DEUTERONOMY 27
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Deuteronomy Chapter 27

Verses 1-8. The Divine commands to be engraved on the will, which is to be entirely at the disposal of the Divine will in the regenerate state.
Verses 9,10. The Divine law to be entirely obeyed.
Verses 11-13. Enumeration of the principles which confer happiness on the soul and of those which warn it of its evils.
Verses 14-26. Things which curse the soul, that is, destroy its spiritual life by averting from it the influences from heaven.

And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

And Divine truth as well as all the truths of wisdom teach those who are in the Church to keep all the commandments of the Word and perceptions of the Divine will which they have in this state.

And it shall be on the day when you shall pass over Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set you up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

And when you shall pass from an external to an internal state, which is the kingdom of heaven within you, which the Divine Love and Wisdom will give you, then shall truths derived from good be firmly established in the mind, and cemented and joined together by the principle of love:

And you shall write upon them all the words of this law, when you are passed over, that you may go in to the land which the LORD your God gives you, a land that flows with milk and honey; as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you.

And the Word of the Lord shall be engraved upon your heart when you are regenerated, in order that you may be prepared to receive the heavenly kingdom within you, with which the Divine Love and Wisdom will endow you, abounding with celestial spiritual things, and with abundance of happiness and delights thence derived; according to the confirmed purpose of the Divine Love and Wisdom, which have been the guide of all that is spiritual within you in every previous state.

Therefore it shall be when you be gone over Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster.

Therefore when them have entered into the enjoyment of internal things, you shall firmly establish in the mind the Divine truths which are now received, grounded in the principle of love to the Lord, and the holy fear of committing sin (see verse 13) against Him, and prepared to receive the impress of the Divine will (see verse 8).

And there shall you build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones: you shall not lift up any iron tool upon them.

And you shall sanctify all you have to the Divine Love and Wisdom by these truths received from heaven: you shall not mix with them anything of human science or invention.

You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of whole stones: and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon to the LORD your God:

But your sanctification must be by pure and simple truths received from the Divine Love and Wisdom; by which you shall offer up all you have and are to the service of the Divine Love and Wisdom from pure love to them:

And you shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God.

And you shall entirely submit yourself to Divine Providence, and shall receive good from heaven, and rejoice in the Divine Love and Wisdom.

And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

And upon all the principles of your mind thus prepared to receive them, shall be indelibly written the Divine will from the precepts of the Word.

And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day you are become the people of the LORD your God.

And the Divine Word, and all the good received from heaven, and the truths that minister thereto in the soul, teach all those who are regenerating, saying, Take heed and hearken, O regenerating soul; you are now become receptive of Divine Love and Wisdom.

You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day.

You shall therefore scrupulously conform your life to what you believe to be right, and to the perception of the Divine will which you have in this state from the Word both in internal and external things.

And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

If And it is impressed from the Divine Word upon those who are regenerating in this state,

These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

That the following principles will be present in the interiors of the soul to bless it when it is come to an internal state: Faith in the will (Simeon), spiritual and mutual love or charity (Levi), and celestial love or love to the Lord (Judah); the hope of salvation (Issachar), and the conjunction in the mind of celestial, spiritual, and natural things (Joseph and Benjamin);
[Note.—The soul is in an internal state when it loves and desires above all things the Lord's will and the good of others. It is in an external state when its affections are engaged about selfish and worldly things.]

And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

And these are the principles which will be present in the interiors of the soul to warn it of what averts from heaven and to contend with evil: Faith in the understanding, which shows what is evil (Reuben); belief in the omnipotence of God and His power to overcome evil (Gad), and in eternity and eternal happiness (Ashur); a perception of the necessity of the conjunction of good and truth in the interiors and in the natural life, and of victory in temptations (Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali).
[Note (verses 12, 13).—The names of the twelve sons of Israel represent all things of love and faith, and are mentioned in various orders according to the subject treated of (see A/C. 3862). In these two verses, those which relate more particularly to love and the will are mentioned in verse 12 for blessing the people; and those which relate more particularly to truth and the intellect are mentioned in verse 13 for cursing. Thus in the regenerate soul it is the love of what is good and true that upholds, blesses, and gives hope and consolation; and it is the truths in the understanding that warn and fight against evil]

And the Levites shall speak, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

And all the truths that lead to good in the soul shall teach and convince the understanding of those regenerating with clear and unmistakable perception as follows:

Cursed be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

It curses the soul and utterly averts from heaven to fabricate doctrines from self-intelligence or the depraved will, which have nothing to do with and are diametrically opposed to what comes from the Divine, however much they may artfully counterfeit what is good and true, and the evil in which is carefully concealed in the inmost recesses of the soul; and the whole mind must be brought to see and perceive that this is so.

Cursed be he that sets light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven to despise the good and truth by which the soul is born again; and all the mind must be brought to assent.

Cursed be he that removes his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven to set up a wrong standard of good and evil derived from the desire to please self at the expense of the neighbour—that is, usefulness;—and all the mind must assent that this is so.

Cursed be he that makes the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven for the understanding, when enlightened, to favour evil and to lead out of the path of rectitude the natural inclinations which cannot distinguish between good and evil; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that perverts the judgement of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul by averting it from heaven for the understanding, when enlightened, to favour evil by perverting the judgement of those faculties in the soul which desire instruction, or those which desire good but have not attained it, or of those which are in good and seek for genuine truths but have not yet found them; and all the mind must be brought to assent.
[Note.—When the understanding is enlightened to know what is right, the responsibility comes upon the interior will not to allow the other faculties of the mind to lapse into error. About the words sojourners, orphans, and widows, so frequently occurring in the books of Moses; Swedenborg gives this explanation in AC 9200: These three, when they are thus named together, fall into one sense with the angels, namely, into this, that with those who are in the Church good and truth ought to be conjoined according to order, thus reciprocally truth with good and good with truth; for by a sojourner are meant those who are willing to be instructed in such things as are of the Church; by widows, the conjunction of good with truth; and by orphans, the conjunction of truth with good, which conjunction is reciprocal.]

Cursed be he that lies with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul by averting from heaven to conjoin the doctrine of truth with the practice of evil, which is foul profanation (see AC 6348); for thereby the hereditary evil which exists in the soul is called forth and conjoined to the life; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that lies with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul by averting it from heaven to conjoin the doctrine of truth with any kind of evil lust; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul by averting it from heaven, and is profanation, to conjoin the doctrine of truth to any evil affection derived from the depraved hereditary will, or the depraved understanding agreeing therewith; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that lies with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven, and is profanation, to conjoin the doctrine of truth to false principles agreeing with hereditary evil; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that smites his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul by averting it from heaven to act against the good of charity whilst pretending to favour it; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that takes reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven to destroy the good of innocence implanted in the soul by the Lord by worldly loves; and all the mind shall assent.

Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

It curses the soul and averts from heaven not to conform the whole of the life as far as, possible to the Word of the Lord; and all the mind shall assent.

DEUTERONOMY 27 Other translations - previous - next - notes - discussion - Deuteronomy - BM Home - Full Page

And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.	And Divine truth as well as all the truths of wisdom teach those who are in the Church to keep all the commandments of the Word and perceptions of the Divine will which they have in this state.
And it shall be on the day when you shall pass over Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set you up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:	And when you shall pass from an external to an internal state, which is the kingdom of heaven within you, which the Divine Love and Wisdom will give you, then shall truths derived from good be firmly established in the mind, and cemented and joined together by the principle of love:
And you shall write upon them all the words of this law, when you are passed over, that you may go in to the land which the LORD your God gives you, a land that flows with milk and honey; as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you.	And the Word of the Lord shall be engraved upon your heart when you are regenerated, in order that you may be prepared to receive the heavenly kingdom within you, with which the Divine Love and Wisdom will endow you, abounding with celestial spiritual things, and with abundance of happiness and delights thence derived; according to the confirmed purpose of the Divine Love and Wisdom, which have been the guide of all that is spiritual within you in every previous state.
Therefore it shall be when you be gone over Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster.	Therefore when them have entered into the enjoyment of internal things, you shall firmly establish in the mind the Divine truths which are now received, grounded in the principle of love to the Lord, and the holy fear of committing sin (see verse 13) against Him, and prepared to receive the impress of the Divine will (see verse 8).
And there shall you build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones: you shall not lift up any iron tool upon them.	And you shall sanctify all you have to the Divine Love and Wisdom by these truths received from heaven: you shall not mix with them anything of human science or invention.
You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of whole stones: and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon to the LORD your God:	But your sanctification must be by pure and simple truths received from the Divine Love and Wisdom; by which you shall offer up all you have and are to the service of the Divine Love and Wisdom from pure love to them:
And you shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God.	And you shall entirely submit yourself to Divine Providence, and shall receive good from heaven, and rejoice in the Divine Love and Wisdom.
And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.	And upon all the principles of your mind thus prepared to receive them, shall be indelibly written the Divine will from the precepts of the Word.
And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day you are become the people of the LORD your God.	And the Divine Word, and all the good received from heaven, and the truths that minister thereto in the soul, teach all those who are regenerating, saying, Take heed and hearken, O regenerating soul; you are now become receptive of Divine Love and Wisdom.
You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day.	You shall therefore scrupulously conform your life to what you believe to be right, and to the perception of the Divine will which you have in this state from the Word both in internal and external things.
And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,	If And it is impressed from the Divine Word upon those who are regenerating in this state,
These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:	That the following principles will be present in the interiors of the soul to bless it when it is come to an internal state: Faith in the will (Simeon), spiritual and mutual love or charity (Levi), and celestial love or love to the Lord (Judah); the hope of salvation (Issachar), and the conjunction in the mind of celestial, spiritual, and natural things (Joseph and Benjamin); [Note.—The soul is in an internal state when it loves and desires above all things the Lord's will and the good of others. It is in an external state when its affections are engaged about selfish and worldly things.]
And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.	And these are the principles which will be present in the interiors of the soul to warn it of what averts from heaven and to contend with evil: Faith in the understanding, which shows what is evil (Reuben); belief in the omnipotence of God and His power to overcome evil (Gad), and in eternity and eternal happiness (Ashur); a perception of the necessity of the conjunction of good and truth in the interiors and in the natural life, and of victory in temptations (Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali). [Note (verses 12, 13).—The names of the twelve sons of Israel represent all things of love and faith, and are mentioned in various orders according to the subject treated of (see A/C. 3862). In these two verses, those which relate more particularly to love and the will are mentioned in verse 12 for blessing the people; and those which relate more particularly to truth and the intellect are mentioned in verse 13 for cursing. Thus in the regenerate soul it is the love of what is good and true that upholds, blesses, and gives hope and consolation; and it is the truths in the understanding that warn and fight against evil]
And the Levites shall speak, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice,	And all the truths that lead to good in the soul shall teach and convince the understanding of those regenerating with clear and unmistakable perception as follows:
Cursed be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.	It curses the soul and utterly averts from heaven to fabricate doctrines from self-intelligence or the depraved will, which have nothing to do with and are diametrically opposed to what comes from the Divine, however much they may artfully counterfeit what is good and true, and the evil in which is carefully concealed in the inmost recesses of the soul; and the whole mind must be brought to see and perceive that this is so.
Cursed be he that sets light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven to despise the good and truth by which the soul is born again; and all the mind must be brought to assent.
Cursed be he that removes his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven to set up a wrong standard of good and evil derived from the desire to please self at the expense of the neighbour—that is, usefulness;—and all the mind must assent that this is so.
Cursed be he that makes the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven for the understanding, when enlightened, to favour evil and to lead out of the path of rectitude the natural inclinations which cannot distinguish between good and evil; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that perverts the judgement of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul by averting it from heaven for the understanding, when enlightened, to favour evil by perverting the judgement of those faculties in the soul which desire instruction, or those which desire good but have not attained it, or of those which are in good and seek for genuine truths but have not yet found them; and all the mind must be brought to assent. [Note.—When the understanding is enlightened to know what is right, the responsibility comes upon the interior will not to allow the other faculties of the mind to lapse into error. About the words sojourners, orphans, and widows, so frequently occurring in the books of Moses; Swedenborg gives this explanation in AC 9200: These three, when they are thus named together, fall into one sense with the angels, namely, into this, that with those who are in the Church good and truth ought to be conjoined according to order, thus reciprocally truth with good and good with truth; for by a sojourner are meant those who are willing to be instructed in such things as are of the Church; by widows, the conjunction of good with truth; and by orphans, the conjunction of truth with good, which conjunction is reciprocal.]
Cursed be he that lies with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul by averting from heaven to conjoin the doctrine of truth with the practice of evil, which is foul profanation (see AC 6348); for thereby the hereditary evil which exists in the soul is called forth and conjoined to the life; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that lies with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul by averting it from heaven to conjoin the doctrine of truth with any kind of evil lust; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul by averting it from heaven, and is profanation, to conjoin the doctrine of truth to any evil affection derived from the depraved hereditary will, or the depraved understanding agreeing therewith; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that lies with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven, and is profanation, to conjoin the doctrine of truth to false principles agreeing with hereditary evil; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that smites his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul by averting it from heaven to act against the good of charity whilst pretending to favour it; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that takes reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven to destroy the good of innocence implanted in the soul by the Lord by worldly loves; and all the mind shall assent.
Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.	It curses the soul and averts from heaven not to conform the whole of the life as far as, possible to the Word of the Lord; and all the mind shall assent.