The Bible

 

Amos 5

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1 Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

2 "The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; there is no one to raise her up."

3 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."

4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel: "Seek me, and you will live;

5 but don't seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and don't pass to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.

6 Seek Yahweh, and you will live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.

7 You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth:

8 seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,

9 who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress.

10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.

11 Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

12 For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins-- you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.

13 Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be with you, as you say.

15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."

16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, the Lord: "Wailing will be in all the broad ways; and they will say in all the streets, 'Alas! Alas!' and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.

17 In all vineyards there will be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of you," says Yahweh.

18 "Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.

20 Won't the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn assemblies.

22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.

23 Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24 But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

25 "Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?

26 You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.

27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus," says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Sacred Scripture #85

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85. It would be a waste of time to show from the Word that there are in the Word paired expressions like these that seem like repetitions of the same thing, because that would fill many pages. To banish doubt, though, I would like to cite some passages where judgment and justice occur together, then nation and people, and then joy and gladness.

The following are passages where judgment and justice are paired:

The city used to be full of [good] judgment; justice used to spend its nights there. (Isaiah 1:21)

Zion will be redeemed in justice, and those of her who are brought back, in judgment. (Isaiah 1:27)

Jehovah Sabaoth will be exalted in judgment, and God, the Holy One, will be hallowed in justice. (Isaiah 5:16)

He will sit upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it in judgment and in justice. (Isaiah 9:7)

Let Jehovah be exalted, because he dwells on high and has filled the earth with judgment and justice. (Isaiah 33:5)

Jehovah says, “Watch over judgment and perform justice, for my salvation is at hand so that my justice may be revealed.” (Isaiah 56:1)

As though they were a nation that did justice and had not abandoned the judgment of their God, they would ask for judgments of justice. (Isaiah 58:2)

Swear by the living Jehovah in judgment and in justice. (Jeremiah 4:2)

The one who glories should glory in this, that Jehovah is bringing about judgment and justice on the earth. (Jeremiah 9:24)

Do judgment and justice. Woe to those who build their house without justice and their upper chambers without judgment. Has not your father done judgment and justice? Then it will be well for him. (Jeremiah 22:3, 13, 15)

I will raise up for David a righteous branch who will rule as king and bring about judgment and justice on earth. (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15)

If a man is righteous and has practiced judgment and justice... (Ezekiel 18:5)

If the ungodly turn back and practice judgment and justice, [their former deeds] will not be remembered against them. They have practiced judgment and justice; they will surely live. (Ezekiel 33:14, 16)

I will betroth myself to you forever in justice and judgment, and in mercy and compassion. (Hosea 2:19)

Let judgment flow down like water, and justice like a mighty torrent. (Amos 5:24)

You have turned judgment into gall and the fruit of justice into wormwood. (Amos 6:12)

Jehovah will plead my case and bring about a judgment for me. He will lead me into the light, and I will see his justice. (Micah 7:9)

Jehovah, your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments are a great deep. (Psalms 36:6)

Jehovah will bring forth his justice like light and judgment like noonday. (Psalms 37:6)

Jehovah will judge his people with justice and his needy ones with judgment. (Psalms 72:2)

Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne. (Psalms 89:14)

... when I will have learned the judgments of your justice. Seven times a day I praise you for the judgments of your justice. (Psalms 119:7, 164)

Gad enacts the justice of Jehovah and his judgment with Israel. (Deuteronomy 33:21)

The Spirit of Truth will convict the world concerning justice and judgment. (John 16:8, 10)

There are other such passages as well.

The reason judgment and justice are mentioned so often is that the Word says “judgment” in reference to what is true and “justice” in reference to what is good; so “doing judgment and justice” also means acting on the basis of what is true and on the basis of what is good.

The reason the Word says “judgment” in reference to what is true and “justice” in reference to what is good is that the Lord’s government in the spiritual kingdom is called “judgment, ” while the Lord’s government in the heavenly kingdom is called “justice” (see Heaven and Hell 214-215). Because the Word says “judgment” in reference to what is true, in some passages it speaks of truth and justice, as in Isaiah 11:5, Psalms 85:11, and elsewhere.

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

The Bible

 

Psalms 37:6

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6 he will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your justice as the noon day sun.