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Ezekiel第30章

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1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

2 `Son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Howl ye, ha! for the day!

3 For near [is] a day, near [is] a day to Jehovah! A day of clouds, the time of nations it is.

4 And come in hath a sword to Egypt, And there hath been great pain in Cush, In the falling of the wounded in Egypt, And they have taken its store, And broken down have been its foundations.

5 Cush, and Phut, and Lud, and all the mixture, and Chub, And the sons of the land of the covenant with them by sword do fall,

6 Thus said Jehovah: And -- fallen have supporters of Egypt, And come down hath the arrogance of her strength, From Migdol to Syene, by sword they fall in her, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

7 And they have been desolated in the midst of desolate lands, And its cities are in the midst of wasted cities.

8 And they have known that I [am] Jehovah, In My giving fire against Egypt, And broken have been all her helpers.

9 In that day go forth do messengers from before Me in ships, To trouble confident Cush, And there hath been great pain among them, As the day of Egypt, for lo, it hath come.

10 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have caused the multitude of Egypt to cease, By the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,

11 He and his people with him -- the terrible of nations, Are brought in to destroy the land, And they have drawn their swords against Egypt, And have filled the land [with] the wounded.

12 And I have made floods a dry place, And I have sold the land into the hand of evil doers, And I have made desolate the land, And its fulness, by the hand of strangers, I, Jehovah, have spoken.

13 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: And -- I have destroyed idols, And caused vain things to cease from Noph, And a prince of the land of Egypt there is no more, And I give fear in the land of Egypt.

14 And I have made Pathros desolate, And I have given fire against Zoan, And I have done judgments in No,

15 And I have poured out My fury on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt, And I have cut off the multitude of No.

16 And I have given fire against Egypt, Greatly pained is Sin, and No is to be rent, And Noph hath daily distresses.

17 The youths of Aven and Pi-Beseth by sword do fall, And these into captivity do go.

18 And in Tehaphnehes hath the day been dark, In My breaking there the yokes of Egypt, And ceased in her hath the excellency of her strength, She -- a cloud doth cover her, And her daughters into captivity do go.

19 And I have done judgments in Egypt, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah.'

20 And it cometh to pass, in the eleventh year, in the first [month], in the seventh of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying: `Son of man,

21 The arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, I have broken, And lo, it hath not been bound up to give healing, To put a bandage to bind it, To strengthen it -- to lay hold on the sword.

22 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, And I have broken his arms, The strong one and the broken one, And have caused the sword to fall out of his hand,

23 And scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have spread them through lands,

24 And strengthened the arms of the king of Babylon, And I have given My sword into his hand, And I have broken the arms of Pharaoh, And he hath groaned the groans of a pierced one -- before him.

25 And I have strengthened the arms of the king of Babylon, And the arms of Pharaoh do fall down, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah, In My giving My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, And he hath stretched it out toward the land of Egypt.

26 And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have spread them through lands, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah!'

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#1164

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1164. That 'Cush' or Ethiopia means interior cognitions of the Word by which people confirm false assumptions is clear in Jeremiah,

Egypt comes up like the river, and like the rivers the waters are tossed about; and he said, I will go up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it. Go up, O horses, and rage, O chariots, and let the mighty men go forth, Cush and Put that handle the shield. Jeremiah 46:8-9.

In this case 'Egypt' stands for people who believe nothing they do not grasp through facts. As a result everything is subject to doubt, denial and falsification, meant by 'rising up, covering the earth, and destroying the city'. Here 'Cush' stands for the more universal and interior cognitions of the Word by which they confirm accepted false assumptions. 'Put' stands for cognitions drawn from the literal sense of the Word which are based on sensory appearances.

[2] In Ezekiel,

A sword will come upon Egypt, and there will be grief in Cush when the slain 1 falls in Egypt; and they will take her multitude, and her foundations will be destroyed. Cush and Put and Lud and all of Ereb 2 and Kub, and the sons of the land of the covenant will fall with them by the sword. Ezekiel 30:4-6.

Except from the internal sense nobody could possibly know what these statements mean. And if the names did not mean real things, these verses would have practically no meaning at all. In this case however 'Egypt' means the knowledge by means of which they wish to enter into the mysteries of faith. 'Cush and Put' are called 'her foundations' because they are cognitions drawn from the Word.

[3] In the same prophet,

On that day messengers will go forth from before Me in ships to terrify overconfident Cush, and there will be grief among them as in the day of Egypt. Ezekiel 30:9.

'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word which confirm falsities hatched out of facts. In the same prophet,

I will make the land of Egypt into waste places, an utter desolation, from the tower of Seveneh as far as the border of Cush. Ezekiel 29:10.

In this case 'Egypt' stands for facts, 'Cush' for cognitions of the interior things of the Word, which are 'the borders' beyond which knowledge does not go.

[4] In Isaiah,

The king of Asshur will lead away the captives of Egypt and the captives of Cush, boys and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. And they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope, and because of Egypt their glory. Isaiah 20:4-5.

Here 'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word by which falsities obtained through facts are confirmed. 'Asshur' is reasoning which carries away those who are captive. In Nahum,

Cush was her strength, Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were your help. Nahum 3:9.

This refers to a vastated Church where in a similar way 'Egypt' stands for facts and 'Cush' for cognitions.

[5] 'Cush' and 'Egypt' stand simply for cognitions and knowledge which are truths useful to people whose faith is grounded in charity. 'Cush and Egypt' is used in this good sense in Isaiah,

Jehovah said, The labour of Egypt, and the wares of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours. They will follow after you in fetters, they will come over and bow down to you. To you they will make the supplication, God is with you only, and there is no other besides God. Isaiah 45:14.

'The labour of Egypt' stands for knowledge, 'the wares of Cush and the Sabeans' for cognitions of spiritual things which serve those who acknowledge the Lord, for all knowledge and every cognition are theirs.

[6] In Daniel,

The king of the north will have dominion over the secret hoards of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans (Put) and the Cushites will follow in his 3 steps. Daniel 11:3.

'Put and Cush' here stands for cognitions drawn from the Word, 'Egypt' for facts. In Zephaniah,

From beyond the rivers of Cush are those who adore Me. Zephaniah 3:10.

This stands for those who are beyond the range of cognitions, and so for gentiles. In David,

Noblemen will come out of Egypt, Cush will hasten [to stretch out] her hands to God. Psalms 68:31.

Here 'Egypt' stands for knowledge, and 'Cush' for cognitions.

[7] In the same author,

I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush. The latter was born here (in the city of God). Psalms 87:4.

'Cush' stands for cognitions drawn from the Word, hence the statement that he was 'born in the city of God'. Since 'Cush' means interior cognitions of the Word and intelligence acquired from these, it is therefore said that the second river going out of the garden of Eden encompassed the whole land of Cush. On this see what has appeared already in 117.

脚注:

1. literally, the pierced

2. the Hebrew word rendered Ereb here is usually regarded not as a proper but as a common noun which means a mixed company.

3. The Latin means your but the Hebrew means his, which Swedenborg has in another place where he quotes this verse.

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