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Joel 2

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1 TOCAD trompeta en Sión, y pregondad en mi santo monte: tiemblen todos los moradores de la tierra; porque viene el día de Jehová, porque está cercano.

2 Día de tinieblas y de oscuridad, Día de nube y de sombra, que sobre los montes se derrama como el alba: un pueblo grande y fuerte: nunca desde el siglo fué semejante, ni después de él será jamás en años de generación en generación.

3 Delante de él consumirá fuego, tras de él abrasará llama; como el huerto de Edén será la tierra delante de él, y detrás de él como desierto asolado; ni tampoco habrá quien de él escape.

4 Su parecer, como parecer de caballos; y como gente de á caballo correrán.

5 Como estruendo de carros saltarán sobre las cumbres de los montes; como sonido de llama de fuego que consume hojarascas, como fuerte pueblo aparejado para la batalla.

6 Delante de él temerán los pueblos, pondránse mustios todos los semblantes.

7 Como valientes correrán, como hombres de guerra subirán la muralla; y cada cual irá en sus caminos, y no torcerán sus sendas.

8 Ninguno apretará á su compañero, cada uno irá por su carrera; y aun cayendo sobre la espada no se herirán.

9 Irán por la ciudad, correrán por el muro, subirán por las casas, entrarán por las ventanas á manera de ladrones.

10 Delante de él temblará la tierra, se estremecerán los cielos: el sol y la luna se oscurecerán, y las estrellas retraerán su resplandor.

11 Y Jehová dará su voz delante de su ejército: porque muchos son sus reales y fuertes, que ponen en efecto su palabra: porque grande es el día de Jehová, y muy terrible; ¿y quién lo podrá sufrir?

12 Por eso pues ahora, dice Jehová, convertíos á mí con todo vuestro corazón, con ayuno y lloro y llanto.

13 Y lacerad vuestro corazón, y no vuestros vestidos; y convertíos á Jehová vuestro Dios; porque misericordioso es y clemente, tardo para la ira, y grande en misericordia, y que se arrepiente del castigo.

14 ¿Quién sabe si volverá, y se apiadará, y dejará bendición tras de él, presente y libación para Jehová Dios vuestro?

15 Tocad trompeta en Sión, pregonad ayuno, llamad á congregación.

16 Reunid el pueblo, santificad la reunión, juntad los viejos, congregad los niños y los que maman: salga de su cámara el novio, y de su tálamo la novia.

17 Entre la entrada y el altar, lloren los sacerdotes, ministros de Jehová, y digan: Perdona, oh Jehová, á tu pueblo, y no pongas en oprobio tu heredad, para que las gentes se enseñoreen de ella. ¿Por qué han de decir entre los pueblos: Dónde está su Dios?

18 Y Jehová celará su tierra, y perdonará su pueblo.

19 Y responderá Jehová, y dirá á su pueblo: He aquí yo os envío pan, y mosto, y aceite, y seréis saciados de ellos: y nunca más os pondré en oprobio entre las gentes.

20 Y haré alejar de vosotros al del aquilón, y echarélo en la tierra seca y desierta: su faz será hacia el mar oriental, y su fin al mar occidental, y exhalará su hedor; y subirá su pudrición, porque hizo grandes cosas.

21 Tierra, no temas; alégrate y gózate: porque Jehová ha de hacer grandes cosas.

22 Animales del campo, no temáis; porque los pastos del desierto reverdecerán, porque los árboles llevarán su fruto, la higuera y la vid darán sus frutos.

23 Vosotros también, hijos de Sión, alegraos y gozaos en Jehová vuestro Dios; porque os ha dado la primera lluvia arregladamente, y hará descender sobre vosotros lluvia temprana y tardía como al principio.

24 Y las eras se henchirán de trigo, y los lagares rebosarán de vino y aceite.

25 Y os restituiré los años que comió la oruga, la langosta, el pulgón, y el revoltón; mi grande ejército que envié contra vosotros.

26 Y comeréis hasta saciaros, y alabaréis el nombre de Jehová vuestro Dios, el cual hizo maravillas con vosotros: y nunca jamás será mi pueblo avergonzado.

27 Y conoceréis que en medio de Israel estoy yo, y que yo soy Jehová vuestro Dios, y no hay otro: y mi pueblo nunca jamás será avergonzado.

28 Y será que después de esto, derramaré mi Espíritu sobre toda carne, y profetizarán vuestros hijos y vuestras hijas; vuestros viejos soñarán sueños, y vuestros mancebos verán visiones.

29 Y aun también sobre los siervos y sobre las siervas derramaré mi Espíritu en aquellos días.

30 Y daré prodigios en el cielo y en la tierra, sangre, y fuego, y columnas de humo.

31 El sol se tornará en tinieblas, y la luna en sangre, antes que venga el día grande y espantoso de Jehová.

32 Y será que cualquiera que invocare el nombre de Jehová, será salvo: porque en el monte de Sión y en Jerusalem habrá salvación, como Jehová ha dicho, y en los que quedaren, á los cuales Jehová habrá llamado.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9926

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9926. 'And his voice will be heard' means the inflow of truth among those in heaven and those on earth. This is clear from the meaning of 'being heard' as reception and perception, dealt with in 5017, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 9311, and therefore also an inflowing, since things that are received and perceived must flow in; and from the meaning of 'voice' - when Aaron, who represents the Lord, is the subject - as Divine Truth, dealt with in 8813. For 'voice' means the declaration of that truth; and because the declaration is meant, truth among those in heaven and those on earth is meant. Divine Truth fills all things of heaven, and composes all things of the Church. Such declaration was represented by the 'voice' or sound made by the bells of gold when Aaron 'went into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he came out', as stated by the words that immediately follow in the present verse.

[2] The fact that 'voice' in the Word means Divine Truth that is heard and perceived in heaven and on earth is clear from the following places: In David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is majestic; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah strikes as a flame of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve. But in His temple everyone says, Glory! Psalms 29:3-9.

The subject in this Psalm is the Divine Truth which destroys falsities and evils. This Divine Truth is meant by 'the voice of Jehovah', but by 'Glory' that is uttered is meant Divine Truth present in heaven and in the Church. For the meaning of 'glory' as Divine Truth, see 9429; and for that of 'temple' as heaven and the Church, 3720.

[3] In John,

He who is the Shepherd of the sheep, to him the gate-keeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice. The sheep follow Him, because they know His voice. A stranger they do not follow, because they do not know the voice of strangers. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice. But you are not of My sheep, for My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:2-5, 16, 26-27.

Here it is plainly evident that 'voice' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which is the Word, 'the voice of strangers' being falsity.

[4] In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. For the glory of Jehovah will be revealed. The voice says, Cry! Get up on to the high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings. Lift it up; [say,] Behold, the Lord Jehovih comes with might. Isaiah 40:3, 5-6, 9-10; John 1:23.

'The voice' here means the declaration from the Word, telling about the Lord's Coming, and therefore also means Divine Truth, which the Word tells. 'The wilderness' is the state of the Church then, which is so to speak in the wilderness because the Word is no longer understood. 'The glory' which will be revealed is the Word on its more internal levels, for which meaning of 'glory' see 9429. 'Jehovah' for whom the way should be prepared, and 'the Lord Jehovih' who is to come in might, is plainly the Lord, for this is what it clearly says.

[5] In Isaiah,

The voice of your watchmen, they will lift up [their] voice, when they see eye to eye that Jehovah returns to Zion. Isaiah 52:8.

'Watchmen' stands for those who search the Scriptures regarding the Lord's Coming. Their 'voice' is the Word, which is Divine Truth, their source. In Jeremiah,

He who makes the earth, by His intelligence He spreads out the heavens; when He utters His voice, 1 there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. Jeremiah 10:12-13; 51:15-16.

'Voice' stands for Divine Truth, 'waters' for truths which are in the heavens and come from the heavens (for the meaning of 'waters' in the Word as truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323), as also in the Book of Revelation,

[6] ... the voice of the Son of Man as the sound of many waters. Revelation 1:15. I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters. Revelation 14:2.

And in David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon great waters. Psalms 29:3.

In Joel,

Jehovah uttered His voice before His army; for those who execute His Word are uncountable. Joel 2:11.

Here also 'voice' stands for Divine Truth, as does 'the Word' which they execute. In the same prophet,

Jehovah from Jerusalem will give forth His voice, that the heavens and the earth may be shaken. Joel 3:16.

In David,

O kingdoms of the earth, make melody to the Lord who rides above the heaven of the heaven of old. Behold, He will utter His voice, a mighty voice. 2 Psalms 68:32-33.

In John,

I say to you, that the hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25.

Here, it is evident, 'the voice' means Divine Truth and therefore the Word of the Lord.

[7] In Ezekiel,

The Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice 3 of a great earthquake, Blessed is the glory of Jehovah. And [I heard] the voice 3 of the wings of the living creatures, and the voice 3 of the wheels, and the voice 3 of the great earthquake. Ezekiel 3:12-13.

And after this,

The voice 3 of the wings of the cherubs was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Shaddai when He speaks. Ezekiel 10:5.

Here also 'the voice' is Divine Truth, for by 'the cherubs' is meant the Lord's providence and watchfulness, guarding against access to Himself, or into heaven, except through the good of love, 9277 (end), 9509. 'The voice of the wings' and 'the voice of the wheels' are spiritual truths.

[8] In the present verse, in which Aaron is the subject, the sound or ring from the bells is what 'the voice' refers to. There are also places in the Word in which the sounds or blasts from trumpets, or else the sounds or peals of thunder, are called 'voices', and by these in like manner Divine Truths are meant, see 7573. Furthermore the sounds made by different types of musical instruments have a similar meaning, though those producing separate vibrating notes mean Divine Truths that are spiritual, whereas those producing notes continuing one into the next mean Divine Truths that are celestial, 418-420, 4138, 8337. From this it is evident that by the sounds or 'the voices' of the bells Divine Truths that are spiritual are meant; for Aaron's garments, and in particular the robe, which had the bells on its hem round about, represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom or heaven, 9814, 9825.

Footnotes:

1. literally, at [His] voice which He gives [forth]

2. literally, He will give in voice a voice of might

3. i.e. the noise

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