245、“祂对蛇说，你既作了这事，就必受咒诅，比一切的牲畜和田野一切的野兽更甚”表示感官部分转离天堂之物，转向肉体之物，从而给自己招来诅咒。这从圣言的内义很清楚地看出来。耶和华神，或主，从不诅咒任何人。祂从不向任何人发怒，从不把任何人引入试探，也从不惩罚任何人，更不用说诅咒什么人了。这一切都是魔鬼团伙干的，因为像这样的事永远不可能来自怜悯、平安和良善的源头。经上之所以在此处和圣言的其它地方说，耶和华神不仅转面，发怒，惩罚，试探，还杀戮，甚至咒诅，是为了叫人们相信主掌管并安排全世界的每一个事物，包括邪恶本身、惩罚和试探。人们若接受了这最一般的观念，以后就能认识到主是如何通过将包含在惩罚和试探中的邪恶转变为良善来掌管和安排一切事物的。在教导和学习圣言的过程中，首先到来的，必须是最一般的真理；由于这个原因，字义充满这类宽泛的概念。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]245. The inner sense of the Word establishes fairly clearly the symbolism of he said to the snake, "A curse on you, above every beast and above every wild animal of the field!" The meaning is that the sensory level of their mind turned away from what was heavenly toward what was bodily, damning itself, or bringing a curse on itself. Jehovah God — the Lord — never curses anyone, is never angry at anyone, never leads anyone into crisis. He does not even punish us, let alone curse us. It is the Devil's crew that does such things. Nothing of the sort could ever come from the fountain of mercy, peace, and goodness.{*1} This passage and many others in the Word describe Jehovah God as not only turning his face away, being angry, punishing, and testing, but even killing — and, yes, cursing.{*2} This was in order to foster the belief that the Lord controls and arranges every last detail in the universe, including evil itself, punishments, and times of trial. After accepting this very general idea, people would learn just how he controls and arranges things. They would see that he transforms the evil involved in punishment and in our ordeals into good.
All scriptural teaching and learning begins with the most general things; for this reason the literal meaning abounds in broad ideas.
Footnotes:
{*1} Swedenborg here states what will become a recurring if minor theme of his theology: The common biblical description of divine action in the language of human emotion is in fact merely a subjective redescription in terms we understand rather than an objective statement about the nature of the divine. (Among many passages, 357, 588:1, 1093, 1408:3, 1874, 2553, 3425:4, 3605:4 could be cited; for a fuller list, see Swedenborg's references to Secrets of Heaven in the footnote to Heaven and Hell 545.) This preliminary instance of the theme is unusual in its ascription of evil events to "the Devil's crew," a phrase that must be taken figuratively, as Swedenborg does not subscribe to the notion of the Devil as an independent being (see note 2 in 154). His reiterated denial of the anger of God is a response both to the frequency of such anthropomorphizing in the Bible and to the criticisms of contemporary atheists and Deists (see note 1 in 179) that the God of the Bible is implausibly capricious and unforgiving. These critics cited instances of an apparently cruel and wrathful God in the Bible, or the sanctioning of cruel human conduct by God, as evidence that the Scriptures were not divine revelation but the product of human minds. [RS, SS]
{*2} For a sampling of the many passages in the Old Testament that characterize God as turning his face away from people, see Ezekiel 7:22; as being angry toward people, see Exodus 4:14; Numbers 11:1; 32:13; Deuteronomy 29:27; as punishing people, see Exodus 32:34; Leviticus 26:18, 24; Jeremiah 44:13; as testing (or tempting) people, see Genesis 22:1; Deuteronomy 13:3; as killing or slaying people, see Genesis 38:7, 10; Psalms 78:34; Lamentations 2:21; Amos 4:10; and as cursing people, see Deuteronomy 30:7; Proverbs 3:33; Jeremiah 17:5; 48:10; Malachi 2:2; 4:6. [JSR]
Potts(1905-1910) 245
245. That "He said to the serpent, Thou art cursed above every beast, and above every wild animal of the field" signifies that the sensuous part averted itself from that which is heavenly, turned itself to that which is of the body, and thus cursed itself, may be clearly shown from the internal sense of the Word. Jehovah God or the Lord never curses anyone. He is never angry with anyone, never leads anyone into temptation, never punishes anyone, and still less does He curse anyone. All this is done by the infernal crew, for such things can never proceed from the Fountain of mercy, peace, and goodness. The reason of its being said, both here and in other parts of the Word, that Jehovah God not only turns away His face, is angry, punishes, and tempts, but also kills and even curses, is that men may believe that the Lord governs and disposes all and everything in the universe, even evil itself, punishments, and temptations; and when they have received this most general idea, may afterwards learn how He governs and disposes all things by turning the evil of punishment and of temptation into good. In teaching and learning the Word, the most general truths must come first; and therefore the literal sense is full of such things.
Elliott(1983-1999) 245
245. 'He said to the serpent, Cursed are you, more than every beast and more than every wild animal of the field' means that the sensory part turned away from the heavenly and towards the bodily, and in so doing brought condemnation, that is, a curse, upon itself. This becomes quite clear from the internal sense of the Word. Jehovah God or the Lord never curses anyone, is never angry with anyone, never leads anyone into temptation, and never punishes, let alone curses anybody. It is the devil's crew who do such things. Such things cannot possibly come from the fountain of mercy, peace, and goodness. The reason why here and elsewhere in the Word it is said that Jehovah God not only turns His face away, is angry, punishes, and tempts, but also slays and even curses, is that people may believe that the Lord rules over and disposes every single thing in the whole world, including evil itself, punishments, and temptations. And after people have grasped this very general concept, they may then learn in what ways He rules and disposes, and how He converts into good the evil inherent in punishment and the evil inherent in temptation. In teaching and learning the Word very general concepts have to come first; and therefore the sense of the letter is full of such general concepts.
Latin(1748-1756) 245
245. Quod 'dixerit ad serpentem, Maledictus tu prae omni bestia et prae omni fera agri' significet quod sensuale averterit se a caelesti et converterit se ad corporeum, ac ita semet damnaverit seu sibi maledixerit, constare satis potest a sensu interno Verbi; Jehovah Deus seu Dominus nunquam alicui maledicit, nunquam alicui irascitur, nunquam aliquem in tentationem inducit, nullum punit, minus maledicit; sed quod diabolica turba talia faciat; a fonte misericordiae, pacis et bonitatis, talia nusquam venire possunt. At quod hic et passim in Verbo dicatur quod Jehovah Deus non solum avertat facies, irascatur, puniat, tentet, sed etiam occidat, immo maledicat, est causa ut crederent quod Dominus omnia et singula in universo regat et disponat, etiam ipsum malum, poenas, tentationes; et postquam communissimam hanc ideam acceperint, quod dein discerent quomodo regit et disponit, et quod malum poenae et malum tentationis vertat in bonum: ordo docendi et discendi in Verbo est a communissimis; quare sensus litterae communissimis talibus abundat.