The Bible

 

Genesis 1

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1 In the beginning of God's preparing the heavens and the earth --

2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,

3 and God saith, `Let light be;' and light is.

4 And God seeth the light that [it is] good, and God separateth between the light and the darkness,

5 and God calleth to the light `Day,' and to the darkness He hath called `Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- Day one.

6 And God saith, `Let an expanse be in the midst of the waters, and let it be separating between waters and waters.'

7 And God maketh the expanse, and it separateth between the waters which [are] under the expanse, and the waters which [are] above the expanse: and it is so.

8 And God calleth to the expanse `Heavens;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day second.

9 And God saith, `Let the waters under the heavens be collected unto one place, and let the dry land be seen:' and it is so.

10 And God calleth to the dry land `Earth,' and to the collection of the waters He hath called `Seas;' and God seeth that [it is] good.

11 And God saith, `Let the earth yield tender grass, herb sowing seed, fruit-tree (whose seed [is] in itself) making fruit after its kind, on the earth:' and it is so.

12 And the earth bringeth forth tender grass, herb sowing seed after its kind, and tree making fruit (whose seed [is] in itself) after its kind; and God seeth that [it is] good;

13 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day third.

14 And God saith, `Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a separation between the day and the night, then they have been for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years,

15 and they have been for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth:' and it is so.

16 And God maketh the two great luminaries, the great luminary for the rule of the day, and the small luminary -- and the stars -- for the rule of the night;

17 and God giveth them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

18 and to rule over day and over night, and to make a separation between the light and the darkness; and God seeth that [it is] good;

19 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day fourth.

20 And God saith, `Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and fowl let fly on the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.'

21 And God prepareth the great monsters, and every living creature that is creeping, which the waters have teemed with, after their kind, and every fowl with wing, after its kind, and God seeth that [it is] good.

22 And God blesseth them, saying, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl let multiply in the earth:'

23 and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day fifth.

24 And God saith, `Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind:' and it is so.

25 And God maketh the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, and God seeth that [it is] good.

26 And God saith, `Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over fish of the sea, and over fowl of the heavens, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that is creeping on the earth.'

27 And God prepareth the man in His image; in the image of God He prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.

28 And God blesseth them, and God saith to them, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over fish of the sea, and over fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that is creeping upon the earth.'

29 And God saith, `Lo, I have given to you every herb sowing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is] the fruit of a tree sowing seed, to you it is for food;

30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to every creeping thing on the earth, in which [is] breath of life, every green herb [is] for food:' and it is so.

31 And God seeth all that He hath done, and lo, very good; and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day the sixth.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10238

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10238. And thou shalt put waters therein. That this signifies the truths of faith, through which there is purification in the natural, is evident from the signification of “waters,” as being the truths of faith (see n. 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323); and from the signification of the “laver,” as being the natural (of which above, n. 10235). He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, will fail to comprehend many passages in the Word; as what is signified by the statement that “unless a man is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). They who by “water” in this passage understand nothing but water, believe that the water of baptism is that by which man is regenerated; when yet the water contributes nothing to regeneration; but the truth of faith and the good of love; for water merely washes away the uncleanness of the body, and by no means the evils of the heart.

[2] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know what baptism signifies; for he believes that this external rite saves man, when yet this external thing effects nothing; but the internal thing that is signified, which is regeneration by means of the truths of faith. For they who are of the church are distinguished by baptism from all others in the whole world, because they can be regenerated by means of the truths of faith, but not those who are outside the church, seeing that within the church is the Word, in which are the truths of faith.

[3] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know what is meant by “the waters that were above the expanse, and the waters that were under the expanse” (Genesis 1:6-10), when yet by “the waters above the expanse” are signified the truths of faith in the internal man; and by “the waters under the expanse,” the truths of faith in the external man; for the subject treated of in that chapter is the new creation of the man of the Most Ancient Church, thus his regeneration.

[4] He who does not know that “waters” signify the truths of faith, cannot know either what is signified by “waters” in Johns:

Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:13).

The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers on the hillsides, and I will set fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters (Isaiah 41:17-18).

They shall not thirst, He shall cause the waters to flow out of the rock for them; and He shall cleave the rock that the waters flow out (Isaiah 48:20-21).

And very frequently elsewhere. But see what has been previously said and shown on this subject; as, That purification from evils and falsities is effected by means of the truths of faith (n. 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229): As also regeneration (see the places ci ted in n. 9959) That “baptism” signifies regeneration by means of the truths of faith (n. 4255, 5120, 9089): That purification is effected in the natural (n. 3147, 9572): And also regeneration (see the places cited in n. 9325 at the end).

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

The Bible

 

Exodus 28

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1 "Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

3 You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

4 These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

5 They shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

6 "They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman.

7 It shall have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together.

8 The skillfully woven band, which is on it, that is on him, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth.

11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel: you shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.

12 You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.

13 You shall make settings of gold,

14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work: and you shall put the braided chains on the settings.

15 "You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it.

16 It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length of it, and a span its breadth.

17 You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;

18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;

19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.

21 The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

22 You shall make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

23 You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24 You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

25 The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.

26 You shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward.

27 You shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

28 They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.

29 Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually.

30 You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Yahweh: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.

31 "You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

32 It shall have a hole for the head in its midst: it shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.

33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, around its hem; and bells of gold between and around them:

34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.

35 It shall be on Aaron to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Yahweh, and when he comes out, that he not die.

36 "You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, 'HOLY TO YAHWEH.'

37 You shall put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be on the sash; on the front of the sash it shall be.

38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Yahweh.

39 You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.

40 "You shall make coats for Aaron's sons, and you shall make sashes for them and you shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.

41 You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.

42 You shall make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness; from the waist even to the thighs they shall reach:

43 They shall be on Aaron, and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they don't bear iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.