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Daniel 9

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1 Nang unang taon ni Dario na anak ni Assuero, sa lahi ng mga taga Media, na ginawang hari sa kaharian ng mga taga Caldea;

2 Nang unang taon ng kaniyang paghahari akong si Daniel ay nakaunawa sa pamamagitan ng mga aklat, ng bilang ng mga taon, na sinalita ng Panginoon kay Jeremias na propeta, dahil sa pagkaganap ng pagkasira ng Jerusalem, pitong pung taon.

3 At aking itiningin ang aking mukha sa Panginoong Dios upang humanap sa pamamagitan ng panalangin at ng mga samo, ng pagaayuno, at pananamit ng magaspang, at ng mga abo.

4 At ako'y nanalangin sa Panginoon kong Dios, at ako'y nagpahayag ng kasalanan, at nagsabi, Oh Panginoon, Dios na dakila at kakilakilabot, na nagiingat ng tipan at kaawaan sa nagsisiibig sa iyo at nangagiingat ng iyong mga utos,

5 Kami ay nangagkasala, at nangagasal ng kasuwalian, at nagsigawang may kasamaan, at nanganghimagsik, sa makatuwid baga'y nagsitalikod sa iyong mga utos at sa iyong mga kahatulan;

6 Na hindi man kami nangakinig sa iyong mga lingkod na mga propeta, na nangagsalita sa iyong pangalan sa aming mga hari, sa aming mga prinsipe, at sa aming mga magulang, at sa buong bayan ng lupain.

7 Oh Panginoon, katuwira'y ukol sa iyo, nguni't sa amin ay pagkagulo ng mukha gaya sa araw na ito; sa mga tao ng Juda, at sa mga nananahan sa Jerusalem, at sa buong Israel, na malapit, at malayo, sa lahat na lupain na iyong pinagtabuyan dahil sa kanilang pagsalangsang na kanilang isinalangsang laban sa iyo.

8 Oh Panginoon, sa amin nauukol ang pagkagulo ng mukha, sa aming mga hari, sa aming mga prinsipe, at sa aming mga magulang, sapagka't kami ay nangagkasala laban sa iyo.

9 Sa Panginoon naming Dios ukol ang kaawaan at kapatawaran; sapagka't kami ay nanganghimagsik laban sa kaniya;

10 Ni hindi man namin tinalima ang tinig ng Panginoon naming Dios, upang lumakad ng ayon sa kaniyang mga kautusan, na kaniyang inilagay sa harap namin sa pamamagitan ng kaniyang mga lingkod na propeta.

11 Oo, buong Israel ay sumalangsang ng iyong kautusan, sa pagtalikod, upang huwag nilang talimahin ang iyong tinig: kaya't ang sumpa ay nabuhos sa amin, at ang sumpa na nakasulat sa kautusan ni Moises na lingkod ng Dios; sapagka't kami ay nangagkasala laban sa kaniya.

12 At kaniyang pinagtibay ang kaniyang mga salita, na kaniyang sinalita laban sa amin, at laban sa aming mga hukom na nagsihatol sa amin, sa pagbabagsak sa amin ng malaking kasamaan; sapagka't sa silong ng buong langit ay hindi ginawa ang gaya ng ginawa sa Jerusalem.

13 Kung ano ang nasusulat sa kautusan ni Moises, lahat ng kasamaang ito'y nagsidating sa amin: gayon ma'y hindi namin idinalangin ang biyaya ng Panginoon naming Dios, upang aming talikuran ang aming mga kasamaan, at gunitain ang iyong katotohanan.

14 Kaya't iniingatan ng Panginoon ang kasamaan, at ibinagsak sa amin; sapagka't ang Panginoon naming Dios ay matuwid sa lahat ng kaniyang mga gawa na kaniyang ginagawa, at hindi namin dininig ang kaniyang tinig.

15 At ngayon, Oh Panginoon naming Dios, na naglabas ng iyong bayan mula sa lupain ng Egipto sa pamamagitan ng makapangyarihang kamay, at ikaw ay nabantog gaya sa araw na ito; kami ay nangagkasala, kami ay nagsigawa na may kasamaan.

16 Oh Panginoon, ayon sa iyong buong katuwiran, isinasamo ko sa iyo, na ang iyong galit at kapusukan ay mahiwalay sa iyong bayang Jerusalem, na iyong banal na bundok; sapagka't dahil sa aming mga kasalanan, at dahil sa mga kasamaan ng aming mga magulang, ang Jerusalem at ang iyong bayan ay naging kakutyaan sa lahat na nangasa palibot namin.

17 Kaya nga, Oh aming Dios, iyong dinggin ang panalangin ng iyong lingkod, at ang kaniyang mga samo, at paliwanagin mo ang iyong mukha sa iyong santuario na sira, alangalang sa Panginoon.

18 Oh Dios ko, ikiling mo ang iyong tainga, at iyong dinggin; idilat mo ang iyong mga mata, at masdan mo ang aming mga kasiraan, at ang bayan na tinatawag sa iyong pangalan: sapagka't hindi namin inihaharap ang aming mga samo sa harap mo dahil sa aming mga katuwiran, kundi dahil sa iyong dakilang mga kaawaan.

19 Oh Panginoon, dinggin mo; Oh Panginoon, patawarin mo; Oh Panginoon, iyong pakinggan at gawin; huwag mong ipagpaliban, alangalang sa iyong sarili, Oh Dios ko, sapagka't ang iyong bayan at ang iyong mga tao ay tinatawag sa iyong pangalan.

20 At samantalang ako'y nagsasalita, at nananalangin, at nagpapahayag ng aking kasalanan at ng kasalanan ng aking bayang Israel, at naghaharap ng aking samo sa harap ng Panginoon kong Dios dahil sa banal na bundok ng aking Dios;

21 Oo, samantalang ako'y nagsasalita sa panalangin, ang lalaking si Gabriel, na aking nakita sa pangitain nang una, na pinalipad ng maliksi, hinipo ako sa panahon ng pagaalay sa hapon.

22 At kaniya akong tinuruan, at nakipagsalitaan sa akin, at nagsabi, Oh Daniel, ako'y lumabas ngayon upang bigyan ka ng karunungan at kaunawaan.

23 Sa pasimula ng iyong mga samo ay lumabas ang utos, at ako'y naparito upang saysayin sa iyo; sapagka't ikaw ay totoong minahal: kaya't gunitain mo ang bagay, at unawain mo ang pangitain.

24 Pitong pung sanglinggo ang ipinasiya sa iyong mga tao at sa iyong banal na bayan, upang tapusin ang pagsalangsang, at upang wakasan ang pagkakasala, at upang linisin sa kasamaan, at upang dalhan ng walang hanggang katuwiran, at upang tatakan ang pangitain at ang panghuhula, at upang pahiran ang kabanalbanalan.

25 Iyo ngang talastasin at bulayin, na mula sa paglabas ng utos na isauli at itayo ang Jerusalem sa pinahiran na prinsipe, magiging pitong sanglinggo, at anim na pu't dalawang sanglinggo: ito'y matatayo uli, na may lansangan at kuta, sa makatuwid baga'y sa mga panahong mabagabag.

26 At pagkatapos ng anim na pu't dalawang sanglinggo, mahihiwalay ang pinahiran, at mawawalaan ng anoman: at gigibain ang bayan at ang santuario ng mga tao ng prinsipeng darating; at ang wakas niyaon ay sa pamamagitan ng baha, at hanggang sa wakas ay magkakaroon ng digma; mga pagkasira ay ipinasiya na.

27 At pagtitibayin niya ang tipan sa marami sa isang sanglinggo: at sa kalahati ng sanglinggo ay kaniyang ipatitigil ang hain at ang alay; at sa pakpak ng mga kasuklamsuklam ay paroroon ang isang maninira; at hanggang sa wakas, at pagkapasiya ay mabubuhos ang poot sa maninira.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #9715

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9715. 'From shittim wood' means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit, and righteousness, which are the Lord's alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486. What righteousness and merit are, which are the Lord's alone, must be stated here and now. People think that the Lord earned merit and righteousness because He fulfilled all the requirements of the law and by His passion on the Cross saved the human race. But this is not what anyone should understand in the Word by the Lord's merit and righteousness. Rather they should understand by His merit and righteousness that He fought alone against all the hells and overcame them, and in so doing He restored to order everything in the hells and at the same time everything in the heavens. For each person has spirits from hell present with him, and angels from heaven; without them a person cannot lead any life at all. Unless the hells had been overcome by the Lord and the heavens restored to order no one could ever have been saved.

[2] Salvation could not have been won except through His Human, that is to say, except through conflicts with the hells, fought from His Human. And since the Lord did this by His own power, thus did it alone, to the Lord alone belong merit and righteousness. And for the same reason it is He alone who still conquers the hells with a person; for He who conquers them once conquers them for evermore. No one therefore has any merit or righteousness whatever; yet the Lord's merit and righteousness are his when he acknowledges that none is attributable to himself but all to the Lord. So it is that the Lord alone regenerates a person; for regenerating a person involves driving the hells away from him, consequently the evils and falsities which come from the hells, and implanting heaven in place of them, that is, forms of the good of love and the truths of faith since these constitute heaven. Through the conflicts engaged in repeatedly with the hells the Lord also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine; for even as a person is regenerated by means of conflicts, which are temptations, so the Lord was glorified by means of conflicts, which were temptations. The glorification of the Lord's Human by His own power therefore is also merit and righteousness; for through this the person is saved because through it the Lord holds all the hells in subjection for evermore.

[3] The truth of all this is clear from places in the Word where the Lord's merit and righteousness are referred to, as in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozrah, marching in the vast numbers of His strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why are You red as to Your clothes, and Your clothes like his that treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. Therefore I have trodden them in My anger, and trodden them down in My fury. Consequently their blood 1 has been sprinkled on My clothes, and I have stained all My clothing. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My own fury sustained Me. And I trod down the peoples in My anger, and shed their blood onto the ground. 2 Therefore He became the Saviour. Isaiah 63:1-8.

These words, it is well known, have regard to the Lord. His conflicts with the hells are described by the references to spattered clothes, redness as to His clothes, clothes like his that treads in the winepress, and to the day of vengeance. His victories over the hells and His placing them in subjection are described by the statements that He trod them in His anger, as a consequence of which their blood was sprinkled on His clothes, and that He trod down the peoples in fury 3 and shed their blood onto the ground. The Lord's doing these things by His own power is described by the statements that He trod the winepress alone and from the peoples not a man was with Him; that He looked around but there was no helper, He wondered but there was no one to uphold; and that His own arm brought salvation to Him. Salvation coming as a result of all this is described by the statements that He was marching in the vast numbers of His strength, mighty to save; that the year of His redeemed had come; and that therefore He became their Saviour.

[4] The fact that all these things are aspects of righteousness is even more plainly evident elsewhere in the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. Consequently He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. He put on clothes of vengeance, and covered Himself with zeal as if with a cloak. Isaiah 59:16-17.

And in the same prophet,

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples. In Me the islands will hope, and on My arm they will trust. Isaiah 51:5.

'The arm' which brought salvation to Him and on which they will trust is His own power by which He placed the hells in subjection, 'arm' being power, see 4932, 7205. From this it is evident what righteousness is and what merit is, which are the Lord's alone.

[5] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

Who stirred up [One] from the East, [One] whom in righteousness He called to be His follower, gave the nations before Him, and caused Him to have dominion over kings? Isaiah 41:2.

In the same prophet,

I have caused My righteousness to draw near, it is not far off; My salvation will not delay. Isaiah 46:13.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah will clothe Me with the garments of salvation; with the robe of righteousness He has covered Me. Isaiah 61:10.

In David,

My mouth will tell of 4 Your righteousness, of Your salvation all the day; I cannot measure them. 5 I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Do not forsake me, until I have declared Your arm, Your power; for Your righteousness [reaches] all the way to the highest, O You who have done great things. Psalms 71:15-16, 18-19, 24.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will reign as King, and will prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16.

And in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to atone for iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness. 6 Daniel 9:24.

[6] The truth that righteousness and merit, which are the Lord's alone, consist in the Lord's subjection of the hells, His restoration of the heavens to order, and the glorification of His Human, and in the salvation that results from all this for the person who receives the Lord in love and faith, becomes clear from the places which have just been quoted. Yet people can have no understanding of this if they do not know that spirits from hell are present with a person and that from them evils and falsities come to him, and also that angels from heaven are present and that from them forms of good and truths come to him; if they do not know that a person's life is for this reason linked on one side to the hells and on the other to the heavens, that is, through the heavens to the Lord; and if they do not know that therefore no one could ever be saved unless the hells had been subdued and the heavens restored to order, and all things had accordingly been made subject to the Lord.

[7] From all this it may be seen why it should be that the good of merit that is the Lord's is the one and only good that reigns in the heavens, as stated above in 9486. For the good of merit now consists also in the everlasting subjection of the hells and the protection of true believers. This good is the good of the Lord's love; for it was from Divine Love that He engaged in conflict while in the world and was victorious. And it is from Divine Power in the Human acquired through that victory that, then and for evermore, on behalf of heaven and the Church and thus the entire human race, He fights alone, conquers, and so brings salvation. This then is the good of merit, which is called righteousness; for the work of righteousness consists in keeping the hells in check as they try to destroy the human race, and in protecting and saving those who are good and are true believers.

Regarding the Lord's conflicts or temptations when He was in the world, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1691 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2803, 2814, 2816, 4287, 7193, 8273.

The Lord fights alone for the human race against the hells, 1692 (end), 6574, 8159, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273, 8969.

Footnotes:

1. literally, victory

2. literally, caused their victory to go down into the earth

3. The Latin means anger.

4. literally, will enumerate

5. literally, do not know the numberings

6. The Latin word rendered righteousness is sometimes translated justice, as it is in at least one previous quotation of this verse.

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

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Arcana Coelestia #1690

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1690. That 'the rest fled to the mountain' means that it did not happen to all of them is clear without explanation from the fact that they had now become 'the rest', who fled away. The subject in the internal sense is the temptations which the Lord underwent in childhood, about which nothing is recorded in the New Testament Word. No temptations are recorded there apart from the temptation in the wilderness, or shortly after He came out of the wilderness, and the last temptation later on in Gethsemane and after that. The fact that the Lord's life from earliest childhood right through to the last hour of His life in the world consisted in constant temptation and constant victory is clear from many places in the Old Testament Word; and the fact that it did not end with His temptation in the wilderness is clear from the following in Luke,

After the devil had ended every temptation he departed from Him for a time. Luke 4:13, as well as from His undergoing temptations right through to His death on the Cross, and so to the last hour of His life in the world. From these considerations it is evident that the whole of the Lord's life in the world from earliest childhood consisted in constant temptation and constant victory. The last was when on the Cross He prayed for His enemies, and so for all people in the whole world.

[2] In the part of the Word where the Lord's life is described - in the Gospels - no other temptation, apart from the last, is mentioned than His temptation in the wilderness. More than this was not disclosed to the disciples; and the things which were disclosed seem in the sense of the letter so slight as to amount to scarcely anything at all. For the things that are said, and the replies that are given, do not seem to constitute any temptation at all; yet in fact His temptation in the wilderness was more severe than the human mind can possibly comprehend and believe. Nobody can know what temptation is except someone who has experienced it. The temptation that is recorded in Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13, incorporates in a summary form all temptations, namely this, that out of His love towards the whole human race He fought against self-love and love of the world, with which the hells were filled completely.

[3] All temptation is an attack against the love present in a person, the degree of temptation depending on the degree of that love. If love is not attacked there is no temptation. Destroying another person's love is destroying his very life, for his love is his life. The Lord's life was love towards the whole human race; indeed it was so great and of such a nature as to be nothing other than pure love. Against this life of His, temptations were directed constantly, and this was happening, as has been stated, from earliest childhood through to His last hour in the world. The love that was the Lord's very life is meant by His being hungry and by the devil's saying,

If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. And Jesus answered, It is written that man will not live by bread alone but by every word of God. Luke 4:2-4; Matthew 4:2-4.

[4] That He fought against love of the world, or against all that constitutes love of the world, is meant by the devil's taking Him on to a high mountain and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and saying,

To you I will give all this power and their glory, for it has been given to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship before me, it will all be yours. But answering him Jesus said, Get behind Me, satan! for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. Luke 4:5-8; Matthew 4:8-10.

[5] That He fought against self-love, and all that constitutes self-love, is meant by these words,

The devil took Him into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will give His angels charge regarding you, and on their hands they will bear you, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Matthew 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12.

Constant victory is meant by the statement that after temptation angels came and ministered to Him, Matthew 4:11; Mark 1:13.

[6] To sum up, the Lord was attacked by all the hells from earliest childhood right through to the last hour of His life in the world. The hells were constantly overpowered, subdued, and vanquished by Him; and this He did solely out of love towards the whole human race. And because this love was not human but Divine, and because the intensity of the love determines that of the temptation, it becomes clear how severe His conflicts were, and on the part of the hells how fierce. That all this was indeed the case I know for sure.

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