The Bible

 

Ezekiel 24

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1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, Write for thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

4 Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them boil its bones in it.

6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;

8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

11 Then set it empty upon its coals, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be melted in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.

12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.

13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

14 I the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the LORD GOD.

15 Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thy head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning: and at evening my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

19 And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?

20 Then I answered them, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellence of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one towards another.

24 Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,

26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come to thee, to cause thee to hear it with thy ears?

27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him who hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

   

Commentary

 

Waters

  

'Waters' particularly signify the spiritual parts of a person, or the intellectual aspects of faith, and also their opposites.

'The waters above the firmament,' as in Genesis 1:7, signify the knowledges in the internal self, and 'the waters beneath the firmament' signify the knowledges of the external self.

'Waters,' as in Ezekiel 47:9, refer to the New Jerusalem, and they signify spiritual things from a celestial origin.

'Many waters,' as in Revelation 17:1, signify truths of the Word adulterated. 'Waters' or 'rivers' signify spiritual, rational, or scientific things pertaining to truth.

'Waters … that go softly,' as in Isaiah 8:6-7, signify spiritual things, and 'waters … strong and many,' signify falsities.

'Waters,' as in Psalms 104:3, signify divine truths.

'Waters' signify truths in the natural self, and in the opposite sense, falsities.

'The waters were dried up from off the earth,' as in Genesis 8:7, signifies the apparent dissipation of falsities.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 17; Apocalypse Revealed 50; Genesis 8)


From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9962

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9962. 'And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons' means safety from the hells. This is clear from the meaning of 'the undergarments', to which 'they shall be on Aaron and on his sons' refers, as the things composing the external level of conjugial love, dealt with in 9959; and from the meaning of their 'nakedness', which the undergarments were to cover, as the inner desires of that love when they are foul and hellish, also dealt with above in 9960. And since 'nakedness' had that meaning, the purpose of the undergarments which were on Aaron and his sons was to keep them safe from the hells. The implications of all this are that so far as their interiors were concerned members of the Jewish and Israelite nation were steeped in self-love and love of the world, and so in hellish kinds of love, more than all the other nations; but so far as their exteriors were concerned they could be in a state of holiness, again more than all the other nations. For that reason when they were in a state of holiness their interiors were closed off; for then through that nation outwardly holy things were communicable to the heavens, and in this way they could be linked to heaven. It would have been altogether different if their internals, which were foul and hellish, as has been stated, had not been closed off. This is why no Church existed among them, only what was representative of the Church; for a Church that is indeed a Church resides in things of an internal nature, which are those of faith and love, not in those of an external nature separated from them. The things of an external nature among them were all representative.

[2] Since then things composing the external level of conjugial love - and in general those composing the external levels of all heavenly kinds of love - are meant by 'the undergarments', and since external levels were what covered internal ones, and since the internals with that nation were foul and hellish, the declaration that the undergarments should be on Aaron and on his sons means safety from the hells. For, as long as they were in a state of outward holiness, their internals having been covered or closed off, they were also remote from the hells and consequently in safety.

Internals with the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul and hellish, therefore no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.

When engaged in worship they were in a state of solely outward holiness, 3479, 4293, 4311, 6304, 8588, 9373, 9380.

And their interiors at such times were closed off, 8788, 8806.

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