The Bible

 

Ezequiel 3

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1 Y me dijo: Hijo de hombre, come lo que hallares; come este rollo, y ve y habla a la Casa de Israel.

2 Y abrí mi boca, y me hizo comer aquel rollo.

3 Y me dijo: Hijo de hombre, haz a tu vientre que coma, y llena tus entrañas de este rollo que yo te doy. Y lo comí, y fue en mi boca dulce como miel.

4 Me dijo luego: Hijo de hombre, ve y entra a la casa de Israel, y habla a ellos con mis palabras.

5 Porque no eres enviado a pueblo de habla profunda ni de lengua difícil, sino a la casa de Israel.

6 No a muchos pueblos de profunda habla ni de lengua difícil, cuyas palabras no entiendas; y si a ellos te enviara, ellos te oirían.

7 Mas los de la Casa de Israel no te querrán oír, porque no me quieren oír a mí; porque toda la Casa de Israel son fuertes de frente, y duros de corazón.

8 He aquí he hecho yo tu rostro fuerte contra los rostros de ellos, y tu frente fuerte contra su frente.

9 Como diamante, más fuerte que pedernal he hecho tu frente; no les temas, ni tengas miedo delante de ellos, porque es casa rebelde.

10 Y me dijo: Hijo de hombre, toma en tu corazón todas mis palabras que yo te hablaré, y oye con tus oídos.

11 Y ve, y entra a los cautivos, a los hijos de tu pueblo, y les hablarás y les dirás: Así dijo el Señor DIOS; no oirán, ni cesarán.

12 Y el Espíritu me levantó, y oí detrás de mí una voz de gran estruendo de la bendita gloria del SEÑOR que se iba de su lugar,

13 y el sonido de las alas de los animales que se juntaban la una con la otra, y el sonido de las ruedas delante de ellos, y sonido de gran estruendo.

14 Y el Espíritu me levantó, y me tomó; y fui en amargura, en la indignación de mi espíritu, pero la mano del SEÑOR era fuerte sobre mí.

15 Y vine a los cautivos en Tel-abib, que moraban junto al río de Quebar, y me senté donde ellos estaban sentados, y allí permanecí siete días desconsolado entre ellos.

16 Y aconteció que al cabo de los siete días vino a mí palabra del SEÑOR, diciendo:

17 Hijo de hombre, yo te he puesto por atalaya a la Casa de Israel. Oirás, pues, tú la palabra de mi boca, y los amonestarás de mi parte.

18 Cuando yo dijere al impío: De cierto morirás, y tú no le amonestares, ni le hablares, para que el impío sea amonestado de su mal camino, para que viva, el impío morirá por su maldad, mas su sangre demandaré de tu mano.

19 Y si tú amonestares al impío, y él no se convirtiere de su impiedad, y de su mal camino, él morirá por su maldad, y tú habrás librado tu alma.

20 Y cuando el justo se apartare de su justicia, e hiciere maldad, y yo pusiere tropiezo delante de él, él morirá, porque tú no le amonestaste; en su pecado morirá, ni sus justicias que hizo vendrán en memoria; mas su sangre demandaré de tu mano.

21 Y si al justo amonestares para que el justo no peque, y no pecare, de cierto vivirá, porque fue amonestado; y tú habrás librado tu alma.

22 Vino allí la mano del SEÑOR sobre mí, y me dijo: Levántate, y sal al campo, y allí hablaré contigo.

23 Y me levanté, y salí al campo; y he aquí que allí estaba la gloria del SEÑOR, como la gloria que había visto junto al río de Quebar; y caí sobre mi rostro.

24 Entonces entró espíritu en mí, y me afirmó sobre mis pies, y me habló, y me dijo: Entra, y enciérrate dentro de tu casa.

25 Y tú, oh hijo de hombre, he aquí que pondrán sobre ti cuerdas, y con ellas te ligarán, y no saldrás entre ellos.

26 Y haré que se pegue tu lengua a tu paladar, y estarás mudo, y para que no los reprendas, porque son casa rebelde.

27 Mas cuando yo te hubiere hablado, abriré tu boca, y les dirás: Así dijo el Señor DIOS: El que oye, oiga; y el que cesa, cese; porque casa rebelde son.

   

Commentary

 

Roll

  

'A volume' or 'roll,' as in Zechariah 5:2, signifies the curse going forth upon the faces of the whole earth. 'A roll of a book written within and without,' as in Ezekiel 2:9-10 and 3:1-3, signifies the state of the church and thus the quality of life of the people at that time.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 222)


From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6405

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6405. 'A troop will ravage him' means that works performed without judgement will dislodge him from a state of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a troop' as works, dealt with in 3934, here works performed without judgement, for those who perform works that are motivated by truth but not as yet by good have a darkened understanding, whereas those whose works are motivated by good have an enlightened understanding because that good gives it light (the light of truth from the Lord flows by way of good into the understanding part of the mind, then on into truth, but not directly into truth, much as sunlight flows by means of heat into members of the vegetable kingdom - such as trees, young plants, and flowers - and causes them to grow and blossom; the direct inflow of sunlight does not cause them to do so, for when light flows in without heat, as in wintertime, nothing grows or blossoms); and from the meaning of 'ravaging him' as dislodging him from a state of truth.

[2] But one must state who exactly those people are who are meant here by 'Gad'. They are those who suffer delusions regarding what is true and yet are led by their deluded view of it to perform works, so that these are not works of truth, much less of good. Through those works they are dislodged from a state of truth, for as soon as the person guided by truth but not as yet by good is moved on religious grounds to put some idea into practice, he then defends that idea as though it were the absolute truth. He sticks to it and does not allow it to be altered except insofar as he moves on into good. For by putting the idea into practice he becomes engrossed in it and enamoured with it. In this way works dislodge him from a state of truth. But quite apart from all this, he believes things to be true which are not so; for these people too, like those meant by 'Dan', judge a thing from their senses, thus without judgement. Let some examples shed light on the matter. Take a person who has the idea that one person is his neighbour in exactly the same way as any other and who for that reason does what is good in exactly the same way to the evil as to the good, and by doing good to the evil, he does harm to others. After he has put the idea into practice several times he then defends it, saying that everyone is his neighbour, and that he is not concerned with what a person is like, only with doing good to him. Thus his works are performed without judgement, and he also acts in ways contrary to the real truth, for the real truth is that all are one's neighbour but each is so in a different degree, and that those governed by good are pre-eminently one's neighbour, 2417, 3419, 3820, 5025.

[3] 'Gad' also means those who think that the whole of salvation rests in works alone, like the Pharisee to whom the Lord referred in His parable,

The Pharisee stood and prayed these words to himself, God, I thank You that I am not like all other people - extortioners, unjust ones, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice in a week; I give tithes of all that I possess. Luke 18:11-12.

Thus he thought that absolute truths consisted in external actions. People such as he are also in the Lord's kingdom, though only on the edge of it, which is why the Lord says,

I tell you, the tax collector went down to his house [more] justified than the other. Luke 18:14.

In saying this He implied that the Pharisee too went down justified, since he had performed works because of the command to do them. In short, 'Gad' represents those who declare that to be true which is not in fact so and who are motivated to perform works by what is not in fact the truth. Consequently their works and truths are alike, for works are nothing else than will and understanding expressed in action. What saves those people is their intention to do what is good and the presence of a measure of innocence within their ignorance.

[4] People motivated to perform works of an external nature by what they believe to be true but which is not in fact so are also meant by 'Gad' in Isaiah,

You who forsake Jehovah, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad, and who fill a drink-offering for Meni. Isaiah 65:11.

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'Setting a table for Gad' stands for an interest solely in works. And in Jeremiah,

Against the sons of Ammon. Thus said Jehovah, Israel, has he no heir? Why then does his king inherit God, and his people dwell in his cities? Jeremiah 49:1.

'Inheriting Gad' stands for leading a life in which works are motivated by what are not truths. 'The sons of Ammon' are people who falsify truths and lead lives in accordance with those falsified truths, 2468, and these things said about Gad in this prophet apply to them.

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