THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 58

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation.)

1. CRY aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgressions; and to the house of Jacob their sins.

VERSE 1. Divine Truth itself in heaven is signified by "voices" and "lightnings", but celestial or angelic Truth adjoined to the Divine, which is beneath or around, is signified by the "voice of a trumpet", as in Zechariah:

"Jehovah shall appear over them, and His weapon shall go forth as lightning; and the Lord Jehovih shall sound with a trumpet, and shall advance in the storms of the south." (Zechariah 9:14)

And in David:

"God ascends with noise; Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet"; (Psalm 47:5) where "noise" denotes the Truth of spiritual Good, and the "voice of a trumpet" the Truth of celestial Good. Arcana Coelestia 8815. See also the Exposition of Isaiah 27:13.

Declare unto My people their transgressions, etc. - As to the difference in meaning between "transgressions", "iniquities", and " sins", see Chapter 1:28, the Exposition.

2. Yet they seek Me daily, and the knowledge of My ways they desire, as a nation that has done justice, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God, that they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice; they delight in approaching to God.

Verse 2. That they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice, etc. - The "judgments of justice" denote divine Truths from Divine Good. Apocalypse Explained 946. See also Arcana Coelestia 612; True Christian Religion 51; Heaven and Hell 216.

3. [Saying] Wherefore have we fasted, and You seest not? have we afflicted our soul, and You dost not regard? Behold, in the day of your fasting, you find your pleasure; and all your demands you exact.

Verse 3. By "fasting" is signified to mourn by reason of a defect of Truth and of Good. Apocalypse Explained 1189.

4. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: do not fast as in this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

Verse 4. To "smite with the fist of wickedness", signifies to smite with full power by falsities from evil. By the "fist" is signified, full power from Truth in general. It is called general [or common] Truth, because it is generally received, and is everywhere of avail or power; hence to "smite with the fist" is with full force and power, in the spiritual sense, by Truths which are from Good; and, in the opposite sense, by falsities which are from evil, - in which sense it is understood in the above passage in Isaiah. Arcana Coelestia 9025.

5. Is this, then, the fast which I choose? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah?

6. Is not this the fast which I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the bruised go free, and that you break off every yoke?

Verse 5. Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah? - That by "good pleasure", or what is "well-pleasing" to Jehovah, when predicated concerning men, is signified to live according to His precepts, - which is to love God and our neighbour, is evident, for it is said that His "good pleasure", or what is "well-pleasing " to Him, is "to break bread to the hungry, and to cover the naked."

By "breaking bread to the hungry", is signified from a principle of love to do Good to our neighbour, who is in the desire of Good; and by "covering the naked", is signified to instruct in Truths him who desires to be instructed. Apocalypse Explained 295.

Verses 5-7. Whereas to "put on sackcloth"· and to "roll in ashes" represented mourning over evils and falsities, it also represented humiliation, and likewise repentance; for the first principle of humiliation on man's part is to acknowledge that, of himself, he is nothing but what is evil and false; and, in like manner, of repentance, which is not effected but by humiliation, and this by confession of the heart that, of himself, he is such. That to "put on sackcloth" was a representation of humiliation, see 1 Kings 21:27-29; that it was a representative of repentance, see Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13; out that it was nothing else but a representative, thus only an external thing appertaining to the body, and not an internal thing appertaining to the heart, is evident from Isaiah:

"Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah? Is not this the fast which I choose? - to loose the bonds of wickedness, to break bread to the hungry?" etc. Arcana Coelestia 4779.

7. Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the afflicted outcasts into your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from thine own flesh?

Verse 7. By "breaking bread to the hungry", is signified from charity to communicate and instruct those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, in the desire of knowing Truths. To "bring the afflicted outcasts into the house"; signifies to amend and restore those who are in falsities, and thence in grief; "afflicted outcasts" denoting those who are in grief from falsities, for they who are in falsities stand without, whereas they who are in Truths are of the house, because the "house" is the intellectual mind, into which Truths only are admitted; for it is opened by Truths originating in Good. On account of which signification it is also added, "When you see the naked, that you cover him"; to be "naked" denoting to be without Truths, and to "cover the naked" is to instruct; for "garments", in the Word, signify Truths clothing, as may be seen above, Apocalypse Explained 295. Apocalypse Explained 386.

Those who press the literal sense of these words [as the only sense], believe that if they only break their bread to the hungry, and bring into their house the afflicted and wandering outcasts, and cover the naked, they shall, on that account, come into "the glory of Jehovah, or into heaven; whereas those deeds are only external, and can be done by the impious that they may merit heaven; but by the "hungry", the "afflicted", and the "naked", are signified those who are spiritually such, thus the different states of misery in which the man is who is the neighbour towards whom charity should be practised. Arcana Coelestia 3419.

8. Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and your justice shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear.

9. Then shalt you call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shalt cry out, and He shall say, Behold Me! If you remove from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of iniquity;

Verse 8. The glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear. - What is meant by these words, see above, Chapter 52:12, the Exposition.

10. And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day;

Verse 10. To "draw [or press] out the soul to the hungry", and to "satisfy the afflicted soul", signifies to teach him who desires to know what is Good and True; by the "hungry is signified one who desires Good, and by the "afflicted" he who desires Truth; and by "drawing out the soul" is signified to teach those things, thus to draw them forth from the understanding, from doctrine, and from faith; for by "soul", in this passage, is denoted the life of the understanding. That those who are in ignorance, but still in the desire of receiving Truth, will receive the understanding of Truth and of Good, is signified by "then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day"; "obscurity" and "darkness" denoting the ignorance of Truth and of Good, and " light" and "noon-day" are the understanding of them. Apocalypse Explained 750.

In these words is described the exercise of charity towards the neighbour; in this case, towards those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, In the desire of knowing Truths, and in grief on account of the falsities which occupy the mind; and that with those who are in that charity, falsities shall be shaken off, and Truths give light and shine.

Charity towards those who are in ignorance, and, at the same time, in the desire of knowing Truths, is understood by "If you draw out your soul to the hungry"; the "hungry" denoting those who desire; "soul" denoting the intelligence of Truth instructing.

That it is thus to instruct those who are in grief on account of the falsities which occupy the mind, is signified by "If you satisfy the afflicted soul."

That with those who are in such charity, ignorance shall be dissipated, and Truths shine and give light, is understood by "your light shall rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day"; "obscurity" signifies the ignorance of the spiritual mind, and "darkness" the ignorance of the natural mind; "light" signifies Truth in the light, in like manner "noon-day."

In such illustration are they who from charity or spiritual affection instruct those who are in falsities from ignorance; for that charity is the receptacle of the influx of light or Truth from the Lord. Apocalypse Explained 386.

11. And Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen your bones: and you shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters deceive not.

Verse 11. He shall strengthen [or quicken] your bones; and you shalt be like a watered garden, etc. - By "bone" and "flesh" is signifIed the proprium of man, - by "bone" his intellectual proprium, and by "flesh " his will proprium, thus by "bone" his proprium as to Truth, for this is of his intellectual principle, and by "flesh" his proprium as to Good, for this is of his will, as may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 148, 149. As to what concerns the proprium in general, it is two-fold, the one infernal, the other celestial; man receives infernal proprium from hell, and celestial proprium from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; for all evil, and every false principle thence derived, flows in from hell, and all Good, and Truth thence derived, flows in from the Lord.

That this is the case, is known to man from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in ten thousand believes it; hence it is that man appropriates to himself, or makes his own, the evil which flows in from hell, and that the Good which flows in from the Lord, does not affect him, consequently is not imputed to him.

The reason why man does not believe that evil flows in from hell, and Good from the Lord, is, because he is in self-love, which love is attended with this principle of unbelief, insomuch that it is exceedingly indignant when it hears it asserted that everything is the effect of influx; hence, then, it is, that all man's proprium. is nothing but evil, see Arcana Coelestia 210, 215. But the ground why man believes that evil is from hell, and Good from the Lord, is, because he is not in self-love, but in love towards his neighbour and towards the Lord, for this love is ever attended with this principle of belief; hence it is that man receives from the Lord a heavenly proprium, concerning which, see Arcana Coelestia 155, 164. This proprium, in each sense, is signified by "bone" and "flesh"; and this is the groundl and reason why by "bones", in the Word, is signified Truth, and, in an opposite sense, the false principle; and by "flesh" is signified Good, and, in an opposite sense, evil. That such is the signification of "bones", may appear from the following passages:

"Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen [or quicken] your bones: and you. shalt be like a watered garden"; (Isaiah 58:11) where "strengthening [or quickening] the bones" denotes to vivify the intellectual proprium; that is, to illustrate it with intelligence; whence it is said that "you may be as a watered garden"; that "garden" denotes intelligence, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 100, 108, 1588.

Again, in the same Prophet:

"Then you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall bud forth like the herb"; (Isaiah 66:14) where, by "bones budding forth like the herb", the same is signified as above. Arcana Coelestia 3812.

12. And they that spring from you shall build up the old waste places; you shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths to dwell in.

Verse 12. These words treat of the church in which charity and life are the essential. To "repair the breach", is to amend falsities which have crept in by the separation of what is Good from what is True, for everything false comes from this separation: to "restore paths to dwell in", signifies Truths which are of Good, for "paths" or "ways" are Truths, and to "dwell" is predicated of Good. Arcana Coelestia 4926.

13. If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing thine own pleasure on the day of My holiness; and shalt call the Sabbath a Delight to the Holy [One] of Jehovah, honourable; and shalt honour it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Verse 13. To "turn away the foot from the Sabbath", denotes such things as are of the natural man; to "do his own pleasure [or will]", is to do those things which favour the lusts and evils of the loves of self and of the world; to "do his own ways, is to favour the falsities of evils; to "find his own pleasure", is to live according to the delights of those loves; and to "speak his own words", denotes to think such things. Hence it is evident that by "profaning the Sabbath" is signified to be led of themselves and of their own loves, and not of the Lord, who, in the supreme sense, is the "Sabbath."

Similar things are signified by "works" on the Sabbath day, as by "cutting wood", and "kindling a fire", and "preparing food" at that time, "gathering in the harvest", and by several other things which were forbidden to be done on the Sabbath day; by which also like things are understood, - by "cutting wood", the operating of good from themselves; by "kindling a fire", the doing of it from their own loves; and by "preparing food", teaching themselves from their own proper intelligence.

That such things are involved in the above prohibitions, no one can know but from the internal sense. It is further to be noted, that to be led of self and to be led of the Lord are two opposites; for he who is led by himself is led by his own loves, thus by hell, because the proper loves of man are from that source; but he who is led by the Lord is led by the loves of heaven which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; he who is led by those loves is withdrawn from his own proper loves, and he who is led by his own proper loves is withdrawn from the loves of heaven, for they in no wise agree together; for the life of man is either in heaven or in hell, nor is it permitted to be at the same time in one and in the other.

This is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:

"No one can serve two lords; for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will adhere to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

From these considerations it is evident what is signified by "doing work on the Sabbath day." When man is thus led by the Lord, and conjoined to Him, then the church and heaven are in him, which is signified by his being made to "ride upon the high places of the earth", and by his being" fed with the heritage of Jacob." Arcana Coelestia 10362; also 10360.

In the natural sense, which is that of the letter, the divine commandment to "remember the Sabbath day, and to keep it holy", signifies that six days are for man and his labours, and the seventh for the Lord and for man's rest in dependence on Him; for the word "Sabbath", in the original tongue, signifies rest.

The "Sabbath" among the children of Israel was the sanctity of sanctities, because it represented the Lord; the "six days" being significative of His labours and combats with the hells, and the "seventh" of His victory over them, and of the rest which He thereby attained; and because that "day" represented the close and period of the whole work of redemption accomplished by the Lord, it was esteemed holiness itself.

But when the Lord came into the world, and, in consequence, made all representations of Himself to cease, that day was then made a day for instruction in divine subjects, and thus also a day of rest from labours, and of meditation on matters that concern salvation and eternal life; and also a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour. That it was made a day for instruction in divine subjects, is evident from this circumstance, that the Lord, on that day, "taught in the temple and in the synagogues"; (Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31, 32; 13:10) and that He said to the man who was healed - "Take up your bed, and walk"; and to the Pharisees, that "it was lawful for His disciples on the Sabbath day to gather the ears of corn, and to eat"; [Matthew 12:1-9; Mark 2:23, to the end; Luke 6:1-6; John 5:9-19) which particulars signify, in the spiritual sense, to be instructed in doctrinals.

That that day was also made a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbour, is evident from what the Lord both "did and taught on the Sabbath day." (Matthew 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:6-12; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:9-19; 7:22, 23; 9:14-16)

From these and the foregoing passages it appears why the Lord said that "He is Lord also of the Sabbath"; (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) and from His making this declaration, it follows that the "Sabbath day" was representative of Him. True Christian Religion 301.

14. Then shalt you delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob- your father: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.

Verse 14. By "causing to ride upon the high places of the earth", is signified to give the understanding of superior or interior Truths concerning the things of the church and of heaven; and by "feeding with the heritage of Jacob", is signified to gift with all things of heaven and the church; for by the "heritage of Jacob" is understood the land of Canaan, and by that "land" is meant the church, and, in a superior sense, heaven. Apocalypse Explained 617.

That a "horse" signifies the understanding, and to "ride." means to be intelligent, see Chapter 31:1, the Exposition.

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Isaiah Chapter 58.

1. CRY aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgressions; and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2. Yet they seek Me daily, and the knowledge of My ways they desire, as a nation that has done justice, and has not forsaken the judgment of their God, that they might inquire of Me the judgments of justice; they delight in approaching to God.

3. [Saying] Wherefore have we fasted, and You see not? have we afflicted our soul, and You dost not regard? Behold, in the day of your fasting, you find your pleasure; and all your demands you exact.

4. Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: do not fast as in this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

5. Is this, then, the fast which I choose? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it that he should bow down his head like a bulrush, and lie down in sackcloth and ashes? Wilt you call this a fast, a day well-pleasing to Jehovah?

6. Is not this the fast which I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the bruised go free, and that you break off every yoke?

7. Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the afflicted outcasts into your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from thine own flesh?

8. Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and your justice shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather up your rear.

9. Then shalt you call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shalt cry out, and He shall say, Behold Me! If you remove from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and the speaking of iniquity;

10. And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall be as the noon-day;

11. And Jehovah shall lead you continually, and shall satisfy your soul in parched places; and He shall strengthen your bones: and you shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters deceive not.

12. And they that spring from you shall build up the old waste places; you shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths to dwell in.

13. If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing thine own pleasure on the day of My holiness; and shalt call the Sabbath a Delight to the Holy [One] of Jehovah, honourable; and shalt honour it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14. Then shalt you delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob- your father: for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.

750. And they loved not their soul, even unto death, signifies the faithful who have endured temptations for the sake of these truths, and who have regarded the life of the world as of no account in comparison with the life of heaven. This is evident from the signification of "not to love the soul," as being to regard the life of the world as of no account in comparison with the life of heaven (of which presently); and from the signification of "even unto death," as being to endure temptations; for those who are in the combats of temptation regard the life of the world as of no account in comparison with the life of heaven, and consequently regard the death of their body as of no account in comparison with the life of the soul, as is evident from those who suffered martyrdom. The reason is, that they know that life in the world, which is only for some years, is as nothing compared with the life in heaven, which is eternal life; yea, there is no ratio between the time of man's life in the world and the life in heaven that will continue to eternity. Think if you can whether there can be any ratio between a hundred thousand years and eternity, and you will find there is none. These with many other thoughts flow in from heaven with those who endure spiritual temptations, therefore "they love not their soul (that is, their life in the world), even unto death."

[2] What is meant by "soul" is but little known in the world, because scholars have put forth several theories about the seat of the soul in the body, as also about its essence, and its influx into and operation in the body, and from notions drawn therefrom, about its immortality. From this it has come to be believed that the soul is a cogitative something, in its essence ethereal, and when separated from the body has no organs of motion or sense as it had in the world, until it is again conjoined with the body, which they say will take place at the time of the Last Judgment. As so unsuitable an idea of the soul of man has been accepted in the learned world it is important to illustrate from the Word what is meant by the soul. In general, the soul means the man, and in particular the life of man; and as there are in every man three degrees of life, there are also as many degrees of the soul. But as the whole life of man resides in his two faculties that are called will and understanding, on which account these are sometimes in the Word called "lives," in the plural, and as the soul means the life, it follows that there is a soul of the will and a soul of the understanding, and that the soul of the will is affection, which is of love, and the soul of the understanding is thought therefrom. But in the Word, the "soul" means properly the life of man's understanding, which is thought, and the "heart" the life of the will, which is affection. And as the respiration of the lungs corresponds to the life of the understanding, which is thought, and the pulsation of the heart corresponds to the life of the will which is affection, so in the lowest natural sense the life of respiration is meant by "soul;" consequently the dying are said to give up the soul or spirit, also that they have no more animation, or that no breath from the mouth is perceived. That such is the meaning of "soul" in the Word can be seen from passages where it is mentioned.

[3] 1. That in general "soul" signifies man is evident from the following passages.

In Moses:

Abram took every soul that they had gotten in Haran; and they departed into the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5).

The king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the souls, and take the substance to thyself (Genesis 14:21).

All the souls of the sons and daughters from Leah were thirty and three (Genesis 46:15).

The sons of Joseph were two souls; every soul of the house of Jacob which came into Egypt, seventy (Genesis 46:27).

Every soul which hath eaten of a carcass, or of that which is torn, shall be unclean until the even (Leviticus 17:15).

Of the cities of the peoples thou shalt not keep any soul alive (Deuteronomy 20:16).

If a man hath stolen a soul from his brethren and hath made gain of him (Deuteronomy 24:7).

The soul that eateth fat and blood shall be cut off (Leviticus 7:27).

The soul that is not circumcised shall be cut off from his people (Genesis 17:14);

and elsewhere. In these passages "soul" is used in place of man.

[4] 2. That in particular "soul" signifies the life of the body is evident from these passages.

In Luke:

The rich man thought with himself, I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou unwise one, this night they shall require thy soul of thee (Luke 12:19, 20).

In Moses:

When the soul of Rachel was departing, she called his name Benoni (Genesis 35:18).

All the men are dead who sought thy soul (Exodus 4:19).

And elsewhere:

By the hand of them that seek thy soul (Jeremiah 19:7, 9; 34:21).

He that falleth away to the Chaldeans shall live, and his soul shall be to him for a spoil (Jeremiah 21:9).

I will give thy soul for a prey (Jeremiah 45:5).

Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to afflict his soul? (Isaiah 58:5)

Reuben said to his brethren respecting Joseph, Let us not smite him in the soul (Genesis 37:21).

Soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Deuteronomy 19:21).

Thou ¹ shalt not take the mill or the millstone for a pledge, for he receiveth the soul for a pledge (Deuteronomy 24:6).

Samson said, Let my soul die with the Philistines (Judges 16:30).

Jezebel said to Elijah that tomorrow she would make his soul as the soul of one of them; and Elijah went away for his soul (1 Kings 19:2, 3).

Peter said, I will lay down my soul for Thee; Jesus answered, Wilt thou lay down thy soul for Me? Verily I say, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied Me thrice (John 13:37, 38).

In these passages "soul" is used for the life of the body. Likewise the Lord said of the life of His body in the Gospels:

As the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His soul a redemption for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

So elsewhere:

Behold I love thee, therefore I will give a man for thee; and peoples for thy soul (Isaiah 43:4).

Jesus said, Greater love hath no one than this, that one lay down his soul for his friends (John 15:13).

Jesus said, I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd layeth down his soul for the sheep. I lay down My soul and I will take it again; no man taketh it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again (John 10:11, 12, 15, 17, 18).

[5] 3. That "soul" signifies the life of man's spirit, which is called his spiritual life, is evident from the following passages. In the Gospels:

Jesus said, Fear not them that can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4, 5).

Whoever wisheth to find his soul shall lose it, and whoever would lose his soul for Jesus' sake shall find it (Matthew 10:39; Luke 17:33).

He that loveth his soul shall lose it; but he that hateth his soul in this world shall keep it unto the life eternal (John 12:25).

Jesus said, Whosoever will come after Him, ² let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him. For he that will save his soul shall lose it, but he that would lose his soul for His sake shall find it. For what doth it profit a man if he should gain the whole world but should lose his soul? Or what ³ shall a man give as a sufficient price for the redemption of his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26; Mark 8:35-37; Luke 9:24, 25)

Jesus said, I have come not to destroy souls but to save (Luke 9:56).

Mary said to Elizabeth, My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46).

Simeon said unto Mary concerning the infant Jesus, And a sword shall also pierce through thine own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:35).

Jesus said of the last times, In your patience possess ye your souls (Luke 21:19).

And elsewhere:

The foundations shall be broken, all that make gain from the pools of the soul (Isaiah 19:9, 10).

We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the desert (Lamentations 5:9).

They have digged ⁴ a pit for my soul (Jeremiah 18:20).

Their soul shall be as a watered garden (Jeremiah 31:12).

I will water the wearied soul, and every soul that grieveth I will fill (Jeremiah 31:25).

Woe to them that sew pillows under all the joints of My hands, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls. Will ye hunt the souls of My people, that ye may make souls alive for yourselves? Thou hast profaned Me with My people, to slay the souls that should not die, and to make alive the souls that should not live (Ezekiel 13:18, 19).

Behold all souls are Mine, as the soul of the father so the soul of the son, they are Mine; the soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4, 20).

I will go away for the bitterness of my soul (Isaiah 38:15).

The waters compassed me about even to the soul (Jonah 2:5).

The waters came even unto the soul; I was sunk in the deep mire (Psalms 69:1, 2).

They afflicted my foot ⁵ with a fetter, my soul came to the earth ⁶ (Psalms 105:18).

Bring my soul out of prison (Psalms 142:7).

Thou hast delivered my soul from death (Psalms 56:13).

To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine (Psalms 33:19).

Deliver me not up to the soul of my adversaries (Psalms 27:12; 41:2).

I afflicted my soul with fasting; let them not say in their heart, Ah, for his soul (Psalms 35:13, 25).

Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, nor wilt thou give thine Holy One to see corruption (Psalms 16:10).

The man who feareth Jehovah, him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose; his soul shall lodge in good (Psalms 25:12, 13).

The clean in hands and the pure in heart, who doth not lift up his soul unto vanity (Psalms 24:4).

He shall save the souls of the needy, He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence (Psalms 72:13, 14).

Bless Jehovah, O my soul (Psalms 103:1, 22).

Let every soul praise Jah (Psalms 150:6).

They will ask food for their soul (Psalms 78:18).

Jehovah breathed into man's nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7).

In these passages "soul" is used for the life of man's spirit, which is called his spiritual life.

[6] 4. Since man has two faculties of life, namely, a faculty to understand and a faculty to will, and these two faculties constitute the spiritual life of man, it can be seen from certain passages cited above, as also from the following, that "soul" signifies that faculty that is called the life of man's understanding.

As in Moses:

Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 26:16).

And in the Gospels:

Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27).

"To love Jehovah God with all the heart and all the soul" means with all the will and all the understanding, also with all the love and all the faith, for "heart" signifies the love and the will, and "soul" signifies the faith and the understanding. "Heart" signifies these two, the love and the will, because a man's love is of his will; and "soul" signifies the two, namely, faith and understanding, because faith is of the understanding. This is the signification of "heart and soul" because the heart of man corresponds to the good of love that belongs to his will, and the soul [or breath] of the lungs corresponds to the truth of faith that belongs to man's understanding. "With all the might and with all the mind" signifies above all things.

[7] In Ezekiel:

Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's anger; they shall not satisfy their soul, neither fill their bowels (Ezekiel 7:19).

Here, too, "soul" stands for the understanding of truth, which is said "not to be satisfied" when there is no truth in the church, and "bowels" stand for the will of good, and are said "not to be filled" when there is no good in the church. Because "silver" from correspondence signifies truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, and "gold" signifies good, and in the contrary sense evil, it is said, "their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's anger;" "silver and gold" meaning what is not true and what is not good, and also what is false and evil, and "day of anger" meaning the day of judgment.

[8] In Isaiah:

The light of Israel shall be for a fire, and His Holy One for a flame, and it shall burn and consume the glory of his forest and of Carmel, it shall consume from the soul even to the flesh (Isaiah 10:17, 18).

"The light of Israel," and "His Holy One," which shall be for a fire and a flame, mean the Lord in relation to the Last Judgment; "fire and flame" signify the destruction of those who are in the falsities of evil; "the glory of the forest and of Carmel that the fire and flame shall burn and consume" signifies the truth and the good of truth of the church, which shall be destroyed because they have been turned into falsities and the evils of falsity; "from the soul even to the flesh" signifies even from its understanding to its will, "soul" meaning the understanding of truth, and "flesh" the will of good.

[9] In the same:

The fool speaketh foolishness, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail (Isaiah 32:6).

Here, again, the soul signifies the man in respect to the understanding of good and truth, "the soul of the hungry" the understanding of good, and "drink for the soul of the thirsty" the understanding of truth. That a man who is in the falsities of evil will endeavor to deprive a man who is in truth from good of that truth is signified by "the fool speaketh foolishness, to make empty the soul, and to cause it to fail."

[10] In the same:

It shall be as when a hungry man dreameth as if he were eating, but when he awaketh his soul is empty; and when a thirsty man dreameth as if he were drinking, but when he awaketh behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; so shall be the multitude of all nations that make war against Mount Zion (Isaiah 29:8).

This is said of those who are in falsities from evil and yet think them to be truths from good; the falsities from evil combating against the goods of the church are signified by "the multitude of all nations that make war against Mount Zion;" "multitude" is predicated of truths, "nations" signify evils, and "Mount Zion" signifies the church in respect to the good of love. Believing evils to be good when they are the evils of falsity is signified by "It shall be as when a hungry man dreameth as if he were eating, but when he awaketh his soul is empty;" "a hungry man dreaming as if he were eating" signifies an erroneous opinion and belief about good; "to dream" signifying an erroneous opinion and belief, and "to be hungry and as if he were eating" signifying as it were a desire for good that will give nourishment; "but when he awaketh" signifies when it is discovered what good is; "his soul is empty" signifies that there is no understanding of good. Like things are said of truth, which are signified by "when a thirsty man dreameth as if he were drinking, but when he awaketh behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite;" "to be thirsty and as if drinking while he dreams" signifies an opinion and belief that it is true; "but when he awaketh behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite," signifies that still it is not true but false; "soul" here signifying the belief in falsity from truth not being understood; for evil and falsity, like good and truth, pertain to faith and understanding when they are of the thought alone. For a man can think so as to understand and thus believe that evil is good, and that falsity is truth. Such are all those who are in the falsities of doctrine, and have faith merely in masters and books, and do not consider whether what they are taught is false and evil, believing it to be true and good because it can be confirmed, not knowing that falsity and evil can be confirmed just as well as truth and good.

[11] In the same:

If thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul thy light shall arise in darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noonday (Isaiah 58:10).

"To draw out the soul to the hungry and to satisfy the afflicted soul" signifies to teach one who desires it what is good and what is true; "the hungry" signifies one who desires good, and "the afflicted" one who desires truth, and "to draw out the soul" signifies to teach good and truth, that is, from the understanding, doctrine and faith. That to those who are in ignorance and yet have a desire there shall be given an understanding of truth and good, is signified by "thy light shall arise in darkness and thy thick darkness be as the noonday;" "darkness" and "thick darkness" meaning ignorance of truth and good, and "light" and "noonday" meaning the understanding of good and truth.

[12] In Lamentations:

All the people groan, they seek bread, they have given their desirable things for food, to restore the soul. The comforter who restoreth my soul is far from me; my sons are made waste because the enemy hath prevailed. My priests and my elders have expired in the city, for they sought food for themselves with which to restore their soul (Lamentations 1:11, 16, 19).

This is said of a church in which there is no longer any truth and good of doctrine, consequently the men of the church who desire these lack them; the lack of good and truth in doctrine, and the desire for them to nourish the life of faith and of the understanding is signified by "all the people groan, they seek bread, they have given their desirable things for food to restore the soul;" lack is signified by their "groaning;" desire for good by "seeking bread;" desire for truth by "giving their desirable things for food;" and the nourishment of the faith and understanding by "restoring their soul;" that there is no nourishment of faith and understanding because there are no longer any truths on account of the evils of life is signified by "the comforter who restoreth my soul is far from me, my sons are made waste because the enemy hath prevailed," "sons made waste" signifying that there are no longer any truths, and "the enemy that hath prevailed" signifying evil from hell, thus the evil of life. That there are no longer any that teach good and truth is signified by "my priests and my elders have expired in the city;" "priests" signifying those who teach good, and "elders" those who teach truths, and "city" doctrine, and "to expire" that these no longer exist. That they have no spiritual nourishment is signified by "for they sought food for themselves with which to restore their soul."

[13] In Lamentations:

They say to their mothers, Where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one pierced in the broad ways of the city, when their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom (Lamentations 2:12).

This has a similar signification as the preceding passage, namely, that the church is so desolated by the lack of good and truth in doctrine that spiritual life in it faints and perishes. "Mothers" signify the truths of the church; they say to them, "Where is the corn and the wine" signifies where is now the good of doctrine and its truth? "Their soul is poured out upon their mother's bosom" signifies the fainting and perishing of spiritual life because of the desolation from lack of truths. Because the "soul" means the life of faith and of the understanding of good and truth, which is the spiritual life of man, it is said "they faint as one pierced in the broad ways of the city;" "one pierced" signifying one who perishes by falsities, and "the broad ways of the city," truth of doctrine.

[14] In Jonah:

When my soul fainted upon me (Jon. Jonah 2:7).

This treats of temptations; and that "his soul fainted upon him" signifies that the truth fainted (or ceased) in the faith and understanding. In David:

Mine eye wasteth away with vexation, and my belly (Psalms 31:9).

In the same:

My ⁷ soul is bowed down to the dust, our belly cleaveth to the earth (Psalms 44:25).

This also describes the state of temptations. The "eye" signifies the understanding, the "soul" the belief in truth and the understanding of truth, and the "belly" the belief in good and the understanding of good. This is the signification of "belly" because the belly receives food, and "food" and "bread" signify good that nourishes, here the understanding and faith. The lack of these in temptation is signified by "wasting away with vexation," and "bowing down to the dust," and "cleaving to the earth."

[15] In Moses:

They said, Now is our soul dried up, there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes (Numbers 11:6).

Because "manna" signifies spiritual nourishment, and it is the faith and understanding, or the intelligence of man, that is spiritually nourished, and because the sons of Israel had no natural nourishment, which yet they desired, so they said, "Our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes;" "the soul dried up" signifies the life of faith and of the understanding failing when there was not at the same time any natural nourishment; "there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes" signifies that there was nothing except spiritual nourishment; and because they loathed this, the flesh of quails, or selav, was given to them, and the flesh of these signifies natural nourishment.

[16] In the first book of Samuel:

Hannah said unto Eli, I have poured out my soul before Jehovah (1 Samuel 1:15).

"To pour out the soul before Jehovah" signifies to declare the thoughts of her mind and heart. In the Gospels:

Be ye not anxious for your soul what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink, nor for your body what ye shall put on; is not the soul more than nourishment, and the body more than the raiment? (Matthew 6:25; Luke 12:22, 23)

Although this is said of the life of the body, still it signifies such things as pertain to the life of the spirit, for all things of the sense of the letter of the Word, which is natural, contain within them an internal sense which is spiritual; in this sense "to eat," "to drink," and "food" signify spiritual nourishment, which is the nourishment of faith together with the nourishment of the understanding, from which comes intelligence in spiritual things; therefore it is said, "Be not ye anxious for your soul what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink; is not the soul more than nourishment?" "To eat" means to perceive good intellectually and thus spiritually; "to drink" means to perceive truth intellectually and thus spiritually; and "nourishment" means good and truth from which is nutrition. "To clothe the body" and "raiment" signify truth investing the good of love and of the will; "raiment" signifies such truth, and the "body" the good of love which is the good of the will.

[17] In David:

My soul, I lie in the midst of lions, the sons of man are set on fire (Psalms 57:4).

Here, too, "the soul" signifies spiritual life, which is the life of faith, and thus the life of the understanding, for the understanding is formed from truths and consists of them, the same as faith. As this is the signification of "the soul," and the vastation of truth is here treated of, it is said, "I lie in the midst of lions;" "lions" signifying the falsities that destroy the truths of the church; also it is said, "the sons of man are set on fire;" "sons of man" signifying the truths of doctrine and of the church, and when these are taken possession of by corporeal love, and thereby perish, they are said "to be set on fire." In Moses:

Abraham spake with the sons of Heth, If it be with your soul that I bury my dead (Genesis 23:8).

"Soul" here signifies thought from truth. (But these words are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 2930.)

[18] In Jeremiah:

Thy lovers will abhor thee, they will seek thy soul (Jeremiah 4:30).

"Lovers" mean those who are in the love of evil; "to seek the soul" signifies to wish to destroy the belief in truth and the understanding of truth by the falsities of evil. In Ezekiel:

Javan and Tubal traded with the soul of man and vessels of brass (Ezekiel 27:13).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good; "to trade" signifies the acquisition and communication of these; "Javan and Tubal" signify external representative worship; and "the soul of man" signifies the knowledge [scientia] of truth in the natural man, and "the vessels of brass" the knowledge of good in the natural man. The knowledge [scientia] of natural truth is signified also by "the souls of men" in Revelation 18:13; "the souls of men" mean properly slaves or servants, which also signify in the spiritual sense the true knowledges [vera scientifica] of the natural man that are serviceable to the spiritual.

[19] 5. Since the life of faith and also the life of man's understanding is from Divine truth, therefore Divine truth also is signified by "soul;" as can be seen from the following passages. In Jeremiah:

I will plant them in this land in verity, with My whole heart and with My whole soul (Jeremiah 32:41).

As there are two things that proceed from the Lord, Divine good and Divine truth, and as these, when received by the angels of heaven and the men of the church, constitute the heavenly life with them, so it is clear what is signified by "planting them with the whole heart and with the whole soul," namely, in His Divine good and in His Divine truth, for the "heart" signifies the Divine good of the Divine love, and the "soul" Divine truth.

[20] In the same:

Jehovah hath sworn by His soul (Jeremiah 51:14; Amos 6:8).

Jehovah is said "to swear by His soul" when He confirms by His Divine truth, for "to swear" signifies to confirm, and "the soul of Jehovah" Divine truth. In David:

Jehovah proveth the righteous; the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth (Psalms 11:5).

Here, also, "the soul of Jehovah" signifies Divine truth, for "the violent" in the Word signifies one who offers violence to Divine truth; and because this is done by the falsities of evil this is signified by the "wicked and him that loveth violence."

[21] In Isaiah:

My chosen in whom My soul is well pleased, I have given My spirit upon Him (Isaiah 42:1).

This is said of the Lord, who is meant by "the chosen of Jehovah;" and as "the spirit of Jehovah" that was given upon Him signifies the Divine proceeding, so "the soul of Jehovah" that was well pleased in Him signifies Divine truth; for the Lord was in that Divine in respect to His Human in the world. In Jeremiah:

Jehovah said, Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My soul would not be towards this people (Jeremiah 15:1).

"Moses and Samuel" in the representative sense signify the Word; and as the Word is Divine truth, and "people" mean here the sons of Israel, who had no Divine truth that was not falsified and adulterated, it is said, "My soul would not be towards this people."

[22] In the same:

Shall not My soul take vengeance? (Jeremiah 5:9, 29)

Here, again, "the soul of Jehovah" means Divine truth; when by this the Lord executes judgment it is said that "His soul takes vengeance." "The Son of man who is to execute judgment" has a similar signification; "the Son of man" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine truth. In the same:

Receive chastisement, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be torn away from thee, and I reduce thee to wasteness (Jeremiah 6:8).

"Jerusalem" signifies the church in respect to doctrine; "to receive chastisement" signifies to receive discipline; "lest my soul be torn away from thee" signifies lest Divine truth depart from them; and "to reduce to wasteness" signifies lest the church be desolated in respect to all truth.

[23] In Isaiah:

Jehovah that giveth soul to the people upon the earth, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isaiah 42:5).

"The soul that Jehovah gives to the people upon the earth" signifies Divine truth from the Lord to those who will be of His church; "the spirit that Jehovah will give to them that walk upon the earth" signifies life according to Divine truth; "to walk" signifying to live.

[24] 6. Since "soul," in reference to the Lord, signifies Divine truth, so it signifies spiritual life from truth. In Moses:

The soul of all flesh is the blood (Lev. 17:14).

As the ultimate life of man, which is the life of his body, consists in the blood, it is said that "the soul of all flesh," that is, the life thereof, "is its blood;" but as there is a spiritual sense in every least particular of the Word, and in that sense "blood" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, therefore this too is signified by "the soul of flesh." That "blood" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, which is Divine truth, may be seen above (n. 328, 329, 476). Because this is the signification of blood, the sons of Israel were forbidden to eat blood; therefore the blood of the burnt-offerings and sacrifices was sprinkled about the altar, and by the blood sanctifications and also consecrations were effected; so likewise the covenant of the God of Israel, that is, of the Lord, with the people was entered into by blood; and furthermore, the Lord has entered into a new covenant with the church of this day. This is why the blood of the Lord is called "the blood of the covenant," that is, of conjunction with the Lord; and it is so called because it is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord that conjoins. From this it is clear why blood is called "soul."

[25] It was because of this signification of blood that from the most ancient time it was forbidden to eat blood, as can be seen in Moses:

Every creeping thing that liveth shall be for food to you, but the flesh with the soul thereof, the blood thereof, ye shall not eat (Genesis 9:3, 4).

Here, too, it is said that "the blood is the soul of the flesh;" and it was forbidden to eat it because eating blood signified the profanation of truth. In the same:

Whosoever shall eat any blood, I will set My faces against the soul that eateth blood that I may cut it off from the midst of his people; for the soul of the flesh is in the blood; therefore I have given it upon the altar to expiate for your souls, for it is the blood itself that expiateth for the soul (Leviticus 17:10, 11).

Because "soul," like "blood," signifies truth from the Word, which is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and because all worship of the Lord is performed by means of Divine truth, it is said, "for the soul of the flesh is in the blood, therefore I have given it upon the altar," "to give the blood upon the altar" signifying worship from Divine truth. And as all deliverance from evils and falsities, which is expiation, is effected by Divine truth and by a life according to it, it is said, "to expiate your souls, for it is the blood itself that expiateth for the soul."

[26] In the same:

Surely the blood of your souls will I require, at the hand of every wild beast will I require it, especially at the hand of man, at the hand of man his brother will I require the soul of man (Genesis 9:5).

Here "blood" and also "soul" mean the spiritual life of man, which is a life according to Divine truth, as can be seen from this, that whoever extinguishes that life perishes in eternal death, for that life is not extinguished but by one who is in infernal evil and falsity. (But this may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia.)

[27] 7. That "living soul" signifies life in general can be seen from passages where beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes, are called "living souls." As in the following:

God said, Let the waters bring forth the creeping thing, the living soul. God created great whales, and every living soul that creepeth which the waters brought forth (Genesis 1:20, 21).

God said, Let the earth bring forth the living soul according to its kind, beast and wild beast (Genesis 1:24).

Jehovah brought unto the man every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, to see what he would call it; and whatsoever the man called it, the living soul, that was its name (Genesis 2:19).

Every living soul that swimmeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; whence there is much fish (Ezekiel 47:9)

Every living soul died in the sea (Revelation 16:3).

In the spiritual sense all animals signify the things belonging to the natural man, and its life; and as the life of the natural man, which is life in ultimates, signifies life in the whole complex, so they are called "living souls."

[28] From this it can now be seen what "soul" signifies in the Word, namely, the life of man both natural and spiritual, thus the life both of his body and of his spirit. This also makes evident how perverted is the idea of the soul of man that is entertained, first by the learned, and from them by the common people, namely, that it is a sort of indivisible entity, having its seat in some part of the body, either in the brain or in the heart, or elsewhere; and that when it is loosed from man by death it is without a body and without such sensory and motor parts as belong to a body, but that these will be added to it at the day of the Last Judgment; also that in the meantime it is a something flitting in the ether, or is abiding in a somewhere, awaiting its additional part, which is the body. Such is now the world's idea of the soul of man; although in the Word "soul" has no such meaning, but means instead the life of man, which has no existence separate from the body, but only in the body; for the body is the external form of that life that is called the soul, giving effect to its will and pleasure in both worlds, the natural in which men live and the spiritual in which spirits and angels live. And as the Divine proceeding from the Lord constitutes the life of all, therefore that life is signified by "soul" in the celestial sense. Because the Divine proceeding, wherever it comes, forms an image of the Lord, thus it so forms angels and spirits that they may be human forms according to reception; thence it now follows that the soul that lives after death must mean the spirit of man, which is a man with both a soul and a body, a soul that rules over the body, and a body by which the soul effects its will in the world in which it is.

Footnotes: