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Ezekiel 12

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1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

2 `Son of man, in the midst of the rebellious house thou art dwelling, that have eyes to see, and they have not seen; ears they have to hear, and they have not heard; for a rebellious house [are] they.

3 And thou, son of man, make to thee vessels of removal, and remove by day before their eyes, and thou hast removed from thy place unto another place before their eyes, it may be they consider, for a rebellious house they [are].

4 And thou hast brought forth thy vessels as vessels of removal by day before their eyes, and thou, thou dost go forth at even before their eyes, as the goings forth of a removal.

5 Before their eyes dig for thee through the wall, and thou hast brought forth by it.

6 Before their eyes on the shoulder thou dost bear, in the darkness thou dost bring forth, thy face thou dost cover, and thou dost not see the earth, for a type I have given thee to the house of Israel.'

7 And I do so, as I have been commanded; my vessels I have brought forth as vessels of removal by day, and at even I have dug for me through the wall with the hand; in the darkness I have brought forth, on the shoulder I have borne away, before their eyes.

8 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, in the morning, saying,

9 `Son of man, have they not said unto thee -- the house of Israel -- the rebellious house -- What art thou doing?

10 say unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: `The prince [is] this burden in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel who are in their midst.

11 Say: I [am] your type; as I have done so it is done to them, into a removal, into a captivity, they do go.

12 As to the prince who [is] in their midst, on the shoulder he beareth in the darkness, and he goeth forth, through the wall they dig to bring forth by it, his face he covereth, that he may not look on the very surface of the land.

13 And I have spread My net for him, and he hath been caught in My snare, and I have brought him in to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, and it he doth not see -- and there doth he die.

14 `And all who are round about him to help him, and all his bands, I do scatter to every wind, and a sword I draw out after them.

15 And they have known that I [am] Jehovah, in My scattering them among nations, and I have spread them through lands;

16 and I have left of them, a few in number, from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence, so that they recount all their abominations among the nations whither they have come, and they have known that I [am] Jehovah.'

17 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

18 `Son of man, thy bread in haste thou dost eat, and thy water with trembling and with fear thou dost drink;

19 and thou hast said unto the people of the land, Thus said the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, concerning the land of Israel: Their bread with fear they do eat, and their water with astonishment drink, because its land is desolate, because of its fulness, because of the violence of all who are dwelling in it.

20 And the cities that are inhabited are laid waste, and the land is a desolation, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.'

21 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

22 `Son of man, what [is] this simile to you, concerning the land of Israel, saying, Prolonged are the days, and perished hath every vision?

23 therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have caused this simile to cease, And they use it not as a simile again in Israel, But speak to them: Drawn near have the days, And spoken hath every vision.

24 For there is no more any vain vision, and flattering divination, In the midst of the house of Israel.

25 For I [am] Jehovah, I speak, The word that I speak -- it is done, It is not prolonged any more, For, in your days, O rebellious house, I speak a word, and I have done it, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

26 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

27 `Son of man, lo, the house of Israel are saying, The vision that he is seeing [is] for many days, and of times far off he is prophesying,

28 therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: None of my words are prolonged any more, When I speak a word -- it is done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6119

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6119. 'And why should we die near by you because the silver is lacking?' means that otherwise spiritual death takes place because of the lack of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'dying' as spiritual death, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the silver lacking' as a lack of truth - 'silver' being factual knowledge that holds truth in it and is appropriate, see 6112. What is implied by the notion that spiritual death takes place when there is a lack of truth is that spiritual life consists in deeds carried out in accordance with truths, consequently in useful services. For people endowed with spiritual life possess a yearning and desire for truths with life in view - that is, their end in view is to lead a life according to those truths - thus with useful services in view. Therefore the extent to which they can absorb truths, in accordance with which useful services are to be rendered, determines how much spiritual life they possess, because it determines how much of the light of intelligence and wisdom they possess. When truths are lacking therefore, as happens when a state of shade arrives - a state meant in the Word by 'evening', 6110 - spiritual life languishes. It languishes because things such as belong to the state of shade, that is, to spiritual death, enter in. When this happens people cannot be kept in the light in which they were before but are returned in part to a state of selfhood. As a consequence there emerges from the shade an image of spiritual death, that is, of damnation.

[2] It is clear from very many places in the Word that 'death' means spiritual death, or damnation; but let simply the following be quoted here: In Isaiah,

With righteousness He will judge the poor, and will reprove with uprightness the wretched of the earth. On the other hand He will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath 1 of His lips He will make the wicked die. Isaiah 11:4.

This refers to the Lord. 'The rod of His mouth' and 'the breath of His lips stand for Divine Truth, the source of judgement. 'Dying' stands for suffering damnation. In the same prophet, He Will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord Jehovih will wipe away tears from upon all faces. Isaiah 15:8.

In the same prophet,

The dead will not live, the Rephaim will not rise. To that end You have visited them, You have wiped them out. Isaiah 16:14.

In the same prophet,

Your dead will live, my corpse will rise again. Isaiah 26:19.

In the same prophet,

You have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we have shaped a vision. Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your vision with hell will not stand. Isaiah 28:15, 18.

[3] In Jeremiah,

You look for light, but He will turn it into the shadow of death, He will place it in thick darkness. Jeremiah 13:16.

In Ezekiel,

You have desecrated Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crusts of bread, to slay souls that ought not to die and to bestow life on souls that ought not to live. Ezekiel 13:19, 22.

In Hosea,

Out of the hand of hell I will redeem them, from death I will deliver them. I will be your plagues, O death; I will be your destruction, O hell! Hosea 13:14.

In David,

You lift me up from the gates of death. Psalms 9:13.

In the same author,

Lighten my eyes, lest perhaps I sleep [the sleep of] death. Psalms 13:3.

In the same author,

The cords of death encompassed me, and the cords of hell. Psalms 18:4-5.

In the same author,

Like sheep they will be placed in hell, death will feed them. Psalms 49:14.

In John,

I have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:18.

In the same book,

He who overcomes will not suffer harm in the second death. Revelation 1:11.

[4] In the same book,

I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive; but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen what remains, which is at the point of death. Revelation 3:1-2.

In Matthew,

The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and for those sitting in the region and shadow of death, the light has arisen. Matthew 4:16.

In John,

He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me will have eternal life, and will not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24.

In the same gospel,

I am going away and you will seek Me, but you will die in your sin. I have said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. If anyone keeps My word he will not ever see death. John 8:21, 14, 51-52.

Because 'death' meant damnation those who belonged to the representative Church were forbidden to touch the dead. If they did touch them they were unclean and had to be cleansed, Ezekiel 44:25; Leviticus 15:31; 21:2-3; 22:8; Numbers 6:6-12; 19:11-end.

Footnotes:

1. or the spirit

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