The Bible

 

Genesis 8

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1 And God remembereth Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle which [are] with him in the ark, and God causeth a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subside,

2 and closed are the fountains of the deep and the net-work of the heavens, and restrained is the shower from the heavens.

3 And turn back do the waters from off the earth, going on and returning; and the waters are lacking at the end of a hundred and fifty days.

4 And the ark resteth, in the seventh month, in the seventeenth day of the month, on mountains of Ararat;

5 and the waters have been going and becoming lacking till the tenth month; in the tenth [month], on the first of the month, appeared the heads of the mountains.

6 And it cometh to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah openeth the window of the ark which he made,

7 and he sendeth forth the raven, and it goeth out, going out and turning back till the drying of the waters from off the earth.

8 And he sendeth forth the dove from him to see whether the waters have been lightened from off the face of the ground,

9 and the dove hath not found rest for the sole of her foot, and she turneth back unto him, unto the ark, for waters [are] on the face of all the earth, and he putteth out his hand, and taketh her, and bringeth her in unto him, unto the ark.

10 And he stayeth yet other seven days, and addeth to send forth the dove from the ark;

11 and the dove cometh in unto him at even-time, and lo, an olive leaf torn off in her mouth; and Noah knoweth that the waters have been lightened from off the earth.

12 And he stayeth yet other seven days, and sendeth forth the dove, and it added not to turn back unto him any more.

13 And it cometh to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first [month], in the first of the month, the waters have been dried from off the earth; and Noah turneth aside the covering of the ark, and looketh, and lo, the face of the ground hath been dried.

14 And in the second month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth hath become dry.

15 And God speaketh unto Noah, saying, `Go out from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee;

16 every living thing that [is] with thee, of all flesh, among fowl, and among cattle, and among every creeping thing which is creeping on the earth, bring out with thee;

17 and they have teemed in the earth, and been fruitful, and have multiplied on the earth.'

18 And Noah goeth out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him;

19 every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl; every creeping thing on the earth, after their families, have gone out from the ark.

20 And Noah buildeth an altar to Jehovah, and taketh of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and causeth burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar;

21 and Jehovah smelleth the sweet fragrance, and Jehovah saith unto His heart, `I continue not to disesteem any more the ground because of man, though the imagination of the heart of man [is] evil from his youth; and I continue not to smite any more all living, as I have done;

22 during all days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, do not cease.'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #845

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845. The reason 'the fountains of the deep' means temptation as regards things of the will, and 'the floodgates of heaven' means temptation as regards those of the understanding, is that a person's will is what hell acts upon and not so much upon his understanding unless it has been immersed in evil desires that constitute the will. Evils within the will are what condemn a person and thrust him down to hell, and not so much falsities unless these are coupled with evils, in which case one follows the other. This becomes clear from the fact that so many people who are under the influence of falsities are nevertheless saved, as is the case with very many of the gentiles who have led lives of natural charity and of mercy, as well as Christians who have believed in simplicity of heart. Their very ignorance and simplicity excuse them, for innocence can reside within them.

[2] The situation is different with those who have confirmed themselves in falsities and have consequently pursued such a life of falsity that they reject and spurn all truth. Such a life must first of all be laid waste before any truth and so any good can be implanted. The situation is worse however with people who have so confirmed themselves in falsities resulting from evil desires that falsities and evil desires compose one life. These are the people who plunge into hell. This is the reason why temptation as regards things of the will is meant by 'the fountains of the deep', which are the hells, and temptation as regards those of the understanding by 'the floodgates of heaven', which are the clouds from which the rain falls.

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