

In John,

Outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices a lie. Revelation 22:15.

In these as in many other places 'a lie' stands for the falsity and evil of faith.

Footnotes:

1. literally, They deceive, a man his companion

2. literally, dreams of a lie

3. literally, divination of a lie

4. literally, bloods

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