Portions: Ezekiel 31 - 34

"'Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because it towered on high,
lifting its top above the thick foliage,
and because it was proud of its height,
I handed it over to the ruler of the nations,
for him to deal with
according to its wickedness.
(Ezekiel 31:10-11)

When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
(Ezekiel 32:7)

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man,
speak to your countrymen and say to them:
'When I bring the sword against a land,
and the people of the land
choose one of their men
and make him their watchman,
and he sees the sword coming against the land
and blows the trumpet to warn the people,
then if anyone hears the trumpet
but does not take warning
and the sword comes and takes his life,
his blood will be on his own head.
But if the watchman sees the sword coming
and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people
and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them,
that man will be taken away because of his sin,
but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'"
(Ezekiel 33:1-4,6)

I will save My flock,
and they will no longer be plundered.
I will judge between one sheep and another.
(Ezekiel 34:22)

AC 8468 & AC 8469 - the Divine good

AC 8468 [2]
. . . all things in that kingdom (heaven)
shall have relation to good,
and also that the truth there will be good,
and that this shall be given in fulness . . ..

AC 8469
The universal thing that forms and brings into order
all things in general and in particular
is the Divine good of Divine love from the Lord.

Portions: Ezekiel 27 - 30

In your marketplace they traded with you
beautiful garments, blue fabric,
embroidered work and multicolored rugs
with cords twisted and tightly knotted.
(Ezekiel 27:24)

You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created
they were prepared.
(Ezekiel 28:13)

"'Egypt will no longer
be a source of confidence for the people of Israel
but will be a reminder of their sin
in turning to her for help.
Then they will know
that I am the Sovereign Lord.'"
(Ezekiel 29:16)

'"On that day
messengers will go out from Me in ships
to frighten Cush out of her complacency.
Anguish will take hold of them
on the day of Egypt's doom,
for it is sure to come.'"
(Ezekiel 30:9)

AC 8455 - the dew in the morning

AC 8455
"Dew" signifies the truth of peace
because in the morning it comes down from heaven
and appears upon the herbage like fine rain,
and has also stored up in it
something of sweetness or delight more than rain has,
whereby the grass and the crops of the field are gladdened;
and "morning" denotes a state of peace.
. . . peace is . . . is like dawn on the earth,
which gladdens minds with universal delight;
and the truth of peace is like the light of the dawn.
This truth, which is called "the truth of peace,"
is the very Divine truth in heaven from the Lord,
which universally affects all who are there,
and makes heaven to be heaven;
for peace has in it confidence in the Lord,
that He directs all things,
and provides all things,
and that He leads to a good end.
When a man is in this faith,
he is in peace,
for he then fears nothing,
and no solicitude about things to come disquiets him.
A man comes into this state
in proportion as he comes into love to the Lord.

[2] All evil, especially self-confidence,
takes away a state of peace.

[3]  Tranquility of mind, content, and gladness from success,
are relatively nothing;
for these affect only his externals;
whereas peace affects the inmost things of all . . ..

Portions: Ezekiel 24 - 26

In the ninth year,
in the tenth month on the tenth day,
the word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man,
record this date, this very date,
because the king of Babylon
has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day."
(Ezekiel 24:1-2)

"Say to them,
'Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you said "Aha!"
over My sanctuary when it was desecrated
and over the land of Israel
when it was laid waste
and over the people of Judah
when they went into exile,
therefore I am going to give you
to the people of the East as a possession.
They will set up their camps
and pitch their tents among you;
they will eat your fruit and drink your milk."
(Ezekiel 25:3-4)

"Then all the princes of the coast
will step down from their thrones
and lay aside their robes
and take off their embroidered garments.
Clothed with terror,
they will sit on the ground,
trembling every moment,
appalled at you."
(Ezekiel 26:16)

AC 8439 - reception is nothing without application

AC 8439
. . . reception is not anything
unless there is also application, namely, to use.
For the influx from the Divine passes first into the perception
which is of the understanding with the person,
then it passes into the will,
and next into act, that is, into good work, which is use,
and there it ceases.
When the influx of good and truth from the Lord
makes this passage,
then the good and truth are appropriated to the person;
for then the influx goes down into the ultimate of order,
that is, into the ultimate of nature,
where all Divine influx aims to come.
The person in whom Divine influx thus advances
may be called "a way of heaven."

Portions: Ezekiel 20 -23

"I am the Lord your God;
follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.
Keep My Sabbaths holy,
that they may be a sign between us.
Then you will know that
I am the Lord your God.
(Ezekiel 20:19)

"Therefore groan, son of man!
Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
And when they ask you,
'Why are you groaning?' you shall say,
'Because of the news that is coming.
Every heart will melt and every hand go limp;
every spirit will become faint
and every knee become as weak as water.'
It is coming!
It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.'"
(Ezekiel 21:6-7)

Her priests do violence to My law
and profane My holy things;
they do not distinguish between the holy and the common;
they teach that there is no difference
between the unclean and the clean;
and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths,
so that I am profaned among them.
(Ezekiel 22:26)

The Lord said to me:
"Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah?
Then confront them with their detestable practices . . .."
(Ezekiel 23:36)

AC 8247 - the glory of the Lord

AC 8247
The reason why 'the glory'
means the presence and the arrival of the Lord
is that in the highest sense
'glory' is the Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord;
and Divine Truth appears before angels' eyes
as the light and splendor from the Sun,
which is the Lord.

[4] Here also "the glory of Jehovah"
plainly denotes His presence.

The disciples said unto Jesus,
Tell us what shall be the sign of Thy coming?
Jesus said, Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man,
and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory.
(Matthew 24:3, 30)

The last time of the former church
and the first time of the new church
is here treated of;
"the Son of man"
signifies truth Divine proceeding from the Lord;
"the clouds of heaven"
signifies the Word in the sense of the letter;
"power and glory"
signifies the internal sense,
thus the Divine truth which shall then appear;
"the coming of the Lord"
signifies the acknowledgment of truth Divine
by those who are of the new church,
and the denial of it
by those who are of the old church.

Portions: Ezekiel 17 - 19

"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I Myself will take a shoot
from the very top of a cedar and plant it;
I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it;
it will produce branches and bear fruit
and become a splendid cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest in it;
they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.
All the trees of the field will know
that I the Lord bring down the tall tree
and make the low tree grow tall.
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
"'I the Lord have spoken,
and I will do it.'"
(Ezekiel 17:22-24)

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?
declares the Sovereign Lord.
Rather, am I not pleased
when they turn from their ways and live?
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
Repent and live!
(Ezekiel 18:23,32)

Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel . . .
(Ezekiel 19:1)

AC 8403 - Can we be regenerated without temptation?

AC 8403 [2]
Those who have not been instructed
about a person's regeneration
suppose that a person
can be regenerated without temptation;
and some that he has been regenerated
when he has undergone one temptation.
But be it known
that without temptation no one is regenerated,
and that many temptations follow on, one after another.
The reason is that regeneration takes place to the end
that the life of the old person may die,
and the new heavenly life be insinuated,
which shows that there must needs be a fight,
for the life of the old person resists,
and is not willing to be extinguished,
and the life of the new person cannot enter
except where the life of the old person
has been extinguished.
So it is evident that there is a fight on both sides,
and this fight is a fiery one,
because it is for life.

"They will know that I am the Lord,
when I disperse them among the nations
and scatter them through the countries.
But I will spare a few of them
from the sword, famine and plague,
so that in the nations where they go
they may acknowledge all their detestable practices.
Then they will know that I am the Lord."
(Ezekiel 12:15-16)

"'Because they lead My people astray,
saying, "Peace," when there is no peace,
and because, when a flimsy wall is built,
they cover it with whitewash,
therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash
that it is going to fall.'"
(Ezekiel 13:10-11)

"Therefore say to the house of Israel,
'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Repent!
Turn from your idols
and renounce all your detestable practices.'"
(Ezekiel 14:6)

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better
than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?
Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?
Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?
And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel
and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle,
is it then useful for anything?"
(Ezekiel 15:1-4)

"'But you trusted in your beauty
and used your fame to become a prostitute.
You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by
and your beauty became his.'"
(Ezekiel 16:15)

AC 8399 - the spiritual person before & after regeneration

AC 8399
The good that is from truth
is the good that is in the spiritual person
before regeneration,
for he then does good from truth,
that is, because it has been so commanded,
consequently from obedience;
whereas the good from which is truth
is the good which is in the spiritual person
after regeneration,
for he then does good from affection.
The former good is signified by "Sin,"
the latter by "Sinai."
 

Portions: Ezekiel 6 - 11

"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Strike your hands together and stamp your feet
and cry out "Alas!"
because of all the wicked and detestable practices
of the house of Israel,
for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.'"
(Ezekiel 6:11)

"I will deal with them according to their conduct,
and by their own standards I will judge them.
Then they will know that I am the Lord."
(Ezekiel 7:27)

The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven
and in vision of God he took me to Jerusalem,
to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court,
where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.
And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel,
as in the vision I had seen in the plain.
(Ezekiel 8:3-4)

The the Lord called to the man clothed in linen
who had the writing kit at his side and said to him,
"Go throughout the city of Jerusalem
and put a mark on the foreheads of those
who grieve and lament
over all the detestable things that are done in it."
(Ezekiel 9:3-4)

I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne
of sapphire (or lapis luzuli) above the expanse
that was over the heads of the cherubim.
Then the glory of the Lord rose
from above the cherubim
and moved to the threshold of the temple.
The cloud filled the temple,
and the court was full of the radiance
of the glory of the Lord.
The sound of the wings of the cherubim
could be heard as far away as the outer court,
like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
(Ezekiel 10:1,4-5)

"I will give them an undivided heart
and put a new spirit in them:
I will remove from them their heart of stone
and give them the heart of flesh.
Then they will follow My decrees
and be careful to keep My laws.
They will be My people,
and I will be their God."
(Ezekiel 11:19-20)

AC 8367 - spiritual temptation; AC 8.87, 8391 - reflection & repentance

AC 8367
. . . after all spiritual temptation
there come enlightenment and affection,
thus pleasantness and delight;
pleasantness from enlightenment through truth,
and delight from the affection of good.

That consolation follows after temptations . . .
the reason is that by means of temptations
truths and goods are implanted and are conjoined,
consequently the person as to his spirit
is introduced interiorly into heaven,
and to the heavenly societies
with which he had previously been associated.
When the temptation is ended,
communication with heaven is opened,
which had previously been partly closed,
consequently enlightenment and affection,
and consequently pleasantness and delight;
for then the angels with whom communication is given,
flow in by means of truth, and by means of good.

AC 8387
He who wishes to be saved
must confess his sins
and do repentance.

AC 8391
He who leads a life of faith does repentance daily;
for he reflects upon the evils that are in him,
acknowledges them,
guards himself against them,
and supplicates the Lord for aid.
For from himself man is continually falling,
but is continually being raised up by the Lord.
He falls from himself when he thinks what is evil with desire;
and he is raised up by the Lord when he resists evil,
and consequently does not do it.

Portions: Ezekiel 1 - 5

I saw from what appeared to be His waist up
He looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire,
and that from there down He looked like fire;
and brilliant light surrounded Him.
Like the appearance of a rainbow
in the clouds on a rainy day,
so was the radiance around Him.
This was the appearance of the likeness
of the glory of the Lord.
When I saw it,
I fell face-down,
and I heard the Voice of One speaking.
(Ezekiel 1:27-28)

He said to me, "Son of man,
stand up on your feet and I will speak to you."
(Ezekiel 2:1)

"Again, when a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and does evil,
and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die.
Since you did not warn him,
he will die for his sin.
The righteous things he did will not be remembered,
and I will hold you accountable for his blood.
But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin
and he does not sin,
he will surely live because he took warning,
and you will have saved yourself."
(Ezekiel 3:20-21)

"Then lie on your left side
and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself.
You are to bear their sin
for the number of days you lie on your side.
I have assigned you the same number of days
as the years of their sin.
So for 390 days
you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.
"After you have finished this,
lie down again, this time on your right side,
and bear the sin of the house of Judah.
I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year."
(Ezekiel 4:4-6)

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
This is Jerusalem,
which I have set in the center of the nations,
with countries all around her.
Yet in her wickedness
she has rebelled against My laws and decrees
more than the nations and countries around her.
She has rejected My laws
and has not followed My decrees."
(Ezekiel 5:5-6)

AC 8349 - all the affection of truth is from good; AC 8361 - the Lord

AC 8349
. . . all the delight of truth comes forth from good.
That the affection of truth derives its origin from good
is because good loves truth,
and truth loves good,
for these two are conjoined as in a marriage.
It is known that everyone desires
to be instructed in those things which he loves
and has as the end.
He who loves good, that is,
who wills from the heart to worship God
and to benefit his neighbor,
loves to be instructed in those things which lead thereto,
consequently in truths;
from which it can be seen
that all the affection of truth is from good.

AC 8361
. . . the Lord is in His commandments
when a person lives according to them . . ..

Portions: Lamentations 4 - 5

The punishment of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
without a hand turned to help her.
Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of famine . . ..
(Lamentations 4:6,9)

The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our hearts are faint,
because of these things our eyes grow dim . . ..
(Lamentations 5:16-17)

AC - 8337 - Moses, Aaron, Miriam

AC 8337
. . . Moses represents the truth of faith
which proceeds immediately from the Lord,
thus internal truth;
while Aaron represents the truth of faith
which proceeds mediately from the Lord,
thus external truth;
consequently "Miriam" denotes the good of faith
which proceeds mediately from the Lord;
for when men represent truth,
 their women represent good.
As Miriam with the women represent external good,
therefore it is added "the sister of Aaron,"
and it is not said "the sister of Moses."
Moreover good and truth are circumstanced
like sister and brother.
But be it known that women represent good,
and men truth,
when the spiritual church is treated of;
whereas women represent truth,
and men good,
when the celestial church is treated of.

Portions: Jeremiah 52, Lamentations 1-3

This is the number of the people
Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:
In the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
In Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year,
832 people from Jerusalem;
in this twenty-third year,
745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan
the commander of the imperial guard.
There were 4,600 people in all.
(Jeremiah 52:28-30)

(Lamentations means "funeral songs".)

How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.
(Lamentations 1:1)

All who pass your way clap their hands at you;
they scoff and shake their heads
at the Daughter of Jerusalem:
"Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of the whole earth?"
(Lamentations 2:15)

I say to myself,
"The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for Him."
The Lord is good to those
whose hope is in Him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
(Lamentations 3:24-26)

AC 8313 - keeping principles

AC 8313 [4]
For in the other life
everyone retains the principles of his faith
which he had in the life of the body,
and no others change them
into truths
than those who have been in the good of life;
for good longs for truth,
and receives it willingly,
because it is homogeneous.
But they who have been in evil of life
do not change them (they are as it were hard),
and they even reject truths
and are also in obscurity,
so that they cannot even see them:
they see only such things as confirm their own principles . . ..
Such also believe that they are the most intelligent of all;
but they know nothing
except how to reason from an assumed principle;
and therefore it is these who most assault charity,
consequently who desire to have dominion.
For they who are in charity are humble,
and desire to serve all,
as being the lowest;
whereas they who are in faith without charity are lofty,
and desire to be served by all . . ..

Portions: Jeremiah 51

He made the earth by His power;
He founded the world by His wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
When He thunders,
the waters in the heavens roar;
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.
. . . He is the Maker of all things,
including the tribe of His inheritance -
the Lord Almighty is His name.

"When you finish reading this scroll,
tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more
because of the disaster I will bring upon her.
And her people will fall.'"
The words of Jeremiah end here.
(Jeremiah 51:15-16,19;63-64)

AC 8307 - why abstaining from evils is essential to receiving His mercy

AC 8307
With regard to mercy from the Lord the case is this:
The mercy of the Lord is perpetual with every person,
for the Lord wills to save all men, whoever they are;
but this mercy cannot flow in
until evils have been removed,
for evils and the derivative falsities stand opposed,
and prevent it.
But as soon as evils are removed,
mercy flows in,
that is, good from mercy from the Lord,
which good is charity and faith.
From this it can be seen
that the mercy of the Lord is universal,
that is, toward all,
and that it is also special
toward those who abstain from evils.
Man can abstain from evils from himself;
but he cannot receive good from himself.
That man can abstain from evils from himself
is because the Lord continually
inflows into the will of a person with this endeavor,
and thereby puts in his freedom
to desist from evils, as also to apply himself to good.
The Lord also gives him the faculty of understanding truth,
but that he does not understand
is because he does not wish to understand,
and this on account of the evil that is of the life;
for falsity defends evil,
and truth condemns it.
Consequently it is
that a a person cannot
be presented with spiritual good by the Lord,
thus cannot be led through mercy,
unless he desists from evils.
 

Portions: Jeremiah 49 - 50

This is what the Lord says:
"If those who do not deserve to drink the cup
must drink it,
why should you go unpunished?
You will not go unpunished,
but must drink it."
(Jeremiah 49:12)

"My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
and forgot their own resting place.
Whoever found them devoured them;
their enemies said, 'We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord,
their true pasture,
the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
(Jeremiah 50:6-8)

AC 8284 - endeavors

AC 8284
The sphere of endeavors to do evil
is perpetual from the hells,
but the sphere of endeavors to do good
is perpetual from the heavens.

Portions: Jeremiah 44 - 48

"Why provoke Me to anger
with what your hands have made,
burning incense to other gods in Egypt,
where you have come to live?
You will destroy yourselves
and make yourselves an object of cursing and reproach
among all the nations on earth."
(Jeremiah 44:8)

(To Baruch, scribe to Jeremiah:)
"Should you then seek great things for yourself?
Seek them not.
For I will bring disaster on all people,
declares the Lord,
but wherever you go
I will let you escape with your life."
(Jeremiah 45:5)

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
"I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes,
on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings,
and on those who rely on Pharaoh.
(Jeremiah 46:25)

This is the word of the Lord
that came to Jeremiah the prophet
concerning the Philistines
before Pharaoh attached Gaza . . .
(Jeremiah 47:1)

"Whoever flees from the terror
will fall into the pit,
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare;
for I will bring upon Moab
the year of her punishment,"
declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 48:44)

AC 8267 - "Hallelu-Jah"

AC 8267 [2]
That "Jah" denotes the Divine truth
proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord,
is because "Jah" is from "Jehovah"
and is called "Jah"
because it is not being, but coming-forth from being;
for Divine truth is coming-forth,
but Divine good is being ;
and consequently it is said "Jah is my song,"
because by "song"
is signified the faith which is of Divine truth.

In distress I called on Jah;
Jah answered me in breadth;
Jehovah helped me;
Jah is my strength and song;
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of Jah;
I will enter through the gates of righteousness,
and I will confess Jah.
(Psalm 118:5, 13, 14, 17, 19)

here "Jah" denotes the Lord as to Divine truth;
in like manner "Jah" in "Hallelu-Jah".

Portions: Jeremiah 39 - 43

Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
had given these orders about Jeremiah
through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard:
"Take him and look after him;
don't harm him
but do for him whatever he asks."
(Jeremiah 39:11)

Then the commander gave him provisions and a present
and let him go.
So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahakam at Muizpah
and stayed with him among the people
who were left behind in the land.
(Jeremiah 40:5-6)

In the seventh month
Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama,
who was of royal blood
and had been one of the king's officers,
came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah.
While they were there,
Ishmael son of Nethaniah
and the ten men who were with him
got up and struck down
Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
with the sword, killing the one
whom the king of Babylon had appointed
as governor over the land.
(Jeremiah 41:1-2)

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:
'If you stay in this land,
I will build you up and not tear you down;
I will plant you and not uproot you,
for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you.
Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon,
whom you now fear.
Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord,
for I am with you
and will save you and deliver you from his hands.'
(Jeremiah 42:9-11)

So Johanan son of Kareah
and all the army officers and all the people
disobeyed the Lord's command to stay in the land of Judah.
(Jeremiah 43:4)

AC 8250 - think & say; AC 8253 - piety & charity

AC 8250
. . . in the other life . . .
it is not allowable to speak in one way
and to think in another.

AC 8253
The life of piety is to think piously and to speak piously,
to devote oneself much to prayers,
to behave humbly at such times,
to frequent places of worship,
and while there to listen devoutly to the preachings,
to engage in the sacrament of the Supper frequently every year,
and in like manner in all other things of worship,
according to the ordinances of the church.
But the life of charity is to wish well and to do well to the neighbor,
to act from what is just and fair,
and from what is good and true, in every work,
in like manner in everything we do;
in a word, the life of charity consists in performing uses.
 

Portions: Jeremiah 34 - 38

"But now you have turned around and profaned My name;
each of you has taken back the male and female slaves
you had set free to go where they wished.
You have forced them to become your slaves again.
"Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
You have not obeyed me;
you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen.
So I now proclaim 'freedom' for you,
declares the Lord -
'freedom' to fall by the sword, plague and famine.
I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth."
(Jeremiah 34:16-17)

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Racabites,
"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab
and have followed all his instructions
and have done everything he ordered.'
Therefore, this is that the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel, says:
'Jonadab son of Racab will never fail
to have a man to serve me.'"
(Jeremiah 35:18-19)

So Jeremiah took another scroll
and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah,
and as Jeremiah dictated,
Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll
that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire.
And many similar words were added to them.
(Jeremiah 36:65)

"This is what the Lord says:
Do not deceive yourselves, thinking,
'The Babylonians will surely leave us.'
They will not!'"
(Jeremiah 37:9)

So Ebed-Melech took the men with him
and went to a room under the treasury in the palace.
He took some old rags and worn out-cloths from there
and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah,
"Put these old rags and worn-out clothes
under your arms to pad the ropes."
Jeremiah did so,
and they pulled him up with ropes
and lifted him out of the cistern.
(Jeremiah 38:11-12)

AC 8223 - retaliation

AC 8223 [3]
It is a frequent occurrence in the next life
for the evil to be severely punished
when they wish to inflict evil on the good,
and for the evil which they aim at others
to recoil on themselves.
. . . The evil who carry out punishment
act from an inordinate desire to do ill,
whereas the good act from a fondness for doing good.
From all this one may see what should be understood
by the Lord's words in Matthew . . . about loving one's enemy,
and about the law of retaliation,
which the Lord did not set aside
but opened out; that is to say,
He explained that those governed by heavenly love
should take no delight in any act of retaliation or revenge
but in doing good.
His words should also be taken to mean
that the actual law of order
which protects good
achieves this of itself
by means of those who are evil.

Portions: Jeremiah 31 - 33

At this I awoke and looked around.
My sleep had been pleasant to me.
(Jeremiah 31:26)

O great and powerful God,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
great are Your purposes
and mighty are Your deeds.
(Jeremiah 32:18-19)

"Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
and His love endures forever."
(Jeremiah 33:13)

AC 8209 - equilibrium

AC 8209
There is a sphere exhaling from the hells
which may be called a sphere of endeavors,
and which is a sphere of doing evil.
I have several times been allowed to perceive this sphere.
The endeavor in it is constant,
and as soon as any opportunity offers,
the effect breaks forth from it.
But this sphere is restrained by the sphere
of the endeavors of heaven which is from the Lord,
and is a sphere of imparting benefits,
in which is all power,
because it is from the Divine.
Nevertheless equilibrium is maintained
between these diametrically opposite endeavors,
to the intent that a person may be in freedom,
and thus in choice,
and that he can be reformed;
for all reformation is in freedom,
and without freedom there is no reformation.
Spiritual endeavor is the same as will.
During a person's reformation he is kept in equilibrium
(that is, in freedom)
between willing good and willing evil;
and insofar as he then accedes to willing what is good,
so far he accedes to heaven and recedes from hell;
and so far the new will
which he then receives from the Lord
prevails against his own will
which he received by inheritance from his parents
and afterward by actual life.
When therefore a person has been so far reformed
that he wills good and is affected with it,
then good removes evil,
because the Lord is present in good;
for good is from the Lord, thus it is His,
indeed, it is Himself.

Portions: Jeremiah 27 - 30

Then I said to the priests and all these people,
"This is what the Lord says: 
Do not listen to the prophets who say,
'Very soon now the articles from the Lord's house
will be brought back from Babylon.'
They are prophesying lies to you.
do not listen to them.
Serve the king of Babylon,
and you will live.
(Jeremiah 27:16-17)

Then the prophet Jeremiah
said to Hananiah the prophet,
"Listen, Hananiah!
The Lord has not sent you,
yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.
Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.
This very year you are going to die,
because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.'"
In the seventh month of that same year,
Hananiah the prophet died.
(Jeremiah 28:15-17)

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel,
says to all those I carried into exile
from Jerusalem to Babylon:
"Build houses and settle down;
plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Marry and have sons and daughters;
find wives for your sons
and give your daughters in marriage,
so that they too may have sons and daughters.
Increase in number there;
do not decrease.
Also, seek the peace and prosperity
of the city to which I have carried you into exile.
Pray to the Lord for it,
because if it prospers,
you too will prosper"
(Jeremiah 29:4-7)

"'So you will be My people,
and I will be your God.'"
(Jeremiah 30:22)

AC 8200 - Divine power

AC 8200
. . . all Divine power
is through the truth which proceeds from the Lord.
This created all things . . .

All things were made by means of the Word,
and without Him was not anything made that was made.
(John 1:3)

Portions: Jeremiah 23 - 26

"The days are coming," declares the Lord,
"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In His days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which He will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness."
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)

After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah
and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah
were carried into exile 
from Jerusalem to Babylon 
by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
the Lord showed me two baskets of figs
placed in front of the temple of the Lord.
(Jeremiah 24:1)

For twenty-tree years -
from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah
until this very day -
the word of the Lord has come to me
and I have spoke to you again and again,
but you have not listened.
(Jeremiah 25:3)

Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people:
"The Lord sent me to prophesy
against this house and this city
and all the things you have heard.
Now reform your ways and your actions
and obey the Lord your God.
Then the Lord will relent
and not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you.
(Jeremiah 26:12-13)

AC 8179 - how the Lord sees prayer when a person is in temptation; AC 8189 - the Lord

AC 8179 [2-3]
. . . when people are in the throes of temptation
they usually stay their hands and resort solely to prayers,
which they then pour forth feverishly,
unaware that such prayers achieve nothing,
but that they should battle against
the falsities and evils which the hells introduce.
The truths of faith are the means for fighting that battle,
and they are of help
because they strengthen the forms of good and the truths
opposed to falsities and evils.
In the conflicts brought by temptations, furthermore,
a person should fight as if he did so in his own strength,
yet he should acknowledge and believe
that he does so in the Lord's . . ..
If a person does not fight as if in his own strength
he does not make his own the goodness and truth
which flow in from the Lord by way of heaven.
But when a person does fight
as if in his own strength
and yet believes that he does so in the Lord's,
he does make those things his own.
This gives him a new proprium (or selfhood),
called a heavenly proprium, which is a new will.

Moreover people in the throes of temptation
who take no action other than to send up prayers
do not realize that if their temptation were terminated
before running its full course
their preparation for heaven would not be accomplished,
and so they could not be saved.
For this reason also little heed is paid
to the prayers of those in the throes of temptation;
for the Lord desires the end in view,
which is the person's salvation.
The Lord knows that end,
but the person does not,
and the Lord does not do what prayers ask for
if that is contrary to the end, which is salvation.
The truth of this also
becomes more firmly established with the person
who conquers in temptations;
but one who does not conquer
entertains doubts about God's help and power
because he is not heard.
Then sometimes,
because he stays his hands,
he gives in to a degree.

AC 8189
. . . the Lord is the only God,
and besides Him there is none else . . .

Portions: Jeremiah 19 - 22

Jeremiah then returned from Topheth,
where the Lord had sent him to prophesy,
and stood in the court of the Lord's temple
and said to all the people,
"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
'Listen!  I am going to bring on this city
and the villages around it
every disaster I pronounced against them,
because they were stiff-necked
and would not listen to My words.'"
(Jeremiah 19:14-15)

When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,
the chief officer in the temple of the Lord,
heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten
and put in the stocks
at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple.
(Jeremiah 20:1-2)

"I will punish you as your deeds deserve,"
declares the Lord.
"I will kindle a fire in your forests
that will consume everything around you."
(Jeremiah 21:14)

"Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,
so all went well with him.
He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?"
declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 22:15-16)

AC 8165 - despair; AC 8175 - imagine the hells as the ocean

AC 8165 [2]
. . . those who are in despair,
which is the last of temptation,
think such things,
and then they are as it were on the slope,
or are as it were sinking down toward hell.
But at this time such thought does no harm whatever,
nor do the angels pay any attention to it,
for every person's power is limited,
and when the temptation
arrives at the furthest limit of his power,
the person cannot sustain anything more,
but sinks down.
But then, when he is on the downhill course,
he is raised by the Lord and thus liberated from despair;
and is then for the most part
brought into a clear state of hope
and of the consequent consolation,
and also into good fortune.

AC 8175
That the Lord alone
sustains the combats of temptations, and conquers,
is because the Divine alone can conquer the hells.
Unless the Divine acted against them,
they would rush in like a vast ocean,
one hell after another,
for the resisting of which
a person is of not the slightest avail;
and the less so because in respect to what is his own,
man is nothing but evil, thus is hell,
from which the Lord then withdraws him,
and afterward withholds him.

Portions: Jeremiah 15 - 18

Therefore this is what the Lord says:
"If you repent,
I will restore you that you may serve Me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be My spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
(Jeremiah 15:19)

O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge in time of distress,
to you the nations will come
from the ends of the earth and say,
"Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods,
worthless idols that did them no good.
Do men make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!"
Therefore I will teach them -
this time I will teach them My power and might.
Then they will know that My name is the Lord.
(Jeremiah 16:19-21)

This is what the Lord says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:5-8)

Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
save me and I will be saved,
for you are the One I praise.
(Jeremiah 17:14)

They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah;
for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost,
nor will counsel from the wise,
nor the word from the prophets.
So come, let's attack him with our tongues
and pay no attention to anything he says."
(Jeremiah 18:18)

AC 8148 - persuasive faith, profanation

AC 8148 [2, 3, 4]
. . . persuasive faith is a persuasion that
all things that belong to the doctrine of the church are true,
not for the sake of truth,
nor for the sake of life,
nor even for the sake of salvation,
for in this they scarcely believe;
but for the sake of self-advantage,
that is, for the sake of getting honors and wealth,
and for the sake of reputation with a view to these.
They learn doctrinal things in order to acquire such things,
thus not to the end that they may be of service
to the church and the salvation of souls,
but to serve themselves and those who belong to them;
and therefore it is all the same to them
whether these doctrinal things are true, or false . . .
falsities can be confirmed
equally as well as truths.

This is the source of persuasive faith,
which, because it has not for its end,
and does not regard,
the neighbor and his good,
thus not the Lord,
but self and the world,
that is, honors and self-advantage,
is conjoined with evil of life,
but not with good of life;
for assuredly the faith that is conjoined with this
is saving faith.
This faith is given by the Lord,
but the other is from the man himself.
The one remains to eternity;
the other is dissipated in the other life,
and is also dissipated in the world if nothing is gained by it.
But so long as men profit by it,
they fight for it as for heaven itself,
although it is not for that faith,
but for themselves;
for the things of faith, that is, of doctrine,
are to them as means to an end;
that is, to eminence and opulence.
They who are in this faith in the world
can with difficulty be distinguished from those
who are in saving faith,
for they speak and preach
from an ardor as of zeal for the doctrine;
but it is an ardor from the fire
of the love of self and of the world. 

The evil is then like a fire,
and the falsities are like the light from it.
This kind of evil and the consequent falsity
is quite different
from other kinds of evils and the consequent falsities,
being more detestable than all others,
because it is contrary to the goods and truths of faith,
and therefore there is profanation in this evil.
(Profanation is the acknowledgment of truth and good
and yet a life contrary thereto,)

Portions: Jeremiah 11 - 14

The Lord said to me,
"Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem:
'Listen to the terms of this covenant
and follow them.
From the time I brought your forefathers
up from Egypt until today,
I warned them again and again,
saying, "Obey me."
But they did not listen or pay attention;
instead,
they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.'"
(Jeremiah 11:6-8)

They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.
So bear the same of your harvest
because of the Lord's fierce anger.
(Jeremiah 12:13)

Can the Ethiopian change his skin
or the leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.
(Jeremiah 13:23)

This is what the Lord says about this people:
"They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
He will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins."
(Jeremiah 14:10)

AC 8127 - the Spirit of Truth; AC 8139 - the Lord

AC 8127
The Divine Himself
does not instruct and speak to anyone directly,
not even to an angel;
He does so indirectly through Divine Truth.
This is the meaning of the Lord's words in John:
 
Nobody has ever seen God;
the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father,
He has made Him known.
(John 1:18; 5:37)

'The only begotten Son' is used to mean
the Lord in respect of Divine Truth.
This also is why the Lord calls Himself the Son of Man.
In addition, when He was in the world
the Lord was Divine Truth,
but after that, when He had been glorified,
He also became - in respect of His Human - Divine Good.
And from this Good Divine
Truth now proceeded, that is,
the Spirit of Truth or Holy Spirit.

AC 8139
. . the Lord is the only God . . .

Portions: Jeremiah 7 - 10

. . . but I gave them this command:
Obey Me,
and I will be your God
and you will be My people.
Walk in all the ways I command you,
that it may go well with you.
(Jeremiah 7:23)

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what kind of wisdom do they have?
(Jeremiah 8:9)
 
 This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts
boast about this:
that he understands and knows Me,
that I am the Lord,
who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in this I delight,"
declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 9:23-24)

"Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good."
(Jeremiah 10:5)

AC 8108 - the states of angels

AC 8108
That Jehovah or the Lord appeared or went before
in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night,
was because thereby was represented the state of heaven,
for in heaven there are never-ceasing
variations and changes of state;
for the angels are continually being perfected,
which cannot possibly be done
without unceasing changes of states.
In general these variations and changes
are like the changes of times in the world;
namely, the changes of the times of the year;
spring, summer, autumn, winter, and again spring;
and the changes of the times of the day-
morning, noon, evening, night, and again morning.
When it is morning and noon in heaven,
there is enlightenment of the understanding from the Lord,
but this enlightenment is then tempered
by obscurity of truth as by a cloud;
and when it is evening and night there,
they have obscurity of understanding,
but this is tempered by the Lord
by means of the good of love,
as by a fire which gives light.
These are the things which were represented by
the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night
with the sons of Israel in the wilderness.

Portions: Jeremiah 4 - 6

"My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good."
(Jeremiah 4:22)

"Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
Should you not fear Me?"
declares the Lord.
"Should you not tremble in My presence?"
(Jeremiah 21-22)

"From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
'Peace, peace,' they say,
when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush."
(Jeremiah 6:13-15)

AC 8093 - faith alone is not new; AC 8099 - the use of temptations

AC 8093 [2]
The opinion concerning faith alone or separate
is not new, or of this time only,
but existed in the ancient churches,
and came into use
together with evil of life.

AC 8099
. . . the truths and goods of faith
can neither be confirmed nor conjoined
without temptations . . ..

Portions: Jeremiah 1 - 3

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah,
one of the priests of Anathoth
in the territory of Benjamin.
The word of the Lord came to him
in the thirteen year of the reign of Josiah
son of Amon king of Judah,
and through the reign of Jehoiakim
son of Josiah king of Judah,
down to the fifth month of the eleventh year
of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah,
when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
(Jeremiah 1:1-3)

They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to Me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and save us!'
Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come
if they can save you when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods as you have towns,
O Judah.
(Jeremiah 2:27-28)

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
In those days,
when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,"
declares the Lord,
"men will no longer say,
'The ark of the the covenant of the Lord.'
It will never enter their minds or be remembered;
it will not be missed,
nor will another one be made.
At that time
they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord,
and all nations will gather in Jerusalem
to honor the name of the Lord.
No longer will they follow
the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
(Jeremiah 3:15-18)

AC 8078 - spiritual faith

AC 8078 [4]
The spiritual of faith is the affection of charity,
and from this the affection of truth
for the sake of good use
and for the sake of life;
these make faith to be spiritual.
The insinuation of faith by the internal way
is effected by the reading of the Word,
and by enlightenment then from the Lord,
which is granted according to the quality of the affection,
that is, according to the end sought in knowing the truth. 

Portions: Isaiah 63 - 66

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which He is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us -
yes, the many good things He has done
for the house of Israel,
according to His compassion and many kindnesses.
(Isaiah 63:7)

Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
You  come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember Your ways.
(Isaiah 64:4-5)

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy."
(Isaiah 65:17-18)

For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.

See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and His chariots are like a whirlwind . . .
(Isaiah 66:4,15)

AC 8063 - the sphere of the extension of truth

AC 8063
. . . all truth has its extension,
which is sometimes manifested by a sphere;
and because it has extension, it has its borders.
The sphere of the extension of truth
is according to the quality and the amount of good;
for good is like flame,
and truth is like light.
The sphere of extension in the spiritual world
is to the societies which are round about;
and so far as the sphere extends into them,
so far there is communication.
In heaven everyone has intelligence and wisdom,
and has happiness,
according to the sphere of extension;
that is, according to its amount
and at the same time its quality.

Isaiah 58 - 62

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail."
(Isaiah 58:9-11)

So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
(Isaiah 59:14-15)

The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
(Isaiah 60:19)

For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord
will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.
(Isaiah 61:11)

No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
(Isaiah 62:4)

AC 8038
In this chapter (Exodus 13)
the subject treated of in the internal sense
is faith in the Lord,
and the perpetual remembrance
of having been liberated by Him from damnation.
Faith in the Lord
is signified by the sanctification of the firstborn,
and the perpetual remembrance 
of liberation by the Lord
is signified by the celebration of the passover.

AC 8039
In the latter portion of the chapter, and thereafter,
the subject treated of is the further preparation
of those who were of the spiritual church
and who before the coming of the Lord
were detained in the lower earth
until they could be introduced into heaven,
and that for the sake of this end
they were first sent 
through the midst of damnation in safety,
and after this underwent temptations,
the Lord being continually present.
Transmission through the midst of damnation
is signified by the passage through the sea Suph;
temptations are signified 
by that life in the wilderness to which they were led;
and the presence of the Lord
is signified by the pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night.

Portions: Isaiah 54 - 57

"Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,"
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
(Isaiah 54:10)

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord
and He will have mercy on him,
and to our God,
for He will freely pardon.
(Isaiah 55:6-7)

This is what the Lord says:
"Maintain justice and do what is right,
for My salvation is close at hand
and My righteousness will soon be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
the man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing evil.
(Isaiah 56:1-2)

When you cry out for help,
let your collection [of idols] save you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow them away.
But the man who makes Me his refuge
will inherit the land
and possess My holy mountain.
(Isaiah 57:13)

AC 8013 - before regeneration

AC 8013 [2]
. . .  the life before regeneration
is according to the precepts of faith,
but after regeneration
it is according to the precepts of charity.
Before regeneration
no one knows from affection what charity is,
but only from doctrine;
and the person then lives
according to the precepts of doctrine,
which are called precepts of faith;
but after regeneration
he knows from affection what charity is,
for he then loves his neighbor,
and from the heart wills good to him,
and he then lives
according to a law that is written on him,
for he acts from the affection of charity.

(Precepts is translated by Eliot as commandments.)

Portions: Isaiah 49 - 53

This is what the Lord says -
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel -
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
"Kings will see you and rise up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord,
who is faithful,
the Holy one of Israel,
who has chosen you."

Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord comforts His people
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
(Isaiah 49:7,13)

Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
(Isaiah 50:10)

"Hear me, you who know what is right,
you people who have My law in your hearts:
Do not fear the reproach of men
or be terrified by their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
the worm will devour them like wool.
But My righteousness will last forever,
My salvation through all generations."
(Isaiah 51:7-8)

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
(Isaiah 52:8)

Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him,
nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him,
He was despised and reject by men,
a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not.
(Isaiah 53:1-3)

AC 8002 - association with angels; AC 8005 - memory-knowledges are the bones

AC 8002
[2]  This natural good is utterly different
from the good of the church,
for by means of the good of the church
conscience is formed in a person,
which is the plane into which the angels flow,
and through which there is fellowship with them;
whereas by natural good
no plane for the angels can be formed. 

[5] They who do what is good
merely for the sake of their own advantage in the world,
cannot possibly be consociated with angels,
because the end regarded by them is the world,
that is, wealth and eminence;
and not heaven,
that is, the blessedness and happiness of souls.
The end is what determines the actions,
and gives them their quality.

AC 8005
. . . all spiritual truths and goods
flow down according to order
to lower things,
and finally terminate in memory-knowledges,
where they present themselves visibly to a person.
. . . Memory-knowledge is said to be sound
when it admits into itself nothing but truths
which agree with its good;
for the memory-knowledge is the general receptacle.
Moreover, memory-knowledges
are like the bones in a person;
if these are not sound, or in their order,
as when disjointed or distorted,
the form of the body is thereby changed,
and that changed form conditions its movements.
The truths of memory-knowledge are doctrinal things.

Portions: Isaiah 45 - 48

For this is what the Lord says -
He who created the heavens,
He is God;
He who fashioned and made the earth,
He founded it;
He did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited -
He says:
"I am the Lord,
and there is no other."
(Isaiah 45:18)

"To whom will you compare Me
or count Me equal?
To whom will you liken Me
that we may be compared?"
(Isaiah 46:5)

Our Redeemer
 - the Lord Almighty is His name -
is the Holy One of Israel.
(Isaiah 47:4)

This is what the Lord says -
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to My commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your righteousness like the waves of the sea."
(Isaiah 48:17-18)

AC 7984 - Vastation is deprivation.

AC 7984 [2]
Vastation is deprivation.
That the evil who had been of the church
were vastated as to all good and truth,
has already been shown;
for the successive degrees of vastation
were signified by the plagues in Egypt.
But the good are vastated as to evil and falsity;
with them these are successively separated,
that is, rejected to the sides,
and goods and truth are brought together toward the midst.
This collecting together of good and truth
 is meant by "remains;"
and when they have a full state of remains,
they are then raised into heaven.
This state is that which is signified by "thirty,"
and the vastation by "four hundred."
The vastation of evil and falsity,
and the instilling of good and truth,
with the good,
are effected by means of infestations,
and by means of temptations.
By the one, falsities and evils are removed;
and by the other, goods and truths are put on . . ..

Portions: Isaiah 42 - 44

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.
(Isaiah 42:16)

Yet you have not called upon Me, O Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for Me, O Israel.
(Isaiah 43:22)

"Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me?
No, there is no other Rock;
I know not one."
(Isaiah 44:8)

AC 7973 - natural world

AC 7973
About six hundred thousand on foot that were men.
(Exodus 12:37)
That this signifies
all things of the truth and good of faith in one complex . . ..
for this number arises from six and also from twelve . . ..
[6] That this number signifies such things
scarcely anyone can believe,
for the reason that it is a matter of history,
and everything historical
keeps the mind continually in the external sense,
and withdraws it from the internal sense.
Nevertheless this number has such a signification,
for there is not even a syllable,
nor yet one jot or one point in the Word,
which is not in itself holy,
because it infolds in itself what is holy.
Everyone sees
that there is nothing holy in the mere historical fact.

Portions: Isaiah 38 - 41

Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish.
In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction;
You have put all my sins behind Your back.
(Isaiah 38:17)

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked,
"What did those men say, and where did they come from?"
"From a distant land," Hezekiah replied.
"They came to see me from Babylon."
(Isaiah 39:3)

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary,
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:28-31)

So do not fear,
for I am with you;
do not be dismayed,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10)

AC 7950 - spiritual light

AC 7950 [2]
For all spiritual light comes through good from the Lord,
thus through charity,
for the good of charity is like a flame
from which is light;
for good is of love,
and love is spiritual fire,
from which comes enlightenment.
He who believes
that they who are in evil can also be in enlightenment
in respect to the truths of faith,
is very much mistaken.

Portions: Isaiah 34 - 37

Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,
not one will lack her mate.
For it is His mouth that has given the order,
and His spirit will gather them together.
He allots their portions;
His hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever and dwell there
from generation to generation.
(Isaiah 34:16-17)

But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
(Isaiah 35:9-10)

"Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says,
'The Lord will deliver us.'
Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land
from the hand of the king of Assyria?"
(Isaiah 36:18)

"This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year saw and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit."
(Isaiah 37:30)

AC 7945 - what seems to be repetition

AC 7945
So did they.
(Exodus 12:28)
That this signifies performance from the will,
is evident from the fact
that it is said a second time "they did,"
and that the first time
it signifies performance from the understanding,
and this second time from the will.
For it is common in the Word
for a thing to be seemingly repeated;
but the first mention relates to the truth
which is of the understanding,
and the second to the good
which is of the will.
The reason is that in every detail of the Word
there is the heavenly marriage,
which is that of good and truth;
and, in the supreme sense,
the Divine marriage,
which is that of the Divine good in the Lord
and of the Divine truth proceeding from Him.
From this also it can be seen
that the Word is most holy.

Portions: Isaiah 30 - 33

"Woe to the obstinate children," declares the Lord,
"to those who carry out plans that are not Mine,
forming an alliance,
but not by My Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
who go down to Egypt without consulting Me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
to Egypt's shade for refuge."
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him!
(Isaiah 30:1-2,18)

"Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
He will shield it and deliver it,
He will 'pass over' it and will rescue it."
(Isaiah 31:5)

The fruit of righteousness
will be peace;
the effect of righteousness
will be quietness and confidence forever.
(Isaiah 32:17)

The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
He will be the sure foundations for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
(Isaiah 33:5-6)

AC 7918 - spiritual purification; AC 7920 - "natural good" or "good of the natural"?

AC 7918
. . . all spiritual purification is effected by means of truths.
For the earthly and worldly loves
from which a person is to be purified,
are not recognized except by means of truths,
and when these are instilled by the Lord,
there is also instilled at the same time horror 
for these loves as for things unclean and damnable,
the effect of which is
that when anything of the kind flows into the thought,
this feeling of horror returns,
and consequently aversion for such things.
Thus a person is purified by truths as by an external means.

AC 7920
Be it known that one thing is meant by "natural good,"
and another by "the good of the natural."
Natural good is
that which a person has from hereditary;
and the good of the natural is
that which he has from the Lord by regeneration.

Portions: Isaiah 25 - 29

In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in Him,
and He saved us.
This is the Lord,
we trusted in Him;
let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.
(Isaiah 25:9)

Though grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness
they go on doing evil
and regard not
the majesty of the Lord.
(Isaiah 26:10)

"Or else let them come to Me for refuge;
let them make peace with Me,
yes, let them make peace with Me."
(Isaiah 27:5)

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed."
(Isaiah 28:16)

Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it,
"He did not make me'?
Can the pot say of the Potter,
"He knows nothing"?
(Isaiah 29:16)

AC 7914 - self-compulsion

AC 7914
For the good of innocence,
which is the good of love to the Lord,
is not received by the man of the spiritual church
unless he compels himself;
because it can with difficulty be believed by him
that the Lord is the only God,
and also that His Human is Divine;
and therefore as he is not in faith,
neither can be in love to Him,
consequently not in the good of innocence,
unless he compels himself.
(. . . when he compels himself
it is from freedom,
but not when he is compelled . . .)

Portions: Isaiah 20 - 24

Those who trusted in Cush
and boasted in Egypt
will be afraid and put to shame.
(Isaiah 20:5)

This is what the Lord says to me:
"Within one year,
as a servant bound by contract would count it,
all the pomp of Kedar will come to an end.
The survivors of the bowmen,
the warriors of Kedar, will be few."
The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
(Isaiah 20:16-17)

. . . you saw that the City of David
had many breaches in its defenses;
you stored up water in the Lower Pool.
You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down the houses to strengthen the wall.
You built a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the Old Pool,
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.
(Isaiah 22:9-11)

The Lord Almighty planned it,
to bring low the pride of all glory
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
(Isaiah 23:9)

The moon will be abashed,
the sun ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty
will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders, gloriously.
(Isaiah 24:23)

AC 7909, 7910 - a warning

AC 7909.
Ye shall eat nothing leavened.
(Exodus 12:20)
That this signifies that every caution is to be used
to prevent falsity from being appropriated,
is evident from the signification of
"that which is leavened," as being falsity;
and from the signification of "to eat,"
as being to appropriate to oneself.
The frequent prohibition against eating what is leavened
- as at verses 15 to 19 -
involves that the utmost caution is to be used against falsity.
This utmost caution against falsity is to be used
in order that man may be in good.
Falsity does not agree with good, but destroys good;
for falsity is of evil,
and truth is of good.
If falsity is appropriated, that is, firmly believed,
there is no reception of the good of innocence,
consequently no liberation from damnation.
It is one thing to appropriate falsity to oneself,
and another to adjoin it.
They who adjoin falsity, if they are in good,
reject it when the truth appears to them;
but they who appropriate falsity to themselves,
retain it and resist the truth itself when it appears.
This then is the reason why it is so often said
that what is leavened must not be eaten.

AC 7910
In all your dwellings ye shall eat things unleavened.
(Exodus 12:20)
That this signifies that in the interiors, where good is,
truth shall be appropriated,
is evident from the signification of "dwellings,"
as being the things which are of the mind,
thus which are of intelligence and wisdom,
consequently the interiors,
for here are intelligence and wisdom, and good also;
and from the signification of "eating unleavened things,"
as being to appropriate truth to oneself.
As to appropriation being effected in the interiors,
and good being there,
be it known that with those who are in the Lord,
that is, who are in the life of faith and charity,
good dwells in the interiors,
and the more interiorly it dwells with them,
the purer and the more heavenly the good is;
but truth dwells in the exteriors,
and the more exteriorly it dwells with them,
the more is truth widowed from good.
The reason is that man as to his interiors is in heaven,
and as to his inmosts is near the Lord,
but as to exteriors he is in the world;
and so it is
that the truths which are of faith enter by an external way,
but good by an internal way,
also that the appropriation of truth
is effected in the interiors where good is.

(appropriated, that is, firmly believed)

Portions: Isaiah 14 - 19

"The Lord has established Zion,
and in her His afflicted people will find refuge."
(Isaiah 14:32)

An oracle concerning Moab:
Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!
Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!
(Isaiah 15:1)

But now the Lord says:
"Within three years,
as a servant bound by a contract would count them,
Moab's splendor and all her many people will be despised,
and her survivors will be very few and feeble.
(Isaiah 16:14)

An oracle concerning Damascus:
"See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins."
(Isaiah 17:1)

This is what the Lord says to me:
"I will remain quiet
and will look on from My dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
(Isaiah 18:4)

An oracle concerning Egypt:
See the Lord rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before Him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
So the Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians,
and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord.
They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings;
they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.
In that day Israel will be the third,
along with Egypt and Assyria,
a blessing on the earth.
The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying,
"Blessed be Egypt My people,
Assyria My handiwork,
and Israel My inheritance."
(Isaiah 19:1,21,24-25)

AC 7884 - the worship in the order of heaven

AC 7884
By worship according to the order of heaven
is meant all practicing of good
according to the Lord's precepts.
By the worship of God at this day
is chiefly meant the oral worship in a temple,
both morning and evening.
But the worship of God does not consist essentially in this,
but in a life of uses;
this latter worship is according to the order of heaven.
Oral worship is also worship,
but it is of no avail whatever
unless there is the worship that belongs to the life;
for this worship is of the heart;
and oral worship, 
that it may be worship,
must proceed from this.

Portions: Isaiah 10 - 13

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people . . .
(Isaiah 10:1-2)

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him -
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord -
and He will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes,
or decide by what He hears with His ears;
but with righteousness He will judge the needy,
with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth;
with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be His belt
and faithfulness the sash around His waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a Little Child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The Infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the Young Child put His hand into the viper's nest.
(Isaiah 11:1-8)

Sing to the Lord,
for He has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
(Isaiah 12:5)

Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.
(Isaiah 13:4)

AC 7854, 7861, 7863 - fact, temptations, preparation to act

AC 7854
. . .  man cannot endure pure truth and pure good.

AC 7861
That temptations are signified by "burning with fire"
is because purifications are effected by fire;
also because when a person is in temptations,
he is let down into his cupidities, which are fires.

AC 7863
By "the loins being girded"
is signified readiness to receive the influx 
of good and truth from the Lord,
and also to act according to the influx.
All girding and investiture
signifies a state prepared to receive and to act,
for then all things and each are kept in their order.
It is otherwise when they have not been girded.

Portions: Isaiah 6 - 9

In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings:
With two wings they covered their faces,
with two they covered their feet,
and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of His glory."
(Isaiah 6:1-3)

Then Isaiah said,
"Hear now, you house of David!
Is it not enough to try the patience of men?
Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel."
(Isaiah 7:13-14)

The Lord spoke to me with His strong hand upon me,
warning me not to follow the way of this people.
He said:
"Do not call conspiracy
everything these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
He is the one you are to fear,
He is the one you are to dread,
and He will be a sanctuary . . ."
(Isaiah 8:11-14)

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light . . ..
For unto us a Child is born,
unto us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end.
(Isaiah 9:2,6-8)

AC 7831 - remains & the Pascal lamb; AC 7840 - people of the church

AC 7831
. . . by "ten" are signified remains,
that is, truths and goods 
stored up by the Lord
in the interiors of a person;
and as remains are in the interiors,
and by them a person is prepared and initiated
to receive good and truth from the Lord,
therefore by "the tenth day" is here signified
a state of initiation of the interiors.
(. . . a person is regenerated by means of remains,
consequently is by them initiated
into receiving the influx of good and truth from the Lord;
and that by means of them
a person communicates with heaven;
for these goods and truths are from the Lord,
and not from man.)
. . . By the paschal animal is signified the good of innocence,
which is the inmost;
thus it is signified that this inmost,
together with the interiors in which it is,
should meanwhile be secluded
and withheld from such things as defile.
This state is a state of initiation of the interiors,
that is, of preparation
to receive the influx of good and truth from the Lord.
This is the holy thing which is contained in these words . . ..

AC 7840
People of the internal church
are they who do what is good to the neighbor
from the affection of charity;
but people of the external church
are they who do it from obedience.
Every person while being regenerated
first becomes a person of the external church,
and afterward a person of the internal church.

Portions: Isaiah 1 - 5

Isaiah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of
Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
"If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
(Isaiah 1:16-17,19-20)

Many people will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways,
so that we may walk in His paths."
Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
(Isaiah 2:3,5)

Tell the righteous it will be well with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
Woe to the wicked!  Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
(Isaiah 3:10-11)

In that day
the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land
will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.
(Isaiah 4:2)

I will sing for the one I love
a song about His vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah,
judge between Me and My vineyard.
What more could have been done for My vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?"

Woe  to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
(Isaiah 5:1-4;20-21)

AC 7814 - look up!

AC 7814
Man has been so created
that he can look upward, or above himself;
and can also look downward, or below himself.
To look above himself is to look to his neighbor,
to his country, to the church, to heaven,
especially to the Lord;
but to look below himself is to look to the earth,
to the world, and especially to himself.

Portions: Psalm 141 - 150

May my prayer be set before You like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,
to take part in wicked deeds . . ..
(Psalm 141:2-4)

When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is You who know my way.
(Psalm 142:3)

Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 143:8)

O Lord, what is man that You care for him,
the son of man that You think of him?
(Psalm 144:3)

You open Your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
to all who call on Him in truth.
(Psalm 145:16,18)

I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
(Psalm 146:2)

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.
. . . the Lord delights in those who fear Him,
who put their hope in His unfailing love.
(Psalm 147:7,11)

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is exalted;
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
(Psalm 148:13)

Let them praise His name with dancing
and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
(Psalm 149:3)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
(Psalm 150:6)