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Genesis 21

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1 At dumalaw ang Panginoon kay Sara, ayon sa sinabi niya, at ginawa ng Panginoon kay Sara ang ayon sa kaniyang sinalita.

2 At si Sara ay naglihi at nagkaanak ng isang lalake kay Abraham sa kaniyang katandaan, sa tadhanang panahong sinabi ng Dios sa kaniya.

3 At tinawag na Isaac ni Abraham ang ngalan ng kaniyang anak na ipinanganak sa kaniya, na siyang ipinanganak ni Sara.

4 At tinuli ni Abraham si Isaac ng magkaroon ng walong araw gaya ng iniutos ng Dios sa kaniya.

5 At si Abraham ay may isang daang taon, nang sa kaniya'y ipanganak si Isaac na kaniyang anak.

6 At sinabi ni Sara, Pinatawa ako ng Dios, sinomang makarinig ay makikitawa.

7 At sinabi niya, Sinong nakapagsabi kay Abraham na si Sara ay magpapasuso ng anak? sapagka't ako'y nagkaanak sa kaniya ng isang lalake sa kaniyang katandaan.

8 At lumaki ang sanggol, at inihiwalay sa suso; at nagpiging ng malaki si Abraham ng araw na ihiwalay sa suso si Isaac.

9 At nakita ni Sara ang anak ni Agar na taga Egipto, na ito'y nagkaanak kay Abraham, na tumutuya sa kaniya.

10 Kaya't sinabi niya kay Abraham, Palayasin mo ang aliping ito at ang kaniyang anak: sapagka't hindi magmamana ang anak ng aliping ito na kahati ng aking anak, sa makatuwid baga'y ni Isaac.

11 At ang bagay na ito ay naging lubhang mabigat sa paningin ni Abraham dahil sa kaniyang anak.

12 At sinabi ng Dios kay Abraham, Huwag mong mabigatin ito sa iyong paningin dahil sa iyong alipin; sa lahat na sabihin sa iyo ni Sara, ay makinig ka sa kaniyang tinig, sapagka't kay Isaac tatawagin ang iyong lahi.

13 At ang anak din naman ng alipin ay gagawin kong isang bansa, sapagka't siya'y anak mo.

14 At nagbangong maaga sa kinaumagahan si Abraham, at kumuha ng tinapay at ng isang bangang balat ng tubig, at ibinigay kay Agar, na ipinatong sa kaniyang balikat, at ang bata at siya ay pinapagpaalam, at siya'y nagpaalam at naggala sa ilang ng Beerseba.

15 At naubos ang tubig sa bangang balat, at kaniyang inilapag ang bata sa ilalim ng isa sa mabababang punong kahoy.

16 At yumaon at naupo sa tapat niya, na ang layo ay isang hilagpos ng pana; sapagka't sinabi niya, Huwag kong makita ang kamatayan ng bata. At naupo sa tapat, at naghihiyaw at umiyak.

17 At narinig ng Dios ang tinig ng bata; at tinawag ng anghel ng Dios si Agar, mula sa langit, at sa kaniya'y sinabi, Naano ka Agar? Huwag kang matakot; sapagka't narinig ng Dios ang tinig ng bata sa kinalalagyan.

18 Magtindig ka, iyong itayo ang bata, at alalayan mo siya ng iyong kamay; sapagka't siya'y gagawin kong isang bansang malaki.

19 At idinilat ng Dios ang kaniyang mga mata, at siya'y nakakita ng isang balon ng tubig: at naparoon at pinuno ng tubig ang bangang balat, at pinainom ang bata.

20 At ang Dios ay sumabata, at siya'y lumaki; at tumahan sa ilang at naging mamamana.

21 At nanahan siya sa ilang ng Paran: at ikinuha siya ng kaniyang ina ng asawa sa lupain ng Egipto.

22 At nangyari ng panahong yaon, na si Abimelech, at si Ficol na kapitan ng kaniyang hukbo ay nagsalita kay Abraham, na nagsasabi, Sumasaiyo ang Dios sa lahat mong ginagawa:

23 Ngayon nga'y ipanumpa mo sa akin dito alangalang sa Dios, na di ka maglililo sa akin, kahit sa aking anak, kahit sa anak ng aking anak; kundi ayon sa kagandahang loob na ipinakita ko sa iyo, ay gayon ang gagawin mo sa akin, at sa lupaing iyong pinakipamayanan.

24 At sinabi ni Abraham, Susumpa ako.

25 At pinagwikaan ni Abraham si Abimelech dahil sa isang balon ng tubig, na marahas na inalis sa kaniya ng mga bataan ni Abimelech.

26 At sinabi ni Abimelech, Aywan, kung sinong gumawa ng bagay na ito: na di mo man sinabi sa akin, at hindi ko man nabalitaan kundi ngayon.

27 At kumuha si Abraham ng mga tupa, at mga baka, at ibinigay kay Abimelech; at gumawa silang dalawa ng isang tipan.

28 At ibinukod ni Abraham ang pitong korderong babae sa kawan.

29 At sinabi ni Abimelech kay Abraham, Anong kahulugan nitong pitong korderong babae na iyong ibinukod?

30 At kaniyang sinabi, Itong pitong korderong babae ay iyong kukunin sa aking kamay, upang sa akin ay maging patotoo na hinukay ko ang balong ito.

31 Kaya't tinawag niya ang dakong yaong Beerseba; sapagka't doon sila kapuwa nanumpa.

32 Sa gayo'y gumawa sila ng isang tipan sa Beerseba: at nagtindig si Abimelech, at si Ficol na kapitan ng kaniyang hukbo at nagsipagbalik sa lupain ng mga Filisteo.

33 At nagtanim si Abraham ng isang punong kahoy na tamaring sa Beerseba, at sinambitla doon ang pangalan ng Panginoong Dios na walang hanggan.

34 At maraming araw na nakipamayan si Abraham sa lupain ng mga Filisteo.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2689

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2689. 'And lifted up her voice and wept' means a further degree of grief. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'lifting up the voice and weeping' as the utmost extremity of grief, for weeping with a loud voice is nothing else. Described in this verse is a state of desolation of truth and of withdrawal from truths, as experienced by those who are becoming spiritual. What this state is like must be explained briefly: People who are not able to be reformed have no knowledge at all of what it is to grieve on account of being deprived of truths, for they imagine that no one can possibly become distressed for a reason such as that. The only circumstances, they believe, which can lead to such distress exist when someone is deprived of those good gifts to men that are of a bodily and worldly kind, such as health, position, reputation, wealth, and life. But those who are able to be reformed believe altogether differently. They are maintained by the Lord in the affection for good and in the thought of truth, and therefore come to be distressed when deprived of these.

[2] It is well known that all distress and grief are the result of a person's being deprived of the things for which he has affection, that is, which he loves. Those whose affection is solely for bodily and worldly things, that is, who love solely these, grieve when deprived of them, whereas those whose affection is for spiritual goods and truths, and who love these, grieve when deprived of them. The life in any person is nothing else than affection or love. From this one may see the nature of the state of those who are desolated as regards the goods and truths for which they have affection, that is, which they love; that is to say, one may see that their state of grief, being more interior, is more severe, and that in being deprived of good and truth it is not death of the body which they are bothered about but eternal death. It is their state which is described here.

[3] So that it may also be known which people can be maintained by the Lord in the affection for good and truth and so be reformed and become spiritual, and which ones cannot, this too must be explained briefly. In childhood everyone, when being for the first time endowed with goods and truths, is maintained by the Lord in the affirmative attitude that anything said or taught by parents and teachers is true. With those who are able to become spiritual this affirmative attitude is strengthened by means of facts and cognitions, for whatever they learn and is relevant introduces itself into the affirmative outlook and strengthens it, leading more and more towards affection for it. These are ones who become spiritual in accordance with the essence of the truth in which they have faith, and who are victorious in temptations. But it is quite different with those who are not able to become spiritual. Although in childhood an affirmative attitude exists with them, when they are older they allow doubts to enter in which thus destroy the affirmative attitude towards good and truth. And when they reach adult years they allow denials to enter in, and even the affection for what is false to enter in. If such people were led into temptations they would give in completely. Consequently they are kept free from them.

[4] But the real reason why they allow doubts and subsequently denials to enter in may be traced back to their life of evil. People who lead a life of evil cannot possibly do otherwise. The life in any person, as has been stated, is affection or love, and as is the nature of that affection or love so is the nature of his thought. The affection for evil and the thought of truth never join themselves together. In cases where they seem to join themselves, they do not in fact do so, for the thought of truth exists without the affection for it. With such people therefore truth is not truth, but merely a sound or something on the lips, from which the heart is far away. Even very wicked people can know such truth, better than anybody else sometimes. Some are also so strongly persuaded by truth of that kind that no one can see it as other than genuine. But it is not genuine truth if the life of good is absent. It is affection belonging to self-love or love of the world which causes that strong persuasion of it, which they also defend with a vehemence that is evidence of apparent zeal; indeed they go so far as to condemn people who do not receive it or believe it in a similar way. But this kind of truth varies from one person to another according to his basic way of thinking, the strength of that truth depending on the strength of his self-love or his love of the world. It is, it is true, born together with evil, but it does not join itself to evil, and therefore in the next life is rooted out. It is different in the case of those who lead a life of good; in them the truth itself finds its soil, and its ability to grow, and from the Lord its life.

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