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Deuteronomio 32

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1 Makinig kayo, mga langit, at ako'y magsasalita, At pakinggan ng lupa ang mga salita ng aking bibig.

2 Ang aking aral ay papatak na parang ulan; Ang aking salita ay bababa na parang hamog; Gaya ng ambon sa malambot na damo, At gaya ng mahinang ambon sa gugulayin:

3 Sapagka't aking ihahayag ang pangalan ng Panginoon: Dakilain ninyo ang ating Dios.

4 Siya ang Bato, ang kaniyang gawa ay sakdal; Sapagka't lahat niyang daan ay kahatulan: Isang Dios na tapat at walang kasamaan, Matuwid at banal siya.

5 Sila'y nagpakasama, sila'y hindi kaniyang mga anak, itong kanilang kapintasan; Mga tampalasan at likong lahi.

6 Ganyan ba ninyo ginaganti ang Panginoon, O mangmang na bayan at hindi pantas? Hindi ba siya ang iyong ama na tumangkilik sa iyo? Kaniyang nilalang ka, at itinatag ka.

7 Alalahanin mo ang mga araw ng una, Isipin mo ang mga taon ng lahi't lahi: Itanong mo sa iyong ama at kaniyang ibabalita sa iyo; Sa iyong mga matanda, at kanilang sasaysayin sa iyo.

8 Nang ibigay ng Kataastaasan sa mga bansa ang kanilang mana, Nang kaniyang ihiwalay ang mga anak ng tao, Kaniyang inilagay ang mga hangganan ng mga bayan Ayon sa bilang ng mga anak ni Israel.

9 Sapagka't ang bahagi ng Panginoon ay ang kaniyang bayan; Si Jacob ang bahaging mana niya.

10 Kaniyang nasumpungan sa isang ilang sa lupain, At sa kapanglawan ng isang umuungal na ilang; Kaniyang kinanlungan sa palibot, kaniyang nilingap, Kaniyang iningatang parang salamin ng kaniyang mata:

11 Parang aguila na kumikilos ng kaniyang pugad, Na yumuyungyong sa kaniyang mga inakay, Kaniyang ibinubuka ang kaniyang mga pakpak, kaniyang kinukuha, Kaniyang dinadala sa ibabaw ng kaniyang mga pakpak:

12 Ang Panginoon na magisa ang pumatnubay sa kaniya, At walang ibang dios na kasama siya.

13 Ipinaari sa kaniya ang matataas na dako ng lupa, At siya'y kumain ng tubo sa bukid; At kaniyang pinahitit ng pulot na mula sa bato, At ng langis na mula sa batong pinkian;

14 Ng mantika ng baka, at gatas ng tupa, Na may taba ng mga kordero, At ng mga tupang lalake sa Basan, at mga kambing, Na may taba ng mga butil ng trigo; At sa katas ng ubas ay uminom ka ng alak.

15 Nguni't tumaba si Jeshurun, at tumutol: Ikaw ay tumataba, ikaw ay lumalapad, ikaw ay naging makinis: Nang magkagayo'y kaniyang pinabayaan ang Dios na lumalang sa kaniya, At niwalang kabuluhan ang Bato na kaniyang kaligtasan.

16 Siya'y kinilos nila sa paninibugho sa ibang mga dios, Sa pamamagitan ng mga karumaldumal, minungkahi nila siya sa kagalitan.

17 Kanilang inihain sa mga demonio, na hindi Dios, Sa mga dios na hindi nila nakilala, Sa mga bagong dios, na kalilitaw pa lamang, Na hindi kinatakutan ng inyong mga magulang.

18 Sa Batong nanganak sa iyo, ay nagwalang bahala ka, At iyong kinalimutan ang Dios na lumalang sa iyo.

19 At nakita ng Panginoon, at kinayamutan sila, Dahil sa pamumungkahi ng kaniyang mga anak na lalake at babae.

20 At kaniyang sinabi, Aking ikukubli ang aking mukha sa kanila, Aking titingnan kung anong mangyayari sa kanilang wakas; Sapagka't sila'y isang napakasamang lahi, Na mga anak na walang pagtatapat.

21 Kinilos nila ako sa paninibugho doon sa hindi Dios; Kanilang minungkahi ako sa galit sa kanilang mga walang kabuluhan: At akin silang kikilusin sa paninibugho sa mga hindi bayan: Aking ipamumungkahi sila sa galit, sa pamamagitan ng isang mangmang na bansa.

22 Sapagka't may apoy na nagalab sa aking galit, At nagniningas hanggang sa Sheol, At lalamunin ang lupa sangpu ng tubo nito, At paniningasan ng apoy ang mga tungtungan ng mga bundok.

23 Aking dadaganan sila ng mga kasamaan; Aking gugugulin ang aking busog sa kanila:

24 Sila'y mangapupugnaw sa gutom, at lalamunin ng maningas na init, At ng mapait na pagkalipol; At ang mga ngipin ng mga hayop ay susunugin ko sa kanila, Sangpu ng kamandag ng nangagsisiusad sa alabok.

25 Sa labas ay pipighatiin ng tabak. At sa mga silid ay kakilabutan; Malilipol kapuwa ang binata at dalaga, Ang sanggol sangpu ng lalaking may uban.

26 Aking sinabi, Aking pangangalatin sila sa malayo, Aking papaglilikatin sa mga tao ang alaala sa kanila;

27 Kundi aking kinatatakutan ang mungkahi ng kaaway; Baka ang kanilang mga kalaban ay humatol ng mali, Baka kanilang sabihin, Ang aming kamay ay tanghal, At hindi ginawa ng Panginoon ang lahat ng ito.

28 Sapagka't sila'y bansang salat sa payo, At walang kaalaman sa kanila.

29 Oh kung sila'y mga pantas, na kanilang tinalastas ito, Kung nababatid nila ang kanilang wakas!

30 Kung paanong hahabulin ng isa ang isang libo, At ang dalawa'y magpapatakas sa sangpung libo, Malibang ipagbili sila ng kanilang Bato, At ibigay sila ng Panginoon?

31 Sapagka't ang kanilang bato ay hindi gaya ng ating Bato, Kahit ang ating mga kaaway man ang maging mga hukom.

32 Sapagka't ang kanilang puno ng ubas ay mga puno ng ubas sa Sodoma, At sa mga parang ng Gomorra: Ang kanilang ubas ay ubas ng apdo, Ang kanilang mga buwig ay mapait:

33 Ang kanilang alak ay kamandag ng mga dragon, At mabagsik na kamandag ng mga ahas.

34 Di ba ito'y natatago sa akin, Na natatatakan sa aking mga kayamanan?

35 Ang panghihiganti ay akin, at gayon din ang gantingpala, Sa panahon na madudulas ang kanilang mga paa: Sapagka't ang araw ng kanilang pagdadalita ay nalalapit, At ang mga bagay na darating sa kanila ay mangagmamadali.

36 Sapagka't hahatulan ng Panginoon ang kaniyang bayan, At magsisisi dahil sa kaniyang mga lingkod; Pagka kaniyang nakitang ang kanilang kapangyarihan ay nawala, At wala ng natitira na natatakpan o naiwan.

37 At kaniyang sasabihin, Saan nandoon ang kanilang mga dios, Ang bato na siya nilang pinanganlungan;

38 Yaong mga kumakain ng taba ng kanilang mga hain, At umiinom ng alak ng kanilang inuming handog? Bumangon sila at tumulong sa inyo, At sila'y maging pagkupkop sa inyo.

39 Tingnan ninyo ngayon, na ako, sa makatuwid baga'y ako nga, At walang dios sa akin: Ako'y pumapatay, at ako'y bumubuhay; Ako'y ang sumusugat, at ako'y ang nagpapagaling: At walang makaliligtas sa aking kamay.

40 Sapagka't aking itinataas ang aking kamay sa langit, At aking sinasabi, Buhay ako magpakailan man,

41 Kung aking ihahasa ang aking makintab na tabak, At ang aking kamay ay hahawak ng kahatulan; Aking ibibigay ang aking panghihiganti sa aking mga kaaway, At aking gagantihan yaong nangapopoot sa akin.

42 At aking lalanguin ng dugo ang aking tunod, At ang aking tabak ay sasakmal ng laman; Sa dugo ng patay at ng mga bihag, Mula sa ulo ng mga pangulo ng kaaway.

43 Mangagalak kayo, O mga bansa, na kasama ng kaniyang bayan; Sapagka't ipanghihiganti ang dugo ng kaniyang mga lingkod, At manghihiganti sa kaniyang mga kaalit, At patatawarin ang kaniyang lupain, ang kaniyang bayan.

44 At si Moises ay naparoon at sinalita ang lahat ng mga salita ng awit na ito sa pakinig ng bayan, siya, at si Josue na anak ni Nun.

45 At tinapos ni Moises na salitain ang lahat ng mga salitang ito sa buong Israel:

46 At kaniyang sinabi sa kanila, Ilagak ninyo ang inyong puso sa lahat ng mga salita na aking pinatototohanan sa inyo sa araw na ito, na inyong iuutos sa inyong mga anak upang isagawa ang lahat ng mga salita ng kautusang ito.

47 Sapagka't ito'y hindi hamak na bagay sa inyo; sapagka't inyong kabuhayan, at sa bagay na ito ay inyong palalaunin ang inyong ipinagtatawid ng Jordan upang ariin.

48 At sinalita ng Panginoon kay Moises nang araw ding yaon, na sinasabi,

49 Sumampa ka sa bundok na ito ng Abarim, sa bundok ng Nebo na nasa lupain ng Moab, na nasa tapat ng Jerico; at masdan mo ang lupain ng Canaan, na aking ibinibigay sa mga anak ni Israel, na pinakaari:

50 At mamatay ka sa bundok na iyong sinasampa, at malakip ka sa iyong bayan, gaya ni Aaron na iyong kapatid na namatay sa bundok ng Hor, at nalakip sa kaniyang bayan:

51 Sapagka't kayo'y sumalansang laban sa akin sa gitna ng mga anak ni Israel sa tubig ng Meriba ng Cades, sa ilang ng Zin; sapagka't hindi ninyo ako inaring banal sa gitna ng mga anak ni Israel.

52 Sapagka't iyong matatanaw ang lupain sa harap mo; nguni't doo'y hindi ka makapapasok, sa lupain na aking ibinibigay sa mga anak ni Israel.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 4311

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4311. That in the internal historical sense by for I have seen God faces to faces, and my soul is delivered, is signified that He was present representatively, is evident from the signification of “seeing God faces to faces,” when these words are predicated of the state in which the posterity of Jacob were, as being that the Lord was present representatively; for to see God faces to faces in the external form and with the bodily sight, is not to see Him present (n. 4299). That He was not present as with those who are regenerate, and thereby are in spiritual love and faith, is manifest from what has been said of that nation (n. 4281, 4288, 4290, 4293)—that they were in external worship, and not at the same time in internal, or what is the same, in bodily and worldly, and not in spiritual and heavenly love. With such the Lord could never be present except representatively.

[2] What it is to be present representatively, must be briefly told. A man who is in bodily and worldly love and not at the same time in spiritual and heavenly love, has none but evil spirits with him, even when he is in a holy external; for good spirits cannot possibly be present with such a person, because they at once perceive in what kind of love a man is. There is a sphere which is exhaled from his interiors, which spirits perceive as manifestly as a man perceives by his sense of smell offensive and foul vapors floating around him in the air. That nation which is here treated of, was in such a state as to good and truth, or as to love and faith. In order, however, that they might serve as the representative of a church, it was miraculously provided by the Lord that when they were in a holy external, and were at the same time surrounded by evil spirits, the holy in which they were might yet be uplifted into heaven; and this by good spirits and angels not within but without them, for within them there was nothing but emptiness or uncleanness. Communication was therefore given not with the man himself, but with the holy itself in which they were when they fulfilled the statutes and precepts given them, which were all representative of spiritual and heavenly things of the Lord’s kingdom. This is signified by the Lord’s being present with that nation representatively. But the Lord is present in a very different way with those within the church who are in spiritual love and thence in faith. With these there are good spirits and angels not only in their external worship, but also at the same time in their internal; and therefore with them there exists a communication of heaven with themselves; for the Lord flows into them through heaven through their internals into their externals. To these the holy of worship is profitable in the other life, but not to the former.

[3] It is similar with priests and elders who preach holy things, and yet are in evil life and evil belief. With these there are not good, but evil spirits, even when they are in worship that appears holy in the external form. For it is the love of self and of the world, or a love for securing honors and acquiring gain and thereby fame, that fires them and presents an appearance of affection for what is holy, sometimes to such a degree that no simulation is perceived, nor is at the time believed by them to exist; when yet they are in the midst of evil spirits, who are then in a similar state, and who breathe upon them and into them. That evil spirits can be in such a state, and are so when they are in their externals, and are inflated with the love of self and of the world, has been given me to know by manifold experience, which of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be described hereafter at the end of the chapters. Such preachers have no communication with heaven in themselves; and yet those have who hear and receive the words from their mouth, if they are in a pious and holy internal; for it matters not from whom the voice of good and truth flows forth, provided their life is not manifestly wicked; for this life causes a scandal.

[4] That the nation descended from Jacob was of such a character (namely, that they were surrounded with evil spirits, and yet the Lord was present with them representatively), may be seen from many passages in the Word; for they were very far from worshiping Jehovah with the heart, and as soon as miracles were lacking, they immediately turned to other gods and became idolaters. This was a manifest proof that at heart they worshiped other gods and confessed Jehovah with the mouth only, and this merely for the reason that they might be the greatest and have preeminence over all the nations round about. That this people at heart worshiped an Egyptian idol, and only confessed Jehovah with the mouth on account of His miracles (with Aaron himself among them), is plainly evident from the golden calf which Aaron made for them, and this but a month after they had seen such great miracles on Mount Sinai, besides those which they had seen in Egypt (see Exodus 32). That Aaron also was of the same character is plainly stated at verses 2 to 5, (Exodus 32:2-5) and especially in (Exodus 32:35) verse 35. The same appears also from many other passages in Moses, in the book of the Judges, in the books of Samuel, and in the books of the Kings.

[5] That they were only in external worship and not in any internal worship, is evident also from the fact that they were forbidden to come near to Mount Sinai when the Law was promulgated, and were told that if they touched the mountain, they should surely die (Exodus 19:11-13; 20:16, 19). The reason was that their internal was unclean. It is also said in Moses:

That Jehovah dwelt with them in the midst of their uncleannesses (Leviticus 16:16).

The quality of that nation is evident also from the song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:15-43), and from many passages in the Prophets. From all this it may be known that with that nation there was not any church, but only a representative of a church, and that the Lord was present with them only representatively.

[6] Compare also what has previously been stated in regard to them:

That with the posterity of Jacob there was a representative of a church, but not a church (n. 4281, 4288);

That the representative of a church was not instituted with them until after they had been altogether vastated as to a holy internal, and that they would otherwise have profaned holy things (n. 3398, 4289);

That when they remained in their statutes they could represent, but not when they turned aside from them (n. 3881 at the end);

That on this account they were kept strictly in rituals, and that they were driven thereto by external means (n. 3147, 4281);

That their worship was made external without internal in order that they might serve as a representative of a church (n. 4281);

That for this reason also the interior things of the church were not disclosed to them (n. 301-303vvv2, 2520, 3398, 3479, 3769);

That they were of such a nature that they could more than others be in a holy external without an internal (n. 4293);

That for this reason they have been preserved to this day (n. 3479);

And that their holy external does not affect them at all as to their souls (n. 3479).

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 3881

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3881. Therefore she called his name Judah. That this signifies his quality, is evident from the signification of “name,” and of “calling a name,” as being quality (n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421). The quality itself is contained in the internal sense of the words that Leah spoke: “This time I will confess Jehovah,” concerning which just above (n. 3880), namely, that in the supreme sense it is the Lord and the Divine of His love; in the internal sense, the Word and also the Lord’s celestial kingdom; and in the exterior sense, the doctrine from the Word which is of the celestial church. That these things are signified in the Word by “Judah,” wherever the name occurs, scarcely anyone as yet knows, because the histories of the Word are believed to be merely historical; and the prophecies to be of the things that have been consigned to oblivion, except some from which doctrinal tenets may be drawn. That there is a spiritual sense in them is not believed, because at this day it is not known what the spiritual sense of the Word is, nor even what that which is spiritual is. The principal reason of this is that men live a natural life, and the natural life is such that when it is regarded as the end, or is loved above all other things, it obliterates both knowledges and faith; insomuch that when spiritual life and a spiritual sense are mentioned, it is as though a kind of nonentity were spoken of, or something unpleasant and sad, that excites loathing, because it is in disagreement with the natural life. As this is now the state of the human race, they do not apprehend, nor are they willing to apprehend that anything else is meant by the names in the Word than the things themselves which are named; such as nations, peoples, persons, countries, cities, mountains, rivers; when yet in the spiritual sense names signify actual things.

[2] That in the internal sense “Judah” signifies the Lord’s celestial church; in the universal sense His celestial kingdom; and in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, may be seen from many passages in the Old Testament where “Judah” is mentioned; as from the following.

In Moses:

Thou art Judah; thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down themselves to thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey my son thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the gathering together of the peoples. Binding his ass’s foal unto the vine, and the son of his she-ass unto the choice vine, he shall wash his garment in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes. his eyes are red with wine, and his teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:8-12).

[3] This prophetic utterance of Jacob (then Israel) concerning Judah, cannot be understood by anyone-not even a single word of it-except from the internal sense; as for instance what is meant by “his brethren praising him”; and by “his father’s sons bowing down themselves to him”; by “his going up from the prey like a lion’s whelp, and stooping and couching as a lion”; or what by “Shiloh”; by “binding his ass’s foal to a vine, and the son of his she-ass to a choice vine”; by “washing his garment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes”; by “his eyes being red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.” As before said these expressions cannot possibly be understood by anyone except from the internal sense, when yet all and each of them signify celestial things of the Lord’s kingdom, and Divine things; and thereby it is predicted that the Lord’s celestial kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, should be represented by Judah. But concerning all these expressions, of the Lord’s Divine mercy more shall be said in the explication of that chapter.

[4] The case is the same in other parts of the Word, especially in the Prophets, where mention is made of Judah; as in Ezekiel:

Thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the sons of Israel his companions; and take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel his companions; and join them for thee one to another into one stick, and they shall become one in My hand. I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all. My servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd; and they shall walk in My judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; they and their sons shall dwell upon it, and their sons’ sons even forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. And I will establish with them a covenant of peace it shall be to them an everlasting covenant. I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. Thus shall My habitation be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Ezekiel 37:15-28).

Whoever supposes that by “Judah” is here meant Judah; by “Israel,” Israel; by “Joseph,” Joseph; by “Ephraim,” Ephraim; and by “David,” David; will believe that all these things are to come to pass as they are described in the sense of the letter-that Israel will be again consociated with Judah, as well as the tribe of Ephraim; likewise that David will rule over them, and that they will thus dwell upon the land given unto Jacob forever; and that an everlasting covenant will in this case be established with them, and a sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore; when in the internal sense the Jewish nation is not meant at all; but the Lord’s celestial kingdom which is “Judah,” and His spiritual kingdom which is “Israel,” and the Lord Himself who is “David.” From this it is very plain that by names are not meant persons, but things celestial and Divine.

[5] The case is similar in regard to the following words in Zechariah:

Many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah Zebaoth. In those days ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of a man of Judah, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zech. 8:22-23).

They who apprehend these words according to the letter will say (as the Jewish nation to this day believes) that as this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, it will be; and therefore that the Jews will return to the land of Canaan, and many will follow them out of all the languages of the nations, and will lay hold of the skirt of a man of Judah, and will pray for leave to follow them; and that then God (namely, the Messiah, whom Christians call the Lord) will be with them, to whom they must first be converted. This would be the promise of the words if by a “man of Judah” there were meant a Jew. But the subject here treated of in the internal sense is a new spiritual church among the Gentiles; and by a “man of Judah” is signified the saving faith which comes from love to the Lord.

[6] That by “Judah” is not meant Judah; but, as already said, in the internal sense the Lord’s celestial kingdom, which was represented in the church instituted with Judah or the Jews, may also be clearly seen from the following passages:

The Lord shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four wings of the earth. Then shall the envy of Ephraim depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim (Isaiah 11:12-13).

And in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise up unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as a king, and shall prosper, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely; and this is His name whereby they shall call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

And in Joel:

Then ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion, the mountain of My holiness; and Jerusalem shall be holiness. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim. Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:17-18, 20).

[7] And in Zechariah:

In that day I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness; and I will open Mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, I will strengthen to myself the inhabitants of Jerusalem in Jehovah Zebaoth their God. In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a hearth of fire in the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the peoples round about on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall yet again be inhabited in her own place, even in Jerusalem; and Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, may not lift itself up above Judah. In that day will Jehovah defend the inhabitant of Jerusalem. And the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitant of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace (Zech. 12:4-10).

The subject here treated of is the Lord’s celestial kingdom-that truth should not have dominion therein over good, but that truth should be subordinate to good. Truth is signified by the “house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;” and good by “Judah.” From this it is manifest why it is first said that “the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, may not lift itself up above Judah;” and next, that “the house of David shall be as God, and as the angel of Jehovah, and that the spirit of grace shall be poured upon it, and upon the inhabitant of Jerusalem;” for such is the state when truth is subordinate to good, or faith to love. The “horse which shall be smitten with astonishment, and the horse of the peoples with blindness” signifies self-intelligence (n. 2761-2762, 3217).

[8] Again:

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness to Jehovah; and the pots in the house of Jehovah shall be like the bowls before the altar; and every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth (Zech. 14:20-21);

describing the Lord’s kingdom.

In Malachi:

Behold I send My angel who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; behold He cometh but who may abide the day of His coming? Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and of Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in former years (Malachi 3:1-2, 4 (Malachi 3:4)); where the subject treated of is manifestly the Lord’s advent. It is known that the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem was not then pleasant; but that worship from love was pleasant, which is the “meat-offering of Judah;” and worship from faith derived from love, which is the “meat-offering of Jerusalem.”

[9] In Jeremiah:

Thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth, Yet again shall they say this word in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together. Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. Behold the days come that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers (Jeremiah 31:23-24, 27, 31-32).

And in David:

The Lord hath chosen the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion that He loved; and hath built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth hath He founded it forever (Psalms 78:68-69).

[10] From these and many other passages here omitted, it may be seen what is signified in the Word by “Judah;” and that it is not the Jewish nation, because this was very far from being a celestial church, or the Lord’s celestial kingdom; being the worst of all nations in regard to love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, and also in regard to faith; and this from the days of their first fathers, the sons of Jacob, down to the present time. (That such persons were nevertheless capable of representing the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom, may be seen above, n. 3479-3481, because in representations the person is not reflected upon, but only the thing that is represented, n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670)

[11] But when they did not remain in the rituals ordained by Jehovah or the Lord, but turned away from them to idolatries, they then no longer represented celestial and spiritual things, but the opposite, that is, infernal and diabolical things-according to the Lord’s words in John:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will to do; he was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth (John 8:44).

That this is signified by “Judah” in the opposite sense, may be seen from the following words in Isaiah:

Jerusalem hath stumbled, and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their works are against Jehovah to rebel against the eyes of His glory (Isaiah 3:8).

And in Malachi:

Judah hath dealt treacherously, and abomination hath been wrought in Israel and in Jerusalem; and Judah hath profaned the holiness of Jehovah, because he hath loved and betrothed to himself the daughter of a strange god (Malachi 2:11);

and also in the following passages: Isaiah 3:1, and following verses ; 8:7-8; Jeremiah 2:28; 3:7-11; 9:26; 11:9-10, 12; 13:9; 14:2; 17:1; 18:12-13; 19:7; 32:35; 36:31; 44:12, 14, 26, 28; Hosea 5:5; 8:14; Amos 2:4-5; Zeph. 1:4.

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