1587、“在耶和华未灭所多玛、蛾摩拉以先”表示在外在人被对邪恶的欲望和虚假的说服毁灭之前。这从“所多玛”和“蛾摩拉”的含义清楚可知：“所多玛”是指对邪恶的欲望，“蛾摩拉”是指虚假的说服。事实上，正是这两者毁灭了外在人，使它与内在人分离；也正是这两者毁灭了大洪水之前的上古教会。对邪恶的欲望属于意愿，虚假的说服属于理解力。当这两者掌权时，整个外在人就都被毁灭；一旦被毁灭，它也会与内在人分离。不是灵魂或灵与肉体分离，而是良善和真理与人的灵魂或灵分离，以至于只能从远处流入。关于这种流注，蒙主的神性怜悯，我将在别处予以论述。由于在人类当中，外在人被如此毁灭，并且它与内在人，也就是良善和真理的联系被打破，所以主才降世，以便将外在人与内在人，也就是将人性或人身本质与神性本质结合并合一。此处描述的是当与内在人结合时，外在人的性质，也就是说，它“如同耶和华的园子，也像你到琐珥时的埃及地”。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]1587. Before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah symbolizes the outer self as destroyed by evil cravings and false or distorted convictions. This can be seen from the symbolism of Sodom as evil cravings and from the symbolism of Gomorrah as distorted convictions. These two are what destroy our outer self and divide it from our inner self. These two were also what destroyed the earliest church before the Flood. Cravings for evil belong to the will, and distortions adopted as convictions belong to the intellect, and when the two of them take over, our whole outer self is destroyed. Once destroyed, it also detaches from our inner self; not that our soul, or spirit, separates from the body, but that the goodness and truth coming from our soul or spirit does. Then goodness and truth no longer influence us except in a distant way. (I will say more about this influence elsewhere, by the Lord's divine mercy.){*1} The Lord came into the world because the outer self in the human race had been ruined in this way and its link with the inner self (that is, with goodness and truth) had been broken. He came into the world, then, to join and unite his outer self with his inner, or in other words, to join and unite his human quality with his divine.
The present verse describes the character of the outer self when united to the inner, at least before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah: it was like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar.
Footnotes:
{*1} On this influence of goodness and truth, see, for instance, the material following Swedenborg's exposition of chapters 46-50 of Genesis (搂搂6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6496, 6598-6626). [LHC]
Potts(1905-1910) 1587
1587. Before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. That this signifies the external man destroyed by the cupidities of evil and the persuasions of falsity, is evident from the signification of "Sodom," as being the cupidities of evil, and from the signification of "Gomorrah," as being the persuasions of falsity; for these two are what destroy the external man, and separate it from the internal, and these two were what destroyed the Most Ancient Church before the flood. The cupidities of evil are of the will, and the persuasions of falsity are of the understanding; and when these two reign, the whole external man is destroyed; and when it is destroyed, it is also separated from the internal man. Not that the soul or spirit is separated from the body, but that good and truth are separated from man's soul or spirit, so as not to flow in except remotely; concerning which influx, of the Lord's Divine mercy elsewhere. And because the external man was so destroyed in the human race, and its bond with the internal, that is, with good and truth, was broken, the Lord came into the world in order that He might conjoin and unite the external man to the internal, that is, the Human Essence to the Divine. What the external man is when conjoined with the internal, is here described, namely, that before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was "like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt in coming to Zoar."
Elliott(1983-1999) 1587
1587. 'Before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah' means before the external man was destroyed by desires for evil and by persuasions of falsity. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Sodom' as desires for evil, and from the meaning of 'Gomorrah' as persuasions of falsity. These two are indeed what destroy the external man and separate it from the internal, and it was these two that destroyed the Most Ancient Church prior to the Flood. Desires for evil belong to the will, and persuasions of falsity to the understanding. And when these two are in control, the whole of the external man is destroyed, a destroying which also entails its separation from the internal man. It is not that the soul or spirit is separated from the body but that good and truth have been separated from the person's soul or spirit so that their influx is felt only from a distance. That influx will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with elsewhere. Because among the human race the external man had been so destroyed and its link with the internal, that is, with good and truth, had been severed, the Lord came into the world to join together and unite the External Man to the Internal Man, that is, the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. This verse describes the nature of the external man when joined to the internal, that is to say, by the words 'before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar'.
Latin(1748-1756) 1587
1587. 'Antequam perdidit Jehovah Sodomam et Amoram': quod significet hominem externum cupiditatibus mali et persuasionibus falsi destructum, constare potest a significatione 'Sodomae' quod sint cupiditates mali et a significatione 'Amorae' quod sint persuasiones falsi; haec enim duo sunt quae destruunt externum hominem et separant ab interno; et haec duo fuerunt quae destruxerunt Antiquissimam Ecclesiam ante diluvium; cupiditates mali sunt voluntatis et persuasiones falsi sunt intellectus; quae duo cum regnant, totus externus homo est destructus, qui cum destructus etiam separatus est ab interno; non quod anima seu spiritus separetur a corpore, sed quod bonum et verum ab anima seu spiritu ejus separata sint ut non influant nisi remote; de quo influxu, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, alibi: et quia in genere humano externus homo ita destructus fuit, et disruptum ejus vinculum cum interno, hoc est, cum bono et vero, Dominus in mundum venit ut conjungeret et uniret Externum hominem Interno, hoc est, Humanam Essentiam Divinae. Qualis sit externus homo cum conjunctus interno, hic describitur, nempe 'antequam' perdidit Jehovah Sodomam et Amoram, quod fuerit sicut hortas Jehovae, sicut terra Aegypti veniendo Zoar.'