<< Ezekiel XII >>

PARABLES: EZEKIEL REMOVING HIS GOODS

PARABLES: EATING WITH QUAKING AND DRINKING WITH TREMBLING

1 The word of Jehovah also came unto me, saying,
 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.
 3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.
 4 And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing; and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.
 5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
 6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
 7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I digged through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
 8 And in the morning came the word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
 9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
 10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.
 11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.
 12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.
 13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
 14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are round about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
 15 And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
 16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
 17 Moreover the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
 18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with fearfulness;
 19 and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and despoiled of all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
 20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
 21 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
 22 Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
 23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision.
 24 For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
 25 For I am Jehovah; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 26 Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
 27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many day to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off. 28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord Jehovah.

 1 The word of Jehovah also came unto me, saying,

1, 2. They are opposed to the Lord and the Word. P. P.
1-12. See Chapter VI., 1-10. R. 591.
    The prophet by these things represented the state of the church at that time. It was that there were no longer any truths remaining which were not destroyed by falses, for all the prophets represented the church as to doctrine from the Word. The removing out of place and bringing out the vessels of migration through the wall under darkness, and covering his face that he might not see the earth, represents the ejection of all the truth of doctrine from the Word. The moving out of place signifies rejection, by the vessels are meant the truths of doctrine, by the wall through which he brought them out what  is ultimate, that which encompasses and depends truths. The ultimate of doctrine is the literal sense of the Word, which is called a wall because it contains and includes the spiritual sense. By the darkness, under which he was to bring them out, are signified falses; and by covering his face that he may not see the earth, the truths of good being no longer seen in the church. To go into exile signifies the dissipation of truths, and to go into captivity the being occupied by falses.  E. 811.

2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.

2. Which have eyes to see and see not means which are not willing to understand. A. 212.
    Those who can understand, acknowledge and have faith and will not. Seeing signifies having faith. A.897·
    Having eyes to see but not seeing, signifies that they were able to understand the truths of faith, but were not willing; and this because of evils, which are the house of rebellion, inducing a deceitful light on falsities, and darkness on truths. A. 3863.
    Mention is made of both seeing and hearing because the one follows the other, that is, faith in the understanding which is seeing, and faith in the will which is hearing. A. 3869.
    By eyes is meant the understanding of truth. R. 58.
    They who separate life from faith are like those of whom the Lord speaks. See also Matthew XIII., 13-15. E. 108.
    The eyes stand for the understanding of truth, and are said to grow dim when truth is no more understood. E.152.
2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27. As by the son of man was signified Dvine truth proceeding from the Lord, therefore also the prophets, by whom it was revealed were called sons of man. A. 9807.
    The prophet Ezekiel was called son of man. L. 28.
    By the son of man is signified Divine truth, therefore also the prophets were so called. E. 63.

3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.
4 And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing; and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.
5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

3-12. It is represented that the church has departed from them through the falsification of the Word in respect to the letter, until there is no longer any church. P. P.
3-7, 11. Ezekiel was commanded to represent the state of the church by making vessels for removing, and by removing to another place in the sight of the children of Israel. L. 15.
The prophet by these things bore the iniquities of the house of Israel, and of the house of Judah. He did not take them away and thus expiate them, but he only represented and pointed them out. T. 130.

6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I digged through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
8 And in the morning came the word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

6, 11. Bearing the iniquities and sins of the people means that the state of the church from the Word was represented. L. 16.

10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.
11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.
12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.

10, 19, 28. See Chapter VIII., 1. A. 2921 .
12. A prince does not mean here a prince, but the truth of the church. When it is said that it shall be borne on the shoulder in the dark, it means that with all power it shall be conveyed down among falsities, for darkness is falsities. Covering the face means that truth should not at all be seen. Not seeing the earth with his eyes means that nothing of the church would be seen. A. 5044·

13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

13. They have destroyed the chief truths by reasonings from the natural man, P. P.

14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are round about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
15 And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

14. To unsheathe, or draw out the sword means not to cease from fighting until the enemies be overthrown, thus continued combat. A. 8294.
    The wind, in an opposite sense, signifies what is false. E. 419.
14-16. and consequently the remaining truths, so that there is little left. P. P.
16. By the sword is meant the vastation of truth, by the famine the vastation of good, and by the pestilence damnation. A. 7102 .

17 Moreover the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with fearfulness;
19 and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and despoiled of all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

17-20. It is not known what good and truth are. P. P.
18, 19. See Chapter IV., 1-17. L. 64·
    See Chapter IV., 1-17. B. 100.
    See Chapter IV., 1-17. T. 782.
    Waters signify truths, and in particular natural truths, which are knowledges from the Word. R. 50.
    The Jewish nation was altogether corrupt, and Jerusalem was to be destroyed. R. 350.
See Chapter IV.,Whole Chapter. R. 880.
    Waters in the Word signify the truths of faith, and the knowledges of truth. E. 71.
19. The bread which they shall eat in disquietude is the celestial. The waters which they shall drink in desolation are the spiritual things to which they have done violence, or which they have profaned. A. 623.
Land stands for the church, and fulness for the good and truth therein. That both are signified is evident from what precedes, that they should eat bread with care, and drink water with astonishment. By bread is signified the good of love, and by water the truth of faith, which is called the fulness of the earth. A. 6297.
    A man of violence stands for those who destroy the truths of faith, and the goods of charity. A. 6353.
    See Chapter IV., 16, 17. A. 9323.
19, 20. In the internal sense Jerusalem and the land of Israel stand for the spiritual church, bread and water for charity and faith, or for good and truth. The land stands for the church itself, which is said to be wasted as to good, and desolate as to truth. A. 2928.
    Desolation is the apparent deprivation of truth with those who are not being regenerated, but the absolute depnvauon of it with those who are not being regenerated. A.5376.
By the earth is signified the church, and by the city doctrine with its truth; wherefore it is said: because of the violence of all them who dwell therein. E. 304.
     By vastation and desolation is not meant a depopulation of the earth or of cities, but the vastation and desolation of the goods and truths of the church, in consequence of which there remains nothing bu t evils and falses. Coro. 56.
    They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with amazement, that their land is utterly devastated. The cities which they inhabit shall be laid waste, and the land desolate. D. P., Page 26.

21 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
22 Son of man, what is this proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision.
24 For there shall be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
25 For I am Jehovah; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

21-25. The coming of the Lord will not be delayed. P. P.
24. A vision of vanity means a false revelation. A. 9248.

26 Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many day to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.
28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord Jehovah.

26-28. It is vain for them to say that the prophesies of the Word concerning the Lord will be fulfilled after a long time. P. P.
27. They said this concerning the prophet. L. 4.
    The vision which the prophet sees is to come after many days, and he prophesies of the time which is far off. D. P., Page 26.

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