IBhayibheli

 

Esekiel 28

Funda

   

1 Og Herrens ord kom til mig, og det lød så:

2 Menneskesønn! Si til Tyrus' fyrste: Så sier Herren, Israels Gud: Fordi ditt hjerte ophøier sig, og du sier: Jeg er en Gud, jeg sitter på et gudesete midt ute i havet, enda du er et menneske og ikke nogen Gud, men allikevel i ditt hjerte tykkes dig å være en Gud -

3 ja, du er visere enn Daniel, intet lønnlig er skjult for dig;

4 ved din visdom og forstand har du vunnet dig rikdom og samlet gull og sølv i dine skattkammer;

5 ved din store klokskap i handel har du øket din rikdom, og ditt hjerte ophøiet sig for din rikdoms skyld -

6 derfor sier Herren, Israels Gud, så: Fordi du i ditt hjerte tykkes dig å være en Gud,

7 se, derfor lar jeg fremmede komme over dig, de grusomste blandt folkene, og de skal dra sine sverd mot din strålende visdom og vanhellige din glans.

8 I graven skal de støte dig ned, og du skal som de ihjelslåtte dør, midt ute i havet.

9 Vil du vel da si til din banemann: Jeg er en gud, enda du er et menneske og ikke nogen gud, du som er i din drapsmanns vold?

10 Som de uomskårne dør, skal du ved fremmedes hånd; for jeg har talt, sier Herren, Israels Gud.

11 Og Herrens ord kom til mig, og det lød så:

12 Menneskesønn! Stem i en klagesang over Tyrus' konge og si til ham: Så sier Herren, Israels Gud: Du som var seglet på den velordnede bygning, full av visdom og fullkommen i skjønnhet!

13 I Eden, Guds have, bodde du; kostbare stener dekket dig, karneol, topas og diamant, krysolitt, onyks og jaspis, safir, karfunkel og smaragd, og gull; dine trommer og fløiter var i fullt arbeid hos dig; den dag du blev skapt, stod de rede.

14 Du var en salvet kjerub med dekkende vinger, og jeg satte dig på det hellige gudefjell; der gikk du omkring blandt skinnende stener*. / {* funklende edelstener. 2MO 25, 20.}

15 Ustraffelig var du i din ferd fra den dag du blev skapt, til det blev funnet urettferdighet hos dig.

16 Ved din store handel fyltes ditt indre med urett, og du syndet; så vanhelliget jeg dig og drev dig bort fra gudefjellet, og jeg gjorde dig til intet, du salvede kjerub, så du ikke mere fikk være blandt de skinnende stener.

17 Ditt hjerte ophøiet sig for din skjønnhets skyld, du ødela din visdom på grunn av din glans; jeg kastet dig til jorden, jeg la dig ned for kongers åsyn, forat de skulde se på dig med lyst.

18 Ved dine mange misgjerninger, ved din urettferdige handel vanhelliget du dine helligdommer. Derfor lar jeg ild gå ut fra dig, og den skal fortære dig; jeg gjør dig til aske på jorden for alle deres øine som ser dig.

19 Alle som kjente dig blandt folkene, er forferdet over dig; en redsel er du blitt, og du er blitt borte - for evig tid.

20 Og Herrens ord kom til mig, og det lød så:

21 Menneskesønn! Vend ditt åsyn mot Sidon og spå mot det

22 og si: Så sier Herren, Israels Gud: Se, jeg kommer over dig, Sidon, og jeg vil forherlige mig i dig. Og de skal kjenne at jeg er Herren, når jeg holder dom over det og åpenbarer min hellighet på det.

23 Og jeg vil sende pest og blod over det på dets gater, og drepte menn skal falle der for et sverd som kommer over det fra alle kanter, og de skal kjenne at jeg er Herren.

24 Og ikke skal det for Israels hus mere være nogen stikkende torn eller brennende tistel blandt alle dem som bor rundt omkring dem, og som forakter dem, og de skal kjenne at jeg er Herren, Israels Gud.

25 sier Herren, Israels Gud: Når jeg samler Israels hus fra de folk som de er spredt iblandt, da vil jeg åpenbare min hellighet på dem for folkenes øine, og de skal bo i sitt land, det som jeg gav min tjener Jakob,

26 og de skal bo trygt der og bygge hus og plante vingårder - de skal bo trygt, mens jeg holder dom over alle dem som bor rundt omkring dem, og som forakter dem, og de skal kjenne at jeg, Herren, er deres Gud.

   

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #9863

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

9863. 'And you shall adorn it with settings of stones' means the actual truths in their proper order, all springing from the one same good. This is clear from the meaning of the breastplate, to which 'it' refers here, as Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with in 9823; from the meaning of 'settings of stones' as truths in their proper order. For the breastplate was adorned with stones in accord with the names of the sons of Israel, and in a general sense truths on the lowest level of order are meant by 'stones', 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, and truths shining forth from good by 'precious stones' such as those in the breastplate, 9476. The expression 'springing from the one same good' is used because there is just one good that all the truths spring from. This good is the good of love within the Lord, thus is the Lord Himself, and is consequently the good of love from the Lord, which is the good of love to the Lord. For the good which flows in from the Lord and resides with man, spirit, or angel, has all the appearance of being theirs; and so it is that love to the Lord is love received from the Lord. This good is the one and only good from which all the truths spring, and from which the order among them begins; for the truths are outward forms of the good.

[2] The fact that the precious stones in the breastplate meant Divine Truths springing from Divine Good is clear from places in the Word where precious stones are mentioned, such as in John's Revelation,

The foundations of the wall of the city, the new Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Revelation 21:19-20.

These precious stones mean the Church's truths, which are God's truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'the city, the new Jerusalem', 'the wall of it', and 'the foundations of the wall'. 'The new Jerusalem' means a new Church which will take the place of the one that is ours at the present day; for the Book of Revelation deals with the state of the Church that exists now, through to its end, and then with a new Church, which is the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. 'The wall of it' means the truths of faith that serve to defend it, and 'the foundations' truths that spring from good. Those actual truths in their proper order are specified by the precious stones mentioned by name there. Anyone may see that no Jerusalem is going to come down out of heaven or that anything else mentioned there is literally going to take place, but that this description in every detail means such things as have to do with the Church. The fact that the truths of faith are meant by the foundations of its wall is clear from the consideration that they are the things which guard the Church from every attack, as walls do a city.

'Jerusalem' is the Church, see 2117, 9166.

'Walls' are the truths of faith guarding the Church, 6419.

'Foundations' are truths springing from good, 9643.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering - ruby, topaz, and diamond; tarshish, shoham, and jasper; sapphire, chrysoprase, and carbuncle - and gold. You were on the mountain of the holiness of God, you walked in the midst of stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:12-14.

Here also precious stones mean truths springing from good. For 'Tyre' in the representative internal sense is one who has intelligence and wisdom arising from cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201. This is why its king is said to be 'full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty'. 'Wisdom' has regard to good, and 'beauty' to truth; for all wisdom in heaven is derived from good, and all beauty there is derived from truths springing from good. 'The garden of Eden' means intelligence composed of good, 100, 'garden' meaning real intelligence, 100, 108, 2702. From this it is evident that the stones there mentioned by name mean truths springing from good.

[4] But precisely which truths springing from good are meant by each of the stones in the breastplate will be clear from what is to follow. The fact that they mean all truths and forms of good in their entirety is clear from the following considerations: They were twelve and had the names of the sons of Israel or the tribes inscribed on them, the forms of good and the truths of heaven and the Church in their entirety being meant by the twelve tribes, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397; they therefore meant heaven and all the communities there, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997; the meaning of them varied, depending on the order in which they are mentioned in the Word, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4303, 6337, 6640; and 'twelve' means all, 3272, 3858, 7973.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

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

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #1066

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

1066. That 'from them the whole earth was overspread' means that from these three all doctrines have been derived, both true and false, is clear from the meaning of 'the earth'. In the Word 'the earth' has various meanings. In the universal sense it stands for the place or region where the Church is or once was, for example, the land of Canaan, the land of Judah, the land of Israel. It thus stands in that universal sense for every member of the Church, for a land takes its name from the people who inhabit it, as is also well known from everyday speech. In ancient times therefore when people spoke of 'the whole earth' they did not mean every land throughout the world but only that part of the earth where the Church existed, and so the Church itself, as becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Jehovah is emptying the earth, the earth will be utterly emptied. The earth will mourn and be turned upside down. And the earth will be polluted under its inhabitants. Therefore a curse will devour the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth will be scorched and few men left. The floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. The earth has been utterly broken. The earth has been utterly rent asunder. The earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers altogether like a drunken man, and sways to and fro like a hut. Its transgression will lie heavily upon it, and it will fall, and it will not rise again. Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 18-21.

'Earth' stands for the people inhabiting it, in particular the people of the Church, and so stands for the Church itself, and the things that are the Church's that have been vastated. These when being vastated are spoken of as 'being emptied', 'being shaken', 'staggering like a drunken man', 'swaying', 'falling and not rising'.

[2] That 'earth' or 'land' means man, and consequently the Church which is made up of men, is seen in Malachi,

All the nations will declare you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:12.

That 'the earth' stands for the Church is seen in Isaiah,

Do you not understand the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 40:21.

Here 'foundations of the earth' stands for the foundations of the Church. In the same prophet,

Behold I am creating new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1.

'New heavens and a new earth' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church. In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

'Earth' stands for the Church, as in earlier chapters,

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1.

The heavens and the earth were finished. Genesis 2:1.

These are the generations of heaven and earth. Genesis 2:4.

In each instance 'earth' stands for the Church being 'created', 'formed', and 'made'. In Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened. Joel 2:10.

'Earth' stands for the Church, and for the things that are the Church's. When these things are being vastated, 'heaven and earth' are said to quake, 'the sun and moon' to grow dark, that is, love and faith.

[3] In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, when behold, that which is void and empty; and to the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.

Here 'the earth' plainly stands for the person who does not have anything of the Church within him. In the same prophet,

The whole earth will be desolate, yet I will not bring it to a close. For this the earth will mourn and the heavens be black. Jeremiah 4:27, 18.

Here likewise the Church is meant, whose exterior things are 'the earth' and interior 'the heavens'. These are referred to as 'being black and having no light' when there is no longer any wisdom arising from good or intelligence from truth. In that case the earth is also 'void and empty', as is the member of the Church who ought to be an embodiment of the Church. That 'the whole earth' is also used in other places to mean the Church alone is seen in Daniel,

The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it in pieces. Daniel 7:23.

'The whole earth' stands for the Church and for the things that are the Church's; for the Word does not deal, as secular authors do, with the powers of monarchs, but with sacred matters, and with states of the Church, which are meant by 'kingdoms of the earth'.

[4] In Jeremiah,

A great tempest will be raised up from the sides of the earth, and the slain 1 of Jehovah on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. Jeremiah 25:32, 33.

Here 'from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth' stands for the Church and for everything that is the Church's. In Isaiah,

The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they burst into cries of joy. Isaiah 14:7.

Here 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Ezekiel,

As the whole earth rejoices. Ezekiel 35:14.

Here too 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Isaiah,

I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth. Isaiah 54:9.

Here 'the earth' stands for the Church since the Church is the subject here. Because in the Word the earth means the Church it also means what is not the Church, for every such expression has a contrary or opposite sense. This applies, for example, to the various lands of the gentiles, in general to all lands outside the land of Canaan. 'Land' also stands therefore for the people and for the individual outside of the Church, and from this for the external man - for his will, for his proprium, and so on.

[5] In the Word 'earth' rarely stands for the whole world except when it is used to mean the state of the whole human race, whether of the Church or not of the Church. And because the earth includes the ground, which also means the Church, and the ground includes the field, the expression 'earth', entailing many things, has many meanings. But what it means is evident from the subject under discussion to which it refers. From this it now becomes clear that here 'the whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah' does not mean the whole world, that is, the whole human race, but all doctrines, both true and false, which Churches possessed.

Imibhalo yaphansi:

1. literally, the pierced

  
Yiya esigabeni / 10837  
  

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