216、他们便将无花果树的叶子缝起来，为自己作缠腰带。“将叶子缝起来”是指为自己辩解；“无花果树”是指属世良善；“为自己缠腰带”是指充满羞耻。上古之人就是这样说话，也是这样来描述教会的这一代，也就是说，他们没有了以前所享有的纯真，只有属世良善，以此来隐藏他们的邪恶；他们因处于属世良善，故感到羞耻。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]216. And they sewed together the leaf of the fig tree and made loincloths for themselves.
To sew leaves together is to make excuses. The fig tree is earthly good. To make loincloths for themselves is to feel shame. That is how the people of the earliest church spoke in describing this generation of the church.{*1} They were saying that members of this generation had earthly good in place of the earlier innocence, that it hid their evil, and that since they had a merely earthly goodness they felt shame.
Footnotes:
{*1} The superlative term "earliest church" here might be taken as implying that the earliest people said such things of generations of their church that were later than their own. It is more likely, however, that Swedenborg is using "earliest" here as an umbrella term that includes many generations. Indeed, he seems in discussing the first seven chapters of Genesis to use "earliest church" in two ways: in a strict sense to mean the first, pure state represented by "Adam" (see, for example, 66:1; sometimes referred to as "the very earliest church"); and in a wider sense, as here, to mean the pure state and also all the other spiritual "generations," or stages of descent, down to "the Flood" (see, for example, 231). [JSR]
Potts(1905-1910) 216
216. And they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. To "sew leaves together" is to excuse themselves; the "fig-tree" is natural good; and to "make themselves girdles" is to be affected with shame. Thus spoke the most ancient people, and thus they described this posterity of the church, signifying that instead of the innocence they had formerly enjoyed, they possessed only natural good, by which their evil was concealed; and being in natural good, they were affected with shame.
Elliott(1983-1999) 216
216. And they sewed fig leaves together and made girdles for themselves. 'Sewing leaves' is excusing themselves, 'fig' is natural good, 'making girdles for themselves' is being filled with shame. This was how the most ancient people spoke and described this generation of the Church, that is to say, that instead of the innocence existing with them previously they now had natural good which; served to conceal their evil, and that because they were in possession of natural good they were moved to shame.
Latin(1748-1756) 216
216. Et consuerunt folium ficus, et fecerunt sibi cingula. 'Consuere folium' est excusare: 'ficus' est bonum naturale: 'facere sibi cingula' est pudore affici: ita locuti sunt antiquissimi, et descripserunt hanc posteritatem Ecclesiae, quod nempe bonum naturale eis fuerit loco innocentiae quae prius, per quod occultatum erat malum eorum; et quia in bono naturali, quod pudore affecti sint.