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Genesis 18

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1 At napakita ang Panginoon sa kaniya sa mga punong encina ni Mamre, habang siya'y nakaupo sa pintuan ng tolda, ng kainitan ng araw.

2 At itiningin ang kaniyang mga mata at nagmalas, at, narito't tatlong lalake ay nakatayo sa tabi niya: at pagkakita niya sa kanila, ay tinakbo niya upang sila'y salubungin mula sa pintuan ng tolda, at yumukod siya sa lupa.

3 At nagsabi, Panginoon ko, kung ngayo'y nakasumpong ako ng biyaya sa iyong paningin, ay ipinamamanhik ko sa iyo, na huwag mong lagpasan ang iyong lingkod.

4 Itulot mong dalhan kayo rito ng kaunting tubig, at maghugas kayo ng inyong mga paa, at mangagpahinga kayo sa lilim ng kahoy.

5 At magdadala ako ng isang subong tinapay at inyong palakasin ang inyong puso; at pagkatapos ay magsisipagtuloy kayo: yamang kayo'y naparito sa inyong lingkod, At nagsipagsabi, Mangyari ang ayon sa iyong sinabi.

6 At si Abraham ay nagmadaling napasa tolda ni Sara, at sinabi, Maghanda ka agad ng tatlong takal ng mainam na harina, iyong tapayin at gawin mong mga munting tinapay.

7 At tumakbo si Abraham sa bakahan at nagdala ng isang bata at mabuting guya, at ibinigay sa alipin; at siya'y nagmadali, upang lutuin.

8 At siya'y kumuha ng mantekilla, at ng gatas, at ng guyang niluto niya, at inihain sa harapan nila; at siya'y tumayo sa siping nila sa lilim ng punong kahoy; at sila'y nagsikain.

9 At sinabi nila sa kaniya, Saan naroon si Sara na iyong asawa? At sinabi niya Narito, nasa tolda.

10 At sinabi niya, Walang salang di ako babalik sa iyo sa ganitong panahon ng taong darating; at narito't si Sara na iyong asawa ay magkakaanak ng isang lalake. At narinig ni Sara sa pintuan ng tolda, na nasa likod niya.

11 Si Abraham at si Sara nga'y matatanda na, at lipas na sa panahon; at tinigilan na si Sara ng kaugalian ng mga babae.

12 At nagtawa si Sara sa kaniyang sarili, na sinasabi, Pagkatapos na ako'y tumanda ay magtatamo ako ng kaligayahan, at matanda na rin pati ng panginoon ko?

13 At sinabi ng Panginoon kay Abraham, Bakit tumawa si Sara, na sinasabi, Tunay kayang ako'y manganganak, na matanda na ako?

14 May anomang bagay kayang napakahirap sa Panginoon? Sa tadhanang panahon ay babalik ako sa iyo, sa taong darating, at si Sara ay magkakaanak ng isang lalake.

15 Nang magkagayo'y nagkaila si Sara, na sinasabi, Hindi ako tumawa, sapagka't siya'y natakot. Nguni't sinabi niya, Hindi gayon; kundi ikaw ay tumawa.

16 At nangagtindig doon ang mga lalake, at nangagsitingin sa dakong Sodoma; at sinamahan sila ni Abraham, upang ihatid sila sa daan.

17 At sinabi ng Panginoon, Ililihim ko ba kay Abraham ang aking gagawin;

18 Dangang si Abraham ay tunay na magiging isang bansang malaki at matibay, at pagpapalain sa kaniya ang lahat ng bansa sa lupa?

19 Sapagka't siya'y aking kinilala, upang siya'y magutos sa kaniyang mga anak at sa kaniyang sangbahayan pagkamatay niya, na maingatan nila ang daan ng Panginoon, na gumawa ng kabanalan, at kahatulan; upang padatnin ng Panginoon, kay Abraham ang kaniyang ipinangako tungkol sa kaniya.

20 At sinabi ng Panginoon, Sapagka't ang sigaw ng Sodoma at Gomorra ay malakas, at sapagka't ang kasalanan nila ay napakalubha;

21 Ay bababa ako ngayon at titingnan ko kung ginawa nga ang ayon sa sigaw na dumarating hanggang sa akin; at kung hindi ay aking malalaman.

22 At ang mga lalake ay nagsilayo roon at nagsitungo sa Sodoma datapuwa't si Abraham ay nakatayo pa sa harapan ng Panginoon.

23 At lumapit si Abraham, at nagsabi, Ang mga banal ba ay iyong lilipuling kasama ng mga masama?

24 Kung sakaling may limang pung banal sa loob ng bayan: lilipulin mo ba, at di mo patatawarin ang dakong yaon, alangalang sa limang pung banal na nasa loob niyaon?

25 Malayo nawa sa iyo ang paggawa ng ganito, na ang banal ay iyong pataying kasama ng masama, anopa't ang banal ay mapara sa masama; malayo nawa ito sa iyo: di ba gagawa ng matuwid ang Hukom ng buong lupa?

26 At sinabi ng Panginoon, Kung makasumpong ako sa Sodoma ng limang pung banal sa loob ng bayan, patatawarin ko ang buong dakong yaon, alangalang sa kanila.

27 At sumagot si Abraham, at nagsabi, Narito, ngayo'y nangahas akong magsalita sa Panginoon, akong alabok at abo lamang:

28 Kung sakaling magkukulang ng lima sa limang pung banal: lilipulin mo ba, dahil sa limang kulang, ang buong bayan? At sinabi niya, Hindi ko lilipulin kung makasumpong ako roon ng apat na pu't lima.

29 At siya'y muling nagsalita pa sa kaniya, at nagsabi, Marahil ay may masusumpungang apat na pu. At sinabi niya, Hindi ko gagawin, alangalang sa apat na pu.

30 At sinabi niya, Oh huwag magalit ang Panginoon, at ako'y magsasalita: kung sakaling may masusumpungan doong tatlong pu. At sinabi niya, Hindi ko gagawin kung makakasumpong ako roon ng tatlong pu.

31 At kaniyang sinabi, Narito ngayon, ako'y nangahas na magsalita sa Panginoon: kung sakaling may masusumpungan doong dalawang pu. At sinabi niya, Hindi ko lilipulin, alangalang sa dalawang pu.

32 At sinabi niya, Oh huwag magalit ang Panginoon at magsasalita na lamang akong minsan: kung sakaling may masusumpungan doong sangpu: at sinabi niya, Hindi ko lilipulin, alangalang sa sangpu.

33 At ang Panginoon ay nagpatuloy, pagkatapos na makipagusap kay Abraham: at si Abraham ay nagbalik sa kaniyang dako.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9315

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9315. When Mine angel shall go before thee. That this signifies a life in accordance with the commandments of the Lord, is evident from the signification of “going before thee,” when said of the Lord, who is here the “angel of Jehovah,” as being to teach the commandments of faith and of life, thus also a life in accordance with these commandments (that “to go,” and “to journey,” denote to live, see n. 1293, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, 8557, 8559); and from the signification of “the angel of Jehovah,” as being the Lord as to the Divine Human (of which above, n. 9303, 9306). That the Lord as to the Divine Human is meant by the “angel,” is because the many angels who appeared before the coming of the Lord into the world were Jehovah Himself in a human form, that is, in the form of an angel. This is very evident from the fact that the angels who appeared were called “Jehovah,” as for instance those who appeared to Abraham and were called “Jehovah” (Genesis 18:1, 13-14, 17, 20, 26, 33); also the angel who appeared to Gideon, of whom we read in Judges, and who also was called “Jehovah” (6:12, 14, 16, 22-24); besides others elsewhere. Jehovah Himself in the human form, or what is the same, in the form of an angel, was the Lord.

[2] At that time His Divine Human appeared as an angel; of which the Lord Himself speaks in John:

Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad. Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am (John 8:56, 58).

Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:5).

That Jehovah could not appear in any other way, is evident also from the words of the Lord in John:

Ye have not heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he who is with the Father, he hath seen the Father (John 6:46).

From these passages it may be known what is meant by the Lord from eternity.

[3] The reason why it pleased the Lord to be born a man, was that He might put on the Human actually, and make it Divine, in order to save the human race. Know therefore that the Lord is Jehovah Himself or the Father in a human form, which also the Lord Himself teaches in John:

I and the Father are one (John 10:30).

Jesus said, From henceforth ye have known and have seen the Father; He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:7, 9, 11).

All things that are Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine (John 17:10).

[4] This great mystery is stated in John in these words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All thing were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father. No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:1-3, 14, 18);

“the Word” denotes the Divine truth which has been revealed to men; and because this could not be revealed except by Jehovah as a Man, that is, except by Jehovah in a human form, thus by the Lord, therefore it is said, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.” It is known in the church that by “the Word” is meant the Lord, because this is plainly said: “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.” That the Divine truth could not be revealed to men except by Jehovah in a human form, is also clearly stated: “no man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath set Him forth.”

[5] From all this it is evident that the Lord from eternity was Jehovah, or the Father, in a human form; but not yet in the flesh, for an angel has no “flesh.” And because Jehovah or the Father willed to put on the whole human, for the salvation of the human race, therefore He took on the flesh also. Wherefore it is said “God was the Word, and the Word was made flesh.” And in Luke:

Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have (Luke 24:39);

by these words the Lord taught that He was no longer Jehovah under the form of an angel; but that He was Jehovah Man, which is also meant by these words of the Lord:

I came out from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world, and go unto the Father (John 16:28).

(That the Lord when in the world made His Human Divine, see n. 1616, 1725, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2033, 2034, 2083, 2523, 2751, 2798, 3038, 3043, 3212, 3241, 3318, 3637, 3737, 4065, 4180, 4211, 4237, 4286, 4585, 4687, 4692, 4724, 4738, 4766, 5005, 5045, 5078, 5110, 5256, 6373, 6700, 6716, 6849, 6864, 6872, 7014, 7211, 7499, 8547, 8864, 8865, 8878; also that He expelled all the human that was from the mother, until at last He was not the son of Mary, n. 2159, 2649, 2776, 4963, 5157; see especially n. 3704, 4727, 9303, 9306, and what has been shown about these things in the passages cited in n. 9194, 9199)

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6373

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6373. Until Shiloh come. That this signifies the coming of the Lord, and the tranquillity of peace then, is evident from the signification of “Shiloh,” as being the Lord, who is called “Shiloh” from the fact that He pacified and made all things tranquil; for in the original, “Shiloh” is derived from a word which means tranquillity. The reason why the Lord is here called “Shiloh” is plain from what was said above (n. 6371, 6372) about the celestial kingdom and its sovereignty; for when the Divine was presented to view through that kingdom there was in tranquillity, because the things in heaven, and the things in hell, could not thereby be reduced into order, for the Divine which flowed through that kingdom could not be pure, because heaven is not pure; thus neither was that kingdom so strong that all things could by means of it be kept in order; and therefore also the infernal and diabolical spirits were then raising themselves up from the hells and were ruling over the souls who were arriving from the world. The result was that none could be saved but the celestial; and at last scarcely they, unless the Lord had taken on the Human and had made this in Himself Divine; whereby the Lord reduced all things into order, first those in heaven, and afterward those in the hells; thus producing the tranquillity of peace. That the spiritual, that is, they who were of the spiritual church, were saved by the Lord’s coming, may be seen above, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834; and that the Lord, when in the world, reduced all things into order, n. 1820, 4286, 4287; that the Divine truth from Jehovah or the Lord flowed in through heaven into the human race, but because this did not suffice when man removed himself from good, the Lord came into the world and made the Human in Himself Divine, in order that from the very Divine Human of the Lord the Divine truth might proceed, and thus might save man, who should receive good through truth, may also be seen above, n. 4180, 6280.

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