9205. 'And I will kill you with the sword' means that they deprive themselves of goodness and truth through falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'killing' - when it refers to people who defraud those in possession of good or of truth, who are meant by 'widows, orphans, and sojourners' - as depriving them of such things, for 'killing' means depriving of spiritual life, see 3607, 6767, 8902; and from the meaning of 'the sword' as truth engaged in conflict with falsity and destroying it, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict with truth and destroying it, dealt with in 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. Therefore 'killing with the sword' here means depriving of forms of good and of truths through falsities.

4499. 'Each took his sword' means falsity and evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sword' as truth engaged in conflict and consequently the defence of truth, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict, and consequently the vastation of truth, dealt with in 2799. The reason why 'a sword' at this point also means evil is that Levi was implicated, who represented charity, and so good. When good is turned into evil it uses falsity from evil to fight with, in which case anything it does is evil.