<< Ezekiel XVI >>

 1 Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;
 3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.
 4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
 5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.
 6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live.
 7 I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.
 8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.
 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
 10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.
 11 And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
 12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
 13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.
 14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
 16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
 17 Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;
 18 and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.
 19 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
 21 that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them?
 22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.
 23 And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah,)
 24 that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.
 25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.
 26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.
 27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.
 28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.
 29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
 30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot;
 31 in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire.
 32 A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!
 33 They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.
 34 And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.
 35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:
 36 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;
 37 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
 38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.
 39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.
 40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
 41 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.
 42 So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
 43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.
 44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
 45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
 47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways.
 48 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
 51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.
 52 Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous that thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
 53 And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;
 54 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
 55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
 56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
 57 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.
 58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah.
 59 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
 60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
 61 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;
 63 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.

1 Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

1, 2. The successive states of the Jewish church. There was nothing in it but falsity and evil. P. P.
1-63. The church which was to be established, and which also was established by the Lord is meant by Jerusalem, not the Jerusalem in the land of Canaan, which was to be utterly destroyed. L. 64·
    See Chapter IV., Whole Chapter. R. 350·
    See Chapter IV., Whole Chapter. R.880.
    See Chapter IV., 1-17. B. 100.
    See Chapter IV., 1-17. T. 782.
1 et seq. Who cannot see that here by whoredoms are signified falsifications of truth and adulterations of good? And who can understand a single word of these passages unless he knows what is meant by the sons of Egypt, by the sons of Asshur, and by Chaldea with whom Jerusalem is said to have committed whoredom? It is manifest that she did not do so with these people, it must therefore be told what is meant in the spiritual sense. By Jerusalem is meant the church perverted. Her garments garments here are truths perverted, therefore falsities which are acknowledged. These are the high places decked with divers colors. The sons of Egypt are knowledges, the sons of Asshur reasonings, Chaldea profanation of truth. A. 8904.

2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;

2. The prophet Ezekiel was called son of man. L. 28.
2-63. By all these things are signified the profanations of the Word, of the church, and of worship. E. 1045.
2, 3, 26, 28, 29. This is said in particular of the Jewish church. The sons of Egypt stand for outward knowledges, the sons of Assyria for reasonings, the land of Chaldea, unto which she multiplied her whoredoms, for the profanation of truth. A. 1368.

3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

3. Canaan signifies external worship separate from internal. A. 1167.
    In the opposite sense father signifies evil, and mother falsity. A. 3703.
Tradings and traders, in the opposite sense, stand for receptions and appropriations of falses. E. 840.
3, 4. By the Amarite in the Word is signified evil in general, The land of Canaan was called the land of Amorites. A. 1857.
    Speaking of the abominations of Jerusalem, where generations (nativity) stand in the spiritual sense. A. 6239·
3-6. It was forsaken by the Lord from the beginning, because it was without anything of the church. P. P.
3, 45. Here external worship without internal is Canaan; to loathe husbands and sons is to reject goods and truth. Hence her mother is called a Hittite. Heth also stands in the Word for exterior knowledges of heavenly things in a good sense. A. 1203.
By the Hittites, as by a well disposed nation, is represented and signified the spiritual church, or the truth of the church. But with them, as with the rest of the Ancient Church, it came to pass in the course of time that they declined from charity or the good of faith, and consequently the falsity of the church is afterwards signified by them, as in these verses. A. 2913.
By the Amorite race was represented evil in general. The father, in the in ternal sense signifies the good of the church, but in the opposite sense evil. Mother signifies the truth of the church, but in the opposite sense falsity. A. 6306.

5 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.

5, 6, 9, 22, 36, 38. That blood signifies the Divine truth may be clearly manifest from its opposite sense, in which it stands for the Word falsified or profaned. R.379.
The subject here treated of is Jerusalem, by which is signified the church as to doctrine, and by priests those who should lead to good. Jerusalem here stands first for the falsities of evil before it was reformed, and afterwards concerning its reformation. E. 329.

6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live.

6 et seq. By Jerusalem, of which these things are said, is signified the church, and by committing whoredom to adulterate and falsify the Word. R. 213.
    To cover nakedness signifies to remove the evils of the will, and the falsities of the understanding. To wash means to purify from evils, and to clothe means to instruct in truths. The quality of the church when it declined from good and truth is described by verses 15 and following. "Thou didst trust in thy beauty" means intelligence derived from the proprium, and that the church was delighted with it. E. 240.
6, 9. In the opposite sense by blood is signified what offers violence to holy things. Wicked things of life and profane things of worship were called blood. A.4735.
Blood when it is unlawfully shed means truth Divine destroyed by means of falsity from evil. By blood here is not meant the blood of man's bodily life, but the blood of his spiritual life, which is truth Divine, to which violence has been offered by falsities from evil. A. 9127.
6, 22. This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem, which are called bloods. A. 374.

7 I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.

7. The subject here is the Most Ancient Church, which is compared to the bud of the field. A. 93.
Jerusalem, which is here treated of, signifies the Ancient Church which in process of time had become perverted. The breasts fashioned stand for natural good; the hair that was grown for natural truth. A. 3301.
    This is said of Jerusalem, by which is here signified the Ancient Spiritual Church. The breasts being fashioned stand for interior affections for good and truth; the hair growing for exterior affections which are of the natural. A. 6432.
7-12. After a time truths and goods of every kind and species were given to the Jewish church through the Word, and thus evils and falsities were removed. P. P.
7, 8, 22. This is said of Jerusalem by which is meant the Ancient Church, what it was when first established and what it afterwards became - namely, that at first it was without truths, but afterward was instructed in them, and at last rejected them. A. 5433.
7, 22. Nakedness is taken for reproach and evil in the Word, and is predicated of a perverted church. A. 213.
7, 22, 36. The perverseness of the church is described by whoredoms, adulteries, and by the uncovering of her nakedness, by which nothing else is meant than filthy and infernal loves, such as are the loves of self and of the world when they are ends from which all evils and falsities take their rise. A. 9960.

8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.

8. Speaking of Jerusalem, which here stands for the Ancient Church, to enter into a covenant or marriage means spiritual conjunction. A. 6804.
    The church instituted with the children of Israel was a representative church. Hence the conjunction of the Lord with the church was represented by a covenant. Because on oath was part of a covenant, it is said that Jehovah sware. R. 474.
    Here the church and its reformation is meant. The time of love signifies the state when it could be reformed. "I expanded my wing over thee" signifies spiritual truth, by which reformation is effected. "I covered thy nakedness" signifies the hiding of evil thereby. E. 283.
    When God or the Divine verity wills to have anything confirmed before men, then that confirmation, in its descent to the natural sphere falls into an oath, or into the form of an oath. Jehovah God or the Lord never swears. E. 607.
    By the covenant is signified all the external rites which the sons of Israel were to observe. E. 701.
8-12. The Ancient Church in its first stage is so described when it was the time of loves. A. 3164.
8-10, 13. All this is said of Jerusalem, by which is signified the church. They therefore all mean spiritual things pertaining to the church. By washin? away blood is understood the removing of the falsities of evil, by anointing with oil to endow with the good of love, by clothing with broidered work, and shoeing with badger's skin to instruct in the knowledges of truth and good from the literal sense of the Word. By eating honey, fine flour, and oil is signified to appropriate truth and good. To become exceedingly beautiful means. to become intelligent, by prospering into a kingdom, bemg formed into a church, for kingdom stands for church. E. 375.
8, 9, 11. Regeneration is meant. It is called a covenant because it is given and received. A. 666.

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

9. Washing with waters stands for purifying from falsities. Washing away blood means purging from evils, anointing with oil for them filling with good. A. 3147.
Speaking of Jerusalem, by which is signified the church. Oil signifies the satisfaction and gladness which are of the love of good. A. 9954.

    Waters are truths, and bloods are the adulterations of truth. R. 378.
   "Washed thee with water" signifies the purification of the church from falses and evils by truths. To anoint with oil is to imbue with the good of love. E. 475.
9, 10, 13, 18. It is clear that in these passages not garments of embroidered work and other things are meant, but Divine things which are of heaven, and the church. By each particular is meant some special thing of the church, for in the Word, which is Divine, there is not a word without meaning. A. 9780.

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.

10. It is celestial good which is not clothed, because it is the inmost and innocent. Celestial spiritual good is the first clothed, then natural good, for these are more external, and are compared to garments, and are also called garments - as where the Ancient Church is spoken of in Ezekiel. A. 297.
10-14. The Divine in externals or holy truth is signified by ornaments. Broidered work in the spiritual sense is acquired truth, fine linen intellectual truth which is from the Divine, bracelets truth in relation to power, a necklace or chain on the neck truth from good as to influx and thereby conjunction of things interior and exterior, a jewel truth as to perception, earrings truths as to obedience, a crown of beauty spiritual good, gold and silver good and truth in general, fine flour, honey and oil are truths and good external and internal, By ornament is meant holy truth in the whole complex. A. 10540.
10-18. The Jewish church is here described, for to it were given truths by the Word, but they falsified them. To commit whoredom is to falsify. R. 166.
10-14, 16-18. The church is described as to its quality when it is first established by the Lord, the garments signify tru ths from good, broidered work scientific truth, fine linen and silk truth from a celestial origin. Bracelets, chain, jewel, earrings and the crown are insignia from which are signified things spiritual of various kinds. In what follows the same church is described when perverted. By taking off the garments, and decking her high places are signified truths falsified. By taking fair jewels and making images of men is signified that they applied the truths of the literal sense of the Word to confirm falses, so as to give them the appearance of truth. E. 195.
10, 11, 16, 18. Speaking of Jerusalem, which is the spiritual church, is described what it was of old, and such as it was afterwards when perverted. Its lower spiritual things and its doctrinals are the garments of broidered work, fine linen, and silk. A. 2576.
10, 13. The truths of the Ancient Church are described by raiment of broidered work etc. By broidered work are signified truths of knowledge, by fine linen natural truths, by silk spiritual truths. A. 5319.
    Speaking of Jerusalem, by which is there meant the Ancient Spiritual Church which was established by the Lord after the Most Ancient Celestial Church had come to its end. The truths given to that church are described by the raiment. Broidered work is what is of knowledge, which when genuine appears indeed as broidered work in the other life -as has been given me (Swedenborg) to see. In the light of heaven fine linen and silk, that is truth from good, are most bright and transparent. A. 5954.
    This is written of Jerusalem, by which is meant the church which is in truths. H. 180.
    By silk is signified mediate celestial good and truth, good from its softness, and truth from its brightness. R. 773.
    By linen or linen cloth genuine truth is signified. R. 814.
    Speaking of Jerusalem, whereby is understood the church, in this case in its first establishment. Needlework and badger's skin mean the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, fine linen and silk. truth from a celestial and from a spiritual origin. E. 1143.
    Silk signifies truth from a spiritual origin. It derives this signification from its splendor of light. E. 1144.
10, 13, 16, 18. Garments of broidered work stand for truths of knowledge. Covering images with which whoredom was committed stands for confirming falsities, that is perverting truths by applying them to falsities of evils. A. 9688.

11 And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

11. A sign of conjunction of interior with exterior truth is signified by a necklace upon the throat. A. 5320.
11, 12. The Ancient Church here called Jerusalem is described as a bride, to whom were given bracelets and a ring, the former representing truth and the latter good. A. 3103.
    Bracelets were put on the hands of a bride because she represented the church. By her hands were signified powers from truth. A. 3105.
    The wisdom which is from the knowledge of truth and good from the Word, and from a life according to them is signified by a crown. E. 126.
11, 13, 17, 18. Jerusalem, the church in relation to doctrine. The ornaments with which she was decked signify in general all truths from good, and thence intelligence. E. 242 .

12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.

12. See Chapter XIII., 18. A. 9166.
    The subject here is the establishment of the church. A ring stands for the perception of good, earrings for the perception of truth and obedience, a crown on the head for wisdom therefrom. A. 9930.
    A crown of ornament is wisdom from the Divine truth or the Word. R. 189.
The statement in A. 9930. repeated. E. 27 2.
    By the head in the Word are signified intelligence and wisdom. Intelligence which is from Divine truth becomes wisdom from the good of love, which is signified by a crown of gold. E. 577.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.
14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.

13. Gold stands for the knowledges of celestial things, and silver for those of spiritual things. A. 1551.
    The affections for truth and good of the Ancient Church are described by the fine flour, honey and oil. It is evident that all these things have a very different meaning in the internal sense from that in the sense of the letter. A. 2177.
    Fine flour is truth from the good of the Ancient Church - Jerusalem. Honey is its enjoyment, oil is the good of love, to eat is to appropriate. Therefore it is said thou becamest beautiful, for spiritual beauty is from truths and goods. A. 9995.
    Metals appear in the spiritual world also, for all things there are correspondences. Gold signifies the good of love. R. 913.
    This was spoken of Jerusalem, by which here the Ancient Church is signified. It was in truth and spiritual good, and at the same time in natural good. Fine flour signified truth, honey good natural or of the external man, oil good spiritual or of the internal man. Eating signifies that she became intelligent thence. She became exceedingly beautiful, beauty stands for intelligence. Thence she became a church is signified by her prospering into a kingdom. A kingdom stands for a church. E. 617.
13, 14. Thus it could have been in intelligence. P. P.
13, 19. The quality is described, that is the spiritual church - Jerusalem - as it was with the ancients, and as it afterward became. Being decked with gold and silver means with celestial and spiritual good and truth. Her raiment fine linen, silk, and broidered work stands for truth in the rational, fine flour for the spiritual, honey for its pleasantness, and oil for its good. A. 5620.
    These four things wine, oil, fine flour, and wheat were holy and celestial things. R. 778.
    Concerning Jerusalem by which is signified first the ancient, and afterward the Israelitish church. For the ancient church being decked with gold and silver signifies the love of good and truth with the men of the church, and all the other descriptions. To eat means to appropriate. But concerning the Israelitish church, which was only in externals without internals, the men of that church were idolatrous. It is said that they set the fine flour, honey, and oil before images of men or idols for a sweet savor, which means that they perverted the goods and truths of the Church in to falsities and evils, and thus profaned them. E. 619.
    By giving those holy things like fine flour, and honey, and oil to idols for an odor of rest (sweet savor) is signified the idolatrous worship into which the true worship of the church was afterward converted. E. 1153.

15 But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

15-20. It falsified all things of the Word. P. P.
15-17, 20, 26, 28, 29. Jerusalem by which the church perverted as to truths is here signified. The perversion of the church is called whoredom. The garments are truths perverted and falsities thence which are worshipped. When these falsities appear as truths they are called the images of a male with which the whoredom was committed. The sons and daughters which they bore and sacrificed to them are the goods and truths which they perverted. A. 2466.
If a man who is in evil as to life, and in falsity as to doctrine seizes upon the truth of other doctrine, he also falsifies truth, for he does not acknowledge truths, but for the sake of something of gain, honor, or reputation. Consequently illegitimate conjunctions are meant by whoredoms. A. 10648.
15, 16, 26-29, 32, 33, 35. Jerusalem here is the Israelitic and Jewish church. By her whoredoms are meant the adulterations and falsifications of the Word. As by Egypt the knowledge of the natural man is meant, by Asshur the reasoning therefrom, by Chaldea the profanation of truth, and by Babel the profanation of good, it is therefore said that she committed whoredom with them. R. 134·
15, 16, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33. In the spiritual sense to commit adultery means to adulterate the goods of the Word and to falsify its truths. T. 314.
15, 26, 28, 29, 32,33,35. The church is meant by Jerusalem. Repeat the previous paragraph. The Jewish nation was called by the Lord an adulterous generation. Life 79.
15, 26, 28, 29, 32 et seq. Who cannot see that by the whoredoms here mentioned are not meant whoredoms in a common natural sense, for the church is here treated of, in which all the truths of the Word were falsified. Spiritual whoredoms are no other than falsifications of truth. E. 141.
16-18. See Chapter XVI., 8-12. A.3164.
16-18. See Chapter XVI., 8-12. A.3164.

17 Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;

17. Here gold stands for the knowledge of celestial things, silver for those of spiritual things. A. 1551.
    Offspring is born from spiritual marriage. Masculine is truth and good in the understanding hence in thought, feminine is the same in the will hence in the affection. Truth is therefore signified in the Word by a son. R·543·
    See Chapter VII., 20. R. 601.
    See Chapter XVI., 13. R. 913.
   Treating of the abominations of Jerusalem, by which are signified the falsifications and adulterations of the Word, made by applications to the lusts of corporeal and earthly loves. The truths of the literal sense of the Word are called vessels because they contain in themselves spiritual truths and goods. E. 725.
    Concerning the abominations of Jerusalem, namely the adulterations of good and truth of doctrine from the Word. Vessels of adorning of gold and silver signify doctrines from the Word. To make thence images of a male signifies to make falses appear as truths, and the falsification thereof is meant by whoredom. E. 827.

18 and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.

18. See Chapter VIII., II. A. 9475.
    See Chapter VIII., II. A. 10177.
    Oil and incense are conjointly mentioned. Oil celestial good, incense spiritual good. E. 491.
18,19. "Thou hast set my oil and my incense before them."When the Word is applied to the love of self and the love of the world. E. 324.

20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
21 that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them?
22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.

20, 21, 45. See Chapter XIV., 16-18, 20. R. 543.
    The abominations of Jerusalem. By sacrificing their sons and daughters to be devoured is signified to destroy and consume all the truths and goods of the church. They are sacrificed to idols. E. 724.
20, 45. The abominations of Jerusalem are treated of. They are described by such things which are contrary to marriages. The husbands whom they loathed are goods, the sons truths, and the daughters affections for them. A. 4434.
21, 22. It extinguished truths and goods, and became as in the beginning. P. P.

23 And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah,)
24 that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.
25 Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.

23. Woe signifies lamentation over calamity, danger, misery, and destruction. E. 531 .
23-25. It turned truths into falsities. P. P.
24, 25, 31. High signified heaven and the Divine therin. By the starry heaven was signified the angelic heaven. A. 8153.
    By high and lofty places with the ancients was signified heaven, whence came the rite of sacrificing upon high places. Worship from evils and falses of doctrine is signified by making a high and lofty place in every street, and upon every head of the way. That worship was made idolatrous, therefore it is said that they made their beauty abominable. E. 652.

26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.
27 Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.

26. Mizraim or Egypt in the Word signifies external knowledges or various matters of knowledge wherewith men would explore the mysteries of faith, and thereby confirm received falsities. A. 1165.
Flesh stands for what is dead, spirit for what is alive. A. 8409.
Jerusalem is the perverted church. To commit whoredom wi th the sons of Egypt is to falsify the truths of the church by knowledges which are of the natural man alone] thus by sensual knowledges - flesh. A. 10283.
    Flesh signifies what is man's own. R. 748.
    The evil of man's will, which is his proprium from birth, is here signified by flesh. E. 1082.
26-28. by knowledges of the natural man, by traditions and by reasonings from them. P. P.
26, 27, 57. Daughters are not meant here, but the religions of such as are signified by the Philistines. They are of such a kind that they talk much about faith, and lead no life of faith. A. 3024.
26, 28. The reasonings of man when he reasons against Divine things is called whoredom with the sons of Egypt and of Asshur. A. 2588.
26, 28, 29. Egypt stands for external knowledges. Asshur for reasoning. Reasoning from external knowledges concerning spiritual and celestial things is called whoredom. A. 1186.
In the opposite sense Egypt signifies the natural man separated from the spiritual. Then the pride of one's own intelligence from which insanity in spiritual things follows. R. 503.
Signifies falsifications by the natural man, in which are all evils and falses. Flesh stands for the proprium of man, which resides in the natural man, and in itself is nothing but evil, and the false thence derived. E. 654.
27, 57. Philistines are those who have removed spiritual faith far from their borders. A. 1197.
    By daughters in the Word are signified churches, also the false religions of many nations. A. 6729.
    The case of the Philistines was, as with all the nations in the land of Canaan, that they represented goods and truths of the church, and also evils and falsities. A. 9340.
    The daughters of the Philistines stand for the affections for the false. E. 817.

29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot;

 29. Receptions and appropriations in the opposite sense are those of faises, or alienations of truths. E. 840.
29, 30. finally profaning truths. P. P.

31 in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire.

31. It exalted itself above all men. P. P.
31-34. This is concerning the abominations of Jerusalem, or the Jewish church, that they not only perverted and adulterated the goods of the Word, but also received falses of religion and of worship from the idolatrous nations, and thereby adulterated the truths and goods of the Word, and confirmed their adulterations. By an adulterous woman who taketh strangers instead of her husband is signified the perversion of the Word by the falses of other nations. By giving rewards (gifts) is signified that they loved the falses of religion and of worship of other nations. E. 695.

32 A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33 They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.
34 And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.

32. Jerusalem a wife committing adultery is the church in which good is adulterated, to take strangers is to acknowledge evils and falsities in life and doctrine. A. 10287.
32-34. It obtruded its falsities on others. P. P.

35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:
36 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;
37 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.
39 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.
40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
41 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.
42 So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

 35-42. They will utterly perish by the falsities by which the truths of the Word have been destroyed. P. P.

39, 40. By the falling by the sword is meant that there is no longer any truth, but mere falsity. A. 2799.
39-41. Stoning was significative of condemnation. E.655.
40. The sword signifies truth fighting and destroying falsity. The punishment of stoning was inflicted if anyone destroyed the truths which are of worship. A. 7456.
42. The zeal of Jehovah is described as anger. A. 8875.
Zeal with the Lord is not wrath, it only appears in externals as if it were, internally it is love. R. 216.

 43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45 Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

43. See Chapter XI., 21. A. 10011.
    See Chapter IX., 10. E. 577.
43-45. Thus they will be as at the beginning. P. P.
45. It is common for the church to be called a mother in the Word. Man here stands for the Lord, sons for truths of faith, a Hittite for what is false, and an Amorite for what is evil. A. 289.
    The church is called mother. M. 119.
    In the spiritual sense by Father is meant God, who is the Father of all, and by mother the church. T. 306.
    The Lord is called Father, and they who are in goods and truths from him are called Sons of God. The church is called mother. T. 583.

46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways.
48 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.
52 Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous that thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

46-50. It is said that the Jewish nation was altogether corrupt, and that Jerusalem was to be destroyed. R. 350.
    The abominations of Jerusalem are described. By Samaria instead of Gomorrah, as to falsities, and by Sodom as to evils. Sodom is the love of self here signified by pride. By the fulness of bread is signified that they turned away from the goods of charity. That they had no mercy is described by not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy. A. 2220.
    Sodom and Egypt signify the two infernal loves, the love of ruling from the love of self, and the love of governing from the pride of one's own intelligence. These loves are in the church where God is not one, and where the Lord is not worshipped. R. 502.
    By Samaria, where the Israelites were, is signified the spiritual church, in which is spiritual good, which is the good of neighborly love or charity; but by Jerusalem, where the Jews were, is signified the celestial church, which is celes tial good, which is the good of love to the Lord is essential. To spiritual good is opposed infernal evil which is the evil of the love of the world, and to celestial good is opposed diabolical evil, which is the evil of the love of self. E. 653.
46-52. The like has come to pass with the Israelitish church, but in a less degree. P. P.
46, 48. By these things cannot be meant the Jerusalem in which the Jews were when the Lord came into the world, for that was the reverse in every thing, it should rather be called Sodom. L. 64.
    Since the Jews, from the denial that the Lord was the Messiah, the Son of God, crucified him, therefore their Jerusalem is also called Sodom. R. 504.
    Jerusalem in which were the Jews when the Lord came into the world cannot be meant, for that was the opposite in every respect, and was rather called Sodom, as it is in Ezekiel and other places. R. 880.
    Jerusalem is also called Sodom, for example in Isaiah III., 9. and Jeremiah XXIII., 14. B. 100.
    In many passages in the Word it is said that Jerusalem is to be utterly lost, and that it was to be destroyed. See Jeremiah V., I, VI., 6, 7, Lamentations I., 8, 9. T. 782.
47. Corrupt is here predicated of things of the understanding, or reason, or thought. A. 622.
49. Miserable and poor signifies that they are without truths and goods. R. 209.
    By the miserable and poor are signified those with whom there is a deficiency of truth and good, who nevertheless are in the desire for both. E. 238.

53 And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;
54 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.
58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah.
59 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

53-55. Nevertheless the church in general shall be restored. P. P.
55. By daughters here are not meant daughters, but affections which disagree with the truth, and thus religions that thus arise. A. 3024.
56-58. It is everywhere better than in the Jewish church. P. P.
59-63. A new church is to be instituted among others. P. P.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
61 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;
63 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.

60. See Chapter V., 10, 12, 15. A. 7051.
60-62. Those are here understood who were to be introduced from the earth into the church, and thence into heaven, not only where the Christian religion is received, but also everywhere else. E. 433

Author: Emanuel Swedenborg (Compiled by Robert S. Fischer 1925)