The Bible

 

1 Mosebok 11

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1 Och hela jorden hade enahanda tungomål och talade på enahanda sätt.

2 Men när de bröto upp och drogo österut, funno de en lågslätt i Sinears land och bosatte sig där.

3 Och de sade till varandra: »Kom, låt oss slå tegel och bränna det.» Och teglet begagnade de såsom sten, och såsom murbruk begagnade de jordbeck.

4 Och de sade: »Kom, låt oss bygga en stad åt oss och ett torn vars spets räcker upp i himmelen, och så göra oss ett namn; vi kunde eljest bliva kringspridda över hela jorden

5 Då steg HERREN ned för att se staden och tornet som människobarnen byggde.

6 Och HERREN sade: »Se, de äro ett enda folk och hava alla enahanda tungomål, och detta är deras första tilltag; härefter skall intet bliva dem omöjligt, vad de än besluta att göra.

7 Välan, låt oss stiga dit ned och förbistra deras tungomål, så att den ene icke förstår den andres tungomål.»

8 Och så spridde HERREN dem därifrån ut över hela jorden, så att de måste upphöra att byggastaden.

9 Därav fick den namnet Babel, eftersom HERREN där förbistrade hela jordens tungomål; därifrån spridde ock HERREN ut dem över hela jorden.

10 Detta är berättelsen om Sems släkt. När Sem var hundra år gammal, födde han Arpaksad, två år efter floden.

11 Och sedan Sem hade fött Arpaksad, levde han fem hundra år och födde söner och döttrar.

12 När Arpaksad var trettiofem år gammal, födde han Sela.

13 Och sedan Arpaksad hade fött Sela, levde han fyra hundra tre år och födde söner och döttrar.

14 När Sela var trettio år gammal, födde han Eber.

15 Och sedan Sela hade fött Eber, levde han fyra hundra tre år och födde söner och döttrar.

16 När Eber var trettiofyra år gammal, födde han Peleg.

17 Och sedan Eber hade fött Peleg, levde han fyra hundra trettio år och födde söner och döttrar.

18 När Peleg var trettio år gammal, födde han Regu.

19 Och sedan Peleg hade fött Regu, levde han två hundra nio år och födde söner och döttrar.

20 När Regu var trettiotvå år gammal, födde han Serug.

21 Och sedan Regu hade fött Serug, levde han två hundra sju år och födde söner och döttrar.

22 När Serug var trettio år gammal, födde han Nahor.

23 Och sedan Serug hade fött Nahor, levde han två hundra år och födde söner och döttrar.

24 När Nahor var tjugunio år gammal, födde han Tera.

25 Och sedan Nahor hade fött Tera, levde han ett hundra nitton år och födde söner och döttrar.

26 När Tera var sjuttio år gammal, födde han Abram, Nahor och Haran.

27 Och detta är berättelsen om Teras släkt. Tera födde Abram, Nahor och Haran. Och Haran födde Lot.

28 Och Haran dog hos sin fader Tera i sitt fädernesland, i det kaldeiska Ur.

29 Och Abram och Nahor togo sig hustrur; Abrams hustru hette Sarai, och Nahors hustru hette Milka, dotter till Haran, som var fader till Milka och Jiska.

30 Men Sarai var ofruktsam och hade inga barn.

31 Och Tera tog med sig sin son Abram och sin sonson Lot, Harans son, och sin sonhustru Sarai, som var hans son Abrams hustru; och de drogo tillsammans ut från det kaldeiska Ur på väg till Kanaans land; men när de kommo till Haran, bosatte de sig där.

32 Och Teras ålder blev två hundra fem år; därefter dog Tera i Haran.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1317

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1317. And this is what they begin to do. That this signifies that now they began to become different, is evident from the connection. To “begin to do,” here signifies their thought or intention, and consequently their end, as also is evident from the words that next follow, “and now nothing will be withholden from them of all which they have thought to do.” That in the internal sense their end is signified, is because nothing else than the end in a man is regarded by the Lord. Whatever may be his thoughts and deeds-which vary in ways innumerable-provided the end is made good, they are all good; whereas if the end is evil, they are all evil. It is the end that reigns in everything a man thinks and does. The angels with a man, being the Lord’s angels, rule nothing in the man but his ends; for when they rule these, they rule also his thoughts and actions, seeing that all these are of the end. The end with a man is his very life; and all things that he thinks and does have life from the end, for, as was said, they are of the end; and therefore such as is the end, such is the man’s life. The end is nothing else than the love; for a man cannot have anything as an end except that which he loves. He who thinks one thing and does another, still has as the end that which he loves; in the dissimulation itself, or in the deceit, there is the end, which is the love of self or the love of the world, and the derivative delight of his life. From these considerations anyone may conclude that such as is a man’s love, such is his life. These therefore are the things signified by “beginning to do.”

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 11

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1 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

2 It happened, as they traveled east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.

3 They said one to another, "Come, let's make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

4 They said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let's make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth."

5 Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.

6 Yahweh said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.

7 Come, let's go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.

9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.

10 This is the history of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood.

11 Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah.

13 Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber:

15 and Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg.

17 Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu.

19 Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug.

21 Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor.

23 Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah.

25 Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot.

28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran who was also the father of Iscah.

30 Sarai was barren. She had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife. They went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.

32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.