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Exodo 23

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1 Huwag kang magkakalat ng kasinungalingan: huwag kang makikipagkayari sa masama, na maging saksi kang sinungaling.

2 Huwag kang susunod sa karamihan na gumawa ng masama; ni magbibigay patotoo man sa isang usap, na ang kiling ay sa karamihan upang sirain ang kahatulan:

3 Ni huwag mo ring kikilingan ang dukha sa kaniyang usap.

4 Kung iyong masumpungan ang baka ng iyong kaalit o ang kaniyang asno, na nakawala, ay tunay na ibabalik mo sa kaniya.

5 Kung iyong makita ang asno ng napopoot sa iyo, na nakalugmok sa ilalim ng kaniyang pasan, at ayaw mo mang alisan ng pasan, ay walang pagsalang iyong tutulungan pati ng may-ari niyaon.

6 Huwag mong sisirain ang kahatulan ng iyong dukha, sa kaniyang usap.

7 Layuan mo ang bagay na kasinungalingan, at ang walang sala at ang matuwid, ay huwag mong papatayin: sapagka't hindi ko patototohanan ang masama.

8 At huwag kang tatanggap ng suhol: sapagka't ang suhol ay bumubulag sa mga may paningin, at sinisira ang mga salita ng mga banal.

9 At ang taga ibang lupa ay huwag mong pipighatiin sapagka't talastas ninyo ang puso ng taga ibang lupa, yamang kayo'y naging mga taga ibang lupa, sa lupain ng Egipto.

10 Anim na taong hahasikan mo ang iyong lupa at aanihin mo ang bunga niyaon:

11 Datapuwa't sa ikapitong taon ay iyong iiwan at babayaan, upang kumain ang dukha sa iyong bayan: at ang kanilang iwan ay kakanin ng hayop sa bukid. Gayon din ang iyong gagawin sa iyong ubasan at sa iyong olibohan.

12 Anim na araw, na iyong gagawin ang iyong gawain, at sa ikapitong araw, ay magpapahinga ka: upang ang iyong baka at ang iyong asno ay makapagpahinga; at ang anak na lalake ng iyong aliping babae, at ang taga ibang lupa ay makapagpahinga.

13 At lahat ng mga bagay na aking sinabi sa inyo ay inyong ingatan: at huwag ninyong banggitin ang pangalan ng ibang dios, o marinig man sa inyong bibig.

14 Makaitlong magdidiwang ka ng pista sa akin, sa bawa't taon.

15 Ang pista ng tinapay na walang lebadura ay iyong ipagdidiwang; pitong araw na kakain ka ng tinapay na walang lebadura, gaya ng iniutos ko sa iyo, sa takdang panahon, sa buwan ng Abib (sapagka't niyaon ka umalis sa Egipto); at walang lalapit sa harap ko na walang dala:

16 At ang pista ng pagaani ng mga unang bunga ng iyong kapagalan, na iyong inihasik sa bukid: at ang pista ng pagaani, sa katapusan ng taon, nang pagaani mo ng iyong kapagalan sa bukid.

17 Makaitlo sa bawa't taon na ang lahat na iyong mga lalake ay haharap sa Panginoong Dios.

18 Huwag mong ihahandog ang dugo ng hain sa akin, na kasabay ng tinapay na may lebadura; o iiwan mo man ang taba ng aking pista sa buong magdamag hanggang sa kinaumagahan.

19 Ang mga pinakauna ng mga unang bunga ng iyong lupa ay iyong ipapasok sa bahay ng Panginoon mong Dios. Huwag mong lulutuin ang batang kambing sa gatas ng kaniyang ina.

20 Narito, aking sinusugo ang isang anghel sa unahan mo, upang ingatan ka sa daan, at upang dalhin ka sa dakong aking inihanda sa iyo.

21 Magingat kayo sa kaniya, at dinggin ninyo ang kaniyang tinig; huwag ninyong mungkahiin siya: sapagka't hindi niya patatawarin ang inyong pagsalangsang; sapagka't ang aking pangalan ay nasa kaniya.

22 Datapuwa't kung didinggin mong lubos ang kaniyang tinig, at gagawin mo ang lahat ng aking sinasalita; ay magiging kaaway nga ako ng iyong mga kaaway, kaalit ng iyong mga kaalit.

23 Sapagka't ang aking anghel ay magpapauna sa iyo at dadalhin ka sa Amorrheo, at sa Hetheo at sa Perezeo, at sa Cananeo, at sa Heveo, at sa Jebuseo, at aking lilipulin.

24 Huwag kang yuyukod sa kanilang mga dios, o maglilingkod man sa mga yaon, o gagawa man ng ayon sa kanilang mga gawa, kundi iyong iwawaksi at iyong pagpuputulputulin ang kanilang mga haligi na pinakaalaala.

25 At inyong paglilingkuran ang Panginoon ninyong Dios, at kaniyang babasbasan ang iyong tinapay at ang iyong tubig; at aking aalisin ang sakit sa gitna mo.

26 Walang babaing makukunan, o magiging baog man, sa iyong lupain: ang bilang ng iyong mga araw ay aking lulubusin.

27 Aking susuguin ang sindak sa unahan mo, at aking liligaligin ang buong bayan na iyong paroroonan, at aking patatalikurin sa iyo ang lahat ng iyong mga kaaway.

28 At aking susuguin ang mga putakti sa unahan mo, na magpapalayas sa Heveo, sa Cananeo at sa Hetheo, sa harap mo.

29 Hindi ko palalayasin sila sa harap mo sa isang taon; baka ang lupa'y maging ilang, at ang mga ganid sa parang ay magsidami laban sa iyo.

30 Untiunting aking palalayasin sila sa harap mo, hanggang sa ikaw ay kumapal at manahin mo ang lupain.

31 At aking itatatag ang iyong hangganan na mula sa Dagat na Mapula hanggang sa dagat ng Filistia at mula sa ilang hanggang sa Ilog ng Eufrates: sapagka't aking ibibigay ang mga nananahan sa lupain sa iyong kamay, at iyo silang palalayasin sa harap mo.

32 Huwag kang makikipagtipan sa kanila, ni sa kanilang mga dios.

33 Sila'y hindi tatahan sa iyong lupain, baka papagkasalahin ka nila laban sa akin: sapagka't kung ikaw ay maglingkod sa kanilang mga dios, ay tunay na magiging silo sa iyo.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9320

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9320. 'For you shall utterly destroy them' means that evils must be completely removed. This is clear from the meaning of 'destroying' - when it has reference to evils and falsities, meant by the nations of the land of Canaan and their gods - as removing. The reason why 'destroying' means removing is that those governed by goodness and truth never destroy those ruled by evil and falsity, but merely move them away. This they do because good, not evil, governs their actions, and good comes from the Lord, who never destroys anyone. Those ruled by evil however and consequently by falsity try to destroy, and so far as they can they do destroy those governed by good. This they do because evil rules their actions. But since, when they try to do so, they make their attack on good which comes from the Lord, thus on what is of God, they destroy themselves, that is, they hurl themselves into damnation and into hell. Such is the law of order. And why it is such, see 4299, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989, 8137, 8146, 8265, 8945, 8946.

[2] The reason why the Israelites and Jews were to destroy the nations of the land of Canaan was that they themselves represented spiritual and heavenly realities, while the nations represented hellish and devilish things, which can never exist together with those realities since they are opposites. The reason why they were allowed to destroy the nations was that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church, so that the Lord was not present among them either except through things of a representative nature, 4307. For they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substances, that is, in the worship that represented goodness and truth but not goodness and truth themselves. People like this are allowed to destroy, kill, and consign to slaughter and complete destruction. But people who are interested in outward forms and at the same time in their inner substance are not allowed to do those things, since their actions must be governed by good, and good comes from the Lord.

[3] The fact that the Jews and Israelites were such is declared explicitly by Moses,

Do not say in your heart, when Jehovah your God has thrust out the nations before you, Because of my righteousness Jehovah has brought me in to possess this land. It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart; for you are a stiff-necked people. Deuteronomy 9:4-6.

And elsewhere,

They are a nation from whom counsel has perished, nor is there intelligence in them. From the vine of Sodom comes their vine, and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison, they have clusters of bitterness. The poison of snakes (draco) is their wine, and the cruel poison of asps. Is not this hidden away with Me, sealed up in My treasuries? Deuteronomy 32:28, 32-34.

'The vine' in the internal sense means the Church, 1069, 5113, 6375, 6376, 9277; 'grapes' and 'clusters' mean the internal forms and the external forms of that Church's good, 1071, 5117, 6378; and 'wine' means that Church's internal truth, 1071, 1798, 6377. From this one may see what is meant by the assertions that their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah, that their grapes are grapes of poison and clusters of bitterness, and that their wine is the poison of snakes and the cruel poison of asps. The fact that all this was known to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, is meant by the remarks about its being hidden away with Him and sealed up in His treasuries.

[4] In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, 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. John 8:44.

This is why they are called a wicked and adulterous generation, Matthew 12:39, as well as a brood of vipers, Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7. That they were like this is also described by the Lord in His parables in Matthew 21:33-45; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 14:16-24; 20:9ff.

Regarding that nation, that it was the worst nation; that in their worship they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substance; that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church; but that nevertheless they were able to represent the internal realities of the Church, see 3398, 3479, 3480, 3732 (end), 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288-4290, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4429, 4433, 4444, 4500, 4503, 4680, 4815, 4818, 4820, 4825, 4832, 4837, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4899, 4903, 4911-4913, 5057, 5998, 6304, 6832, 6877, 7048, 7051, 7248, 7401, 7439, 8301, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8814, 8819, 8871, 8882, 9284.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4288

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4288. These same verses which have been explained so far also have regard to the Jewish and Israelitish nation which is called 'Jacob' in the Word, as stated and shown above in 4279. In the sense which is being called the internal historical the words 'Let me go, for the dawn is coming up' mean that the genuine representative role would depart from the descendants of Jacob before they entered into the representatives connected with the land of Canaan. The nature of that nation has been shown above, namely that among them no internal worship existed, only external worship; that is to say, they had become cut off from the heavenly marriage, and therefore no Church could be established among that nation, only that which was a representative of the Church, see 4281.

[2] But one must know what a representative Church is and what a representative of the Church is. A representative Church exists when internal worship is present within external, but a representative of the Church when no internal worship exists even though external does so. In both cases they observe very similar external practices, that is to say, they follow similar ordinances, laws, and commands. But in the representative Church external things correspond to internal so that they make one, whereas in a representative of the Church that correspondence does not exist because external things are either devoid of internal or else at variance with them. In the representative Church celestial and spiritual love is supreme, but in a representative of the Church bodily and worldly love is supreme. Celestial and spiritual love constitutes the internal itself, but when no celestial or spiritual love exists, only bodily and worldly, that which is external devoid of what is internal exists. The Ancient Church which existed after the Flood was a representative Church, but that which was established among the descendants of Jacob was merely a representative of the Church. But to make the difference between the two quite plain, let it be illustrated by examples.

[3] In the representative Church Divine worship took place on mountains because 'mountains' meant celestial love, and in the highest sense the Lord, 795, 1430, 2722, 4210; and when they held worship on mountains they were in their own holy place because they were at the same time abiding in celestial love. In the representative Church Divine worship also took place in groves because 'groves' meant spiritual love, and in the highest sense the Lord in regard to that love, 2722; and when they held worship in groves they were in their own holy place because they were at the same time abiding in spiritual love. When they held Divine worship in the representative Church they used to turn their faces towards the rising of the sun because 'the rising sun' too meant celestial love, 101, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643. And when they looked up at the moon they were again filled with holy reverence because 'the moon' meant spiritual love, 1529-1531, 2495, 4060. And the same applied when they looked up at the starry sky because this meant the angelic heaven or the Lord's kingdom. In the representative Church they had tents or tabernacles in which they held Divine worship, and this was holy worship because 'tents' or 'tabernacles' means the holiness of love and of worship, 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312. And countless other examples could be mentioned.

[4] In the representative of the Church Divine worship did indeed take place at first on mountains and also in groves. The practice also existed then of turning to face the rising of the sun, as well as that of beholding the moon and the stars. There was likewise worship in tents or tabernacles. But because their external worship was devoid of internal - that is, they were governed by bodily and worldly love and not by celestial and spiritual, and so worshipped the actual mountains or groves, and also the sun, moon, and stars, as well as their tents or tabernacles - those practices, which had been holy in the Ancient Church, were now made idolatrous by those belonging to a representative of the Church. They were therefore restricted to the same place and practices for them all, that is to say, to the mountain on which Jerusalem and at length Zion stood, where from the temple they beheld the rising of the sun, and also to one tent for them all, called the tent of meeting, and ultimately to the ark in the temple. They were restricted to these things to the end that a representative of the Church might come into being when they practiced what was outwardly holy. Otherwise they would have rendered holy things unholy.

[5] From these examples one may see what the difference is between a representative Church and a representative of the Church. In general, one may see that members of the representative Church communicated with the three heavens, and that they did so in things of an interior kind, for which external ones could serve as the foundation on which they rested. But those who belonged to a representative of the Church did not communicate with heaven in things of an interior kind. Yet the external things to which those people were limited were nevertheless able to serve as the foundation for interior ones. The Lord's Providence in a miraculous manner enabled this to be so, for the reason that some kind of communication might be established between heaven and mankind through what was a semblance of the Church. For without any communication of heaven with mankind by means of some kind of Church the human race would perish. But what the communication is like when it takes place through external things devoid of any correspondence with internal ones cannot be stated briefly. In the Lord's Divine mercy a statement is to be made about this later on.

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