The Bible

 

Amos 6

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1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

2 Go to Calneh, and see; and from there Go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?

3 Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

5 who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.

8 "The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself," says Yahweh, the God of Armies: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

9 It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10 "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush! Indeed we must not mention the name of Yahweh.'

11 "For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;

13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?'

14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says Yahweh, the God of Armies; "and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah."

   

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.