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Ezekiel 15

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1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which is among the trees of the forest?

3 Shall wood be taken of it to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire has devoured both its ends, and its midst is burned: is it profitable for any work?

5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be meet for any work!

6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 I will set my face against them; they shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and you shall know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them.

8 I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, says the Lord Yahweh.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9777

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9777. '[And] all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze' means everything that joins together and strengthens the two heavens, the middle and the lowest, through good. This is clear from the meaning of 'pins' as things that serve to join and strengthen, dealt with below; from the meaning of the dwelling-place, to which 'its' relates here, as heaven, in particular the middle heaven, dealt with in 9594, 9596, 9632; from the meaning of 'the court' as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741; and from the meaning of 'bronze' as external good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

[2] The reason why things that serve to join and strengthen are meant by 'pins' or pegs is that these articles do so. They have a similar meaning wherever else they are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places; do not stop [them]. Lengthen your ropes, and make your pegs firm. Isaiah 54:2.

This refers to the New Church founded by the Lord. 'Enlarging the place of the tent, and stretching out the curtains of the dwelling-places' stands for the enhancement of teachings that present what is good and true, and worship that springs from them, 9596. 'Long ropes' and 'the pegs' stand for a far-reaching connection among truths and full corroboration of them. As for the court, that this too had ropes, see Exodus 35:18; Numbers 3:37; 4:32.

[3] In Isaiah,

Look upon Zion. May your eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet dwelling-place, a tabernacle which is not overthrown. Its pegs will never be removed, and none of its ropes will be pulled away. Isaiah 33:20.

'Pegs' and 'ropes' here stand in like manner for what serves to corroborate or strengthen and join together. 'Peg' again stands for strengthening and joining together in Isaiah 41:7 and Jeremiah 10:4; but these verses refer to idols, by which teachings of what is false are meant, because they are the product of self-intelligence, 8941, 9424. A peg however on which something is hung means affixing and joining [one thing to another], in Isaiah 22:23-24, and in Ezekiel 15:3.

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