8176. 'And you are to be silent' means that by their own powers they will achieve [absolutely] nothing. This is clear from the meaning of 'being silent' as resting content and, since temptations are the subject, refusing to think or believe that they achieve anything by their own powers, regarding which matter see what has been stated and shown above in 8172, 8175. Even so this does not mean that they should stay their hands and wait for immediate influx; rather they should fight as though they acted from themselves, but nevertheless should acknowledge and believe that they act from the Lord, see 1712, 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891.

8175. 'Jehovah will fight for you' means that the Lord alone endures the conflicts brought by temptations. This is clear from the meaning of 'fighting for you', when it refers to what Jehovah does in temptations, as enduring alone the conflicts brought by temptations, 'Jehovah' being the Lord, see just above in 8172. The reason why the Lord alone endures the conflicts brought by temptations and is conqueror is that the Divine alone can conquer the hells. If the Divine did not counteract them they would rush in like a mighty ocean, one hell after another; and man is utterly powerless to resist them, all the more so since a person's selfhood is nothing but evil, and so is a hell from which the Lord drags him out then, and after that holds him back, see what has been stated in 1581, 1661, 1692, 6574.