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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 #8882

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8882. 'You shall not take the name of your God in vain' means instances in which the truth or the good of faith is profaned or blasphemed. This is clear from the meaning of 'the name of God' as everything in its entirety with which the Lord is worshipped, thus every truth or good of faith, dealt with in 2724, 3006, 6674; and from the meaning of 'taking in vain' as profaning and blaspheming. To be precise 'taking God's name in vain' means turning what is true into what is bad, that is, believing it to be true and yet living a bad life. It is also turning what is good into what is false, that is, living in a holy manner and yet not believing. Both are forms of profanation, 4601. Belief belongs to the understanding and life to the will; consequently thought and will in people whose belief is out of keeping with their life are divided. But the will is entering constantly into the understanding, for the understanding is the outward form assumed by the will, that is, the will brings itself to light there. This being so, when a person thinks in one way and lives in another, truth and evil or goodness and falsity are combined with each other; that is, things of heaven with a person are combined with those of hell. This combination cannot be dissolved, and so the person cannot be healed, except by a tearing apart which takes away with it everything of spiritual life. Therefore people who are like this are sent to the most horrible hell of all, where they suffer dreadful torments.

[2] This is how the Lord's words in Matthew should be understood,

Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven people. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Matthew 12:31-32.

Also by these words in Luke,

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person he passes through dry places seeking rest - and if he does not find any he says, I will return to my house out of which I came. And if when he comes he finds it swept and decorated, he goes away and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the last things of the person become worse than the first. Luke 11:24-26.

[3] By these words the Lord is describing the profanation of truth. 'When the unclean spirit goes out' is used to mean acknowledgement of and real belief in truth, 'the house which has been swept' to mean a life contrary to truths, and 'his coming back with seven others' to mean a state of profanation. These are the things which are meant by 'taking God's name in vain'. The fact that the person cannot be healed from such a condition and so receive forgiveness is also meant by the words following immediately after - 'Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain' - which are used to mean that this thing cannot be forgiven. For more about what profanation is and with whom it exists, see 593, 1003, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 6348, 6595, 6960, 6963, 6971, 8394

[4] 'Taking God's name in vain' also means blasphemy, which takes place when fun is poked at those things which belong to the Word or to religious teachings and belief, thus which are holy, and they are dragged through the mud and thereby defiled, dealt with in 4050, 5390. But in respect of the Israelite nation, which did not acknowledge any good or truth of faith meant by 'God's name', their use of Jehovah's name, and also of the commandments and statutes they were commanded, in the worship of idols is meant by 'taking God's name in vain'. It was what they did in the wilderness when they worshipped the golden calf; they not only presented it burnt offerings and sacrifices, and ate of consecrated elements from them, but also called the day of that celebration 'a feast to Jehovah'. This is recorded in Moses as follows,

Aaron made out of the gold a molded calf, and they said, These are your gods, O Israel. who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt. When Aaron saw it he built an altar in front of it, and made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. Therefore they rose up in the morning of the next day and presented burnt offerings and brought eucharistic offerings. Exodus 32:4-6.

Jehovah's words at the time, concerning those who had taken the name of Jehovah God in vain by doing all this, make it clear that they could not be forgiven, meant by their not being rendered innocent. Those words spoken to Moses are,

Him who has sinned against Me I will blot out of My book. All the same, go, lead this people to the place of which I have spoken to you. But on the day of My visitation, I will visit them for their sin. Exodus 32:33-34.

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