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Ezekiel 32

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1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou didst come forth with thy rivers, and disturb the waters with thy feet, and render their rivers foul.

3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.

4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, and I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.

5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy hight.

6 I will also water with thy blood the land in which thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.

7 And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

10 Yes, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.

12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall lay waste the pomp of Egypt, and all its multitude shall be destroyed.

13 I will destroy also all its beasts from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man disturb them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts disturb them.

14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.

15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that of which it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell in it, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

16 This is the lamentation with which they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.

19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.

20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.

21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of the grave with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

22 Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:

23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is around her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.

24 There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are around him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain.

26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are around him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to the grave, with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

28 Yes, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.

29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, who with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.

30 There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, who are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.

31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #9488

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9488. 'And a cubit and a half its breadth' means what is complete so far as truth is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of 'one and a half' as what is complete, the reason why this number means what is complete being that 'three' has this meaning (for the half of a number is similar in meaning to the whole number, because a number that results from multiplication keeps the same meaning as a simple number of which it is the product through multiplication, 5291, 5335. Regarding 'three', that it means what is complete, see 2788, 7715, 9198; and that all numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5291, 5335, 5708, 6175, 7973); and from the meaning of 'breadth' as truth, dealt with immediately above in 9487.

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

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Arcana Coelestia #9198

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9198. 'Any widow' means those who have good that is without truth, and still have a desire for truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a widow' as good that is without truth and nevertheless has a desire for truth. The reason why 'a widow' has this meaning is that 'a man' (vir) means truth and his 'wife' (mulier) good, so that when this man's wife has become a widow she means good that is without truth. But in an even more internal sense than this 'a widow' means truth that is without good, the reason being that in that sense 'a husband' (maritus) means good and his 'wife' (uxor) truth, see 3236, 4510, 4823. In this sense the Lord by virtue of His Divine Good is called 'Husband' and 'Bridegroom', while His kingdom and Church by virtue of its acceptance of Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord is called 'wife' and 'bride', 9182. But since the subject now is not the Lord's celestial Church but His spiritual Church, 'a widow' means one who has good but not truth, and still has a desire for truth. It is similar with 'an orphan'. In the inmost or celestial sense 'an orphan' means those who have good and a desire for truth. See what has been introduced and explained in 4844 regarding the meaning of 'a widow' and 'an orphan' in the celestial sense. To this let what the Lord says in Luke about the widow in Zarephath be added,

Truly I say to you that no prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, while there was a great famine over the whole land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman - a widow. Luke 4:24-26.

[2] Since the Divine was the source of all the things spoken by the Lord they have an inner meaning; and the subject in that inner meaning is the Lord Himself, also His kingdom and the Church. Therefore what the Lord meant on that level of meaning by the things He said about the widow in Zarephath of Sidon may be seen if brought out into the open.

No prophet is accepted in his own country

This means that the Lord and Divine Truth that comes from Him are less well received and loved in people's hearts within the Church than outside it. The Lord spoke these words to the Jews, among whom the Church existed at that time; and as is well known, the Lord was less well received there than by gentiles who were outside the Church. The situation is similar in the Church at the present day, which takes its name Christian from Him. In this Church the Lord is indeed received in what it teaches; yet few accept Him by acknowledging Him in their heart, fewer still doing so with love and affection. The acceptance of Him by gentiles outside the Church who have been converted is different. They worship and adore Him as their one and only God; they declare with their lips and contemplate in their hearts that they acknowledge Him as their God, since He has appeared in human form, 5256. A contrary attitude exists within the Church. Here, because He was born a human being, there is scarcely any acknowledgement of Him as God in people's hearts. They make His Humanity like their own, even though they know that His Father was Jehovah and not a human being. All this shows what 'No prophet is accepted in his own country' has been used to mean in the internal sense. In this sense 'a prophet' means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, and so in respect of the teachings of the Church. For the meaning of 'a prophet' as one who teaches, and in the abstract sense as doctrinal teachings, and - when it is used in reference to the Lord - as Divine Truth or the Word, see above in 9188 (end).

[3] There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah

In the internal sense this means the situation at that time, when God's truth coming from the Word was acknowledged in the Church. 'Widows' are those who have good that is without truth, as stated above; 'Elijah' is the Lord in respect of the Word, 'the days of Elijah' being the situation or state at that time, when God's truth coming from the Word was received; and 'Israel' is the Church.

'Elijah' represented the Lord in respect of the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end), 8029. 'Days' are states, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 6110, 8426. 'Israel' is the Church, 4286, 6426, 6637, 8805.

[4] When the heaven was closed for three years and six months

This means the internal Church completely laid waste, 'the heaven' meaning the internal aspect of the Church, and 'three years and six months' meaning to completeness. For the meaning of 'the heaven' as the internal aspect of the Church, see 1733, 1850, 3355, 4535. It is said to be 'closed' when it has been laid waste and exists no longer. As regards the meaning of 'three years and six months' as to completeness, this is clear from the meaning of '1260 days' in Revelation 11:3; 12:6 - this number of days making up three years and six months - as to completeness or right to the end. It is clear likewise from the meaning of 'three days and a half', Revelation 11:9-11, and also of 'a time and times and half a time' in Revelation 12:14, and in Daniel 12:7 too, as to completeness or right to the end.

[5] While there was a great famine over the whole land

This means the external Church also laid waste, for 'a famine' is an absence and want of truth and good, 3364, 5277, 5279, 5281, 5300, 5360, 5376, 5415, 5576, 6110, 7102, and 'the land' or 'the earth' is the external Church, 1262, 1413, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732.

Yet Elijah was sent to none of them

This means the Lord in respect of the Word, thus the Lord's Word, not sent to others, because it would not have been received elsewhere, 'Elijah' being, as stated above, the Lord in respect of the Word.

[6] Except to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman - a widow

This means sent only to those who have good and a desire for truth. The description 'Zarephath of Sidon' is used because 'Sidon' means cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201. The fact that 'a woman - a widow' means one who has good and a desire for truth is evident from this, and especially from what is recorded about her in the first Book of Kings,

Elijah came to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman - a widow - to sustain him. He told her to bring him a little water to drink, and then to bring him a small piece of bread in her hand. She said that she had a tiny amount of flour in a jar, and a tiny amount of oil in a flask, to make just a cake for herself and her son. Elijah said, Make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and make one for yourself and your son after that. She did so; and the jar of flour was not used up, and the flask of oil did not fail. 1 Kings 17:9-15.

[7] Obedience, and the desire that good has for truth, is described by her giving the prophet water, as she had been commanded to do, and then by her making a cake for him first from the little she had, and for herself and her son after that. Consequent enrichment in the good of truth is meant when it says that the pot of flour was not used up and the flask of oil did not fail.

'Water' in the internal sense is truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568. 'Flour' is truth derived from good, 2177. 'Oil is the good of love, 886, 4582, 4638. 'A cake' made from these ingredients is truth joined to its own good, 7978.

From all this it is plain that 'a widow' means one who has good and a desire for truth. Good and its desire for truth is described by her charity towards the prophet, greater than towards herself and her son, 'a prophet' being teachings that present truth, as has been shown above.

[8] All that has been said here shows what the Word is like, that it conceals within itself the arcana of heaven, which are not visible in the letter. But every detail of what the Lord spoke when He was in the world, and of what He spoke before that through prophets, contains heavenly and Divine matters on a level altogether above the sense of the letter. And not only individual words contain those matters, but even the individual letters of words, indeed the individual parts of each letter. But is there anyone who believes this to be so? Yet it is most certainly so; it has been proved to me beyond all doubt, as in the Lord's Divine mercy will be shown elsewhere.

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