2242、“我现在要下去察看”表示察罚。这从“下去察看”的含义清楚可知，“下去察看”是指审判（如第一卷所解释的，1311节），因而是指察罚。在圣言中，总体上教会的末期和具体的每个人的末期被称为察罚。它出现在审判之前，所以察罚仅仅是指检查性质，也就是检查总体上的教会或具体的每个人的性质。这种检查在字义上以耶和华“下去察看”来表达。
由此清楚看出字义的性质。耶和华不会下去，下去不能论及主，因为主始终居于至高处。耶和华也不会察看一件事是否如此，察看一件事是否如此同样不能论及主，因为祂自永恒就知道一切，无论总体还是细节。然而，字义之所以说耶和华下去察看，是因为这在人看来似乎是这样。人住在最低或下面的事物当中，当那里出现什么东西时，他不会想到，甚至不知道上面的事物是怎么回事，因而不知道它们是如何流入的，因为他的思维只能延伸到离他最近的东西，因此他只能感知到诸如像下去察看之类的事件。当他以为没有人知道他自己在思想什么时，这种感知更为有限。此外，他没有其它观念，只以为真的从高处下来，如果是神，则从至高处下来。而事实上，不是从至高处下来，而是从至内在下来。
由此可见字义是何性质，即：它照着表象形成；若非如此，没有人会理解并承认圣言，因而不会接受它。但天使不像世人那样迷恋表象；因此，既然圣言的字义是为了世人，那么圣言的内义是为了天使，也为了那些蒙主的神性怜悯，活在世上就被允许如同天使的人。
圣言经常提到察罚（Visitation，经上或译为降罚、惩罚、刑罚、追讨、讨罪等），它要么表示荒废，无论教会还是个人，要么表示解救，因而表示检查人或物的性质。在以赛亚书，它表示荒废：
在察罚的日子，有风暴从远方临到，那时，你们怎样行呢？你们向谁逃奔求助呢？你们能把你们的荣耀撇在哪里呢？（以赛亚书10:3）
又：
天上的众星群宿都不发光，日头一出，就变黑暗；月亮也不放光。我必因邪恶察罚世界，因罪孽察罚恶人。（以赛亚书13:10-11）
不发光的众星群宿、变黑暗的日头和不放光的月亮表示爱和仁将不复存在（参看2120节）。由于这等于荒废，所以这是“察罚的日子”。
耶利米书：
他们必在仆倒的人中仆倒，在察罚他们的时候，他们必致跌倒。（耶利米书8:12）
这表示当他们被毁坏时，也就是当仁和信不复存在时。以西结书：
惩罚那城的近前来，各人手里拿着毁灭的武器。（以西结书9:1）
这也论及荒废或毁坏，这就是为何“各人手里拿着毁灭的武器”。何西阿书：
察罚的日子来了，报应的日子到了。（何西阿书9:7）
此处意思也一样。弥迦书：
你守望，就是察罚你的日子，已经来到，他们必困惑混乱。（弥迦书7:4）
此处察罚也表示已经荒废的仁爱，或仁爱的毁坏。摩西五经：
只是在我鉴察的日子，我必向他们察罚他们的罪。（出埃及记32:34）
这论及为自己造了金牛犊之后在旷野中的（以色列）百姓。“察罚”（Visitation，经上或译为降罚、惩罚、刑罚、追讨、讨罪等）表示解救，这从许多经文清楚看出来（如出埃及记3:16；4:31；耶利米书27:22；29:10；路加福音1:68，78；19:41-42，44）。
Potts(1905-1910) 2242
2242. I will go down, I pray, and I will see. That this signifies visitation, is evident from the signification of "going down to see," as being Judgment (explained in volume 1, n. 1311), consequently that it is visitation. The last time of the church in general, and that of everyone in particular, is called in the Word "visitation," which precedes Judgment; thus a "visitation" is simply an exploration as to quality, that is, as to the quality of the church in general, or of a man in particular; and this exploration is expressed in the sense of the letter by Jehovah "going down and seeing." [2] This shows what is the nature of the sense of the letter, for Jehovah does not go down, since going down cannot be predicated of the Lord, because He is always in the highest; nor does Jehovah see whether a thing be so, for seeing whether it be so cannot be predicated of the Lord, because He knows all things from eternity both in general and in particular. Nevertheless it is so expressed because it appears to man as if it were so, for man is in things that are below, and when anything appears there, he does not think or even know how the case is with things that are above, thus neither how they flow in, for his thought goes no further than to what is nearest to him, and hence he cannot perceive otherwise than that there is some such thing as going down and seeing, and this the more because he imagines that no one knows what he is thinking; besides that he has no other idea than that there is a coming down from on high, and, when said of God, from the highest; whereas it is not from the highest, but from the inmost. [3] This shows what is the nature of the sense of the letter, namely, that it is according to appearances and if it were not according to appearances, no one would understand and acknowledge the Word; thus no one would receive it. But the angels are not in appearances in the way that man is, and therefore while the Word as to the sense of the letter is for man, as to the internal sense it is for the angels, as also for those men to whom of the Lord's Divine mercy it is given, while living in the world, to be like the angels. [4] "Visitation" is mentioned in various places in the Word, and by it is signified either vastation-whether of the church or of each man-or deliverance, and thus exploration as to quality. It denotes vastation in Isaiah:
What will ye do in the day of visitation? it shall come from far. To whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? (Isa. 10:3). And again:
The stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light, the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine, and I will visit evil upon the world, and upon the wicked their iniquity (Isa. 13:10, 11). That by the stars and constellations which shall not shine, and the sun which shall be darkened, and the moon which shall not make her light to shine, is signified that there will be no love and no charity, may be seen above (n. 2120); and as this is vastation, it is the "day of visitation." [5] In Jeremiah:
They shall fall among them that fall, and in the time of their visitation they shall stumble (Jer. 8:12);
meaning the time when they have been vastated, or when there is no charity and faith. In Ezekiel:
The visitations of the city have come near, and every man with his instrument of destruction in his hand (Ezek. 9:1). Here also vastation is treated of; hence every man has an instrument of destruction. In Hosea:
The days of visitation are come, the days of retribution are come (Hos. 9:7). In Micah:
The day of thy watchmen, thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity (Micah 7:4), also denoting vastated charity. In Moses:
In the day of My visiting, and I will visit upon them their sin (Exod. 32:34), where the people in the wilderness are treated of, after they had made for themselves the golden calf. That deliverance is signified by "visitation" is plain from many passages (as Exod. 3:16; 4:31; Jer. 27:22; 29:10; Luke 1:68, 78; 19:41-42).
Elliott(1983-1999) 2242
2242. That 'I will go down now, and I will see' means visitation becomes clear from the meaning of 'going down to see' as judgement, dealt with in Volume One, in 1311, and consequently as visitation. The final period of the Church in general and of the individual in particular is called visitation in the Word. It occurs prior to judgement, so that visitation is nothing else than an investigation into what such are like, that is, into the nature of the Church in general or of the individual in particular. Such investigation is expressed in the sense of the letter as Jehovah coming down and seeing.
[2] From this the nature of the sense of the letter is made clear, for Jehovah does not go down; indeed one cannot speak of the Lord going down because He always dwells in highest things. Nor does Jehovah look and see whether a thing is so; for one cannot speak of the Lord looking to see whether a thing is so because every single thing is known to Him from eternity. Yet the sense of the letter speaks of Jehovah going down to see because to man that is what He does appear to do. For man dwells among lowest things and when anything presents itself there he does not think about, nor does he even know, what the situation is with higher things and so does not know about how these flow in. He has no knowledge of these things because his thought does not extend beyond what is immediately about him, and therefore he cannot perceive what the Lord does as anything other than some such going down to see; and that perception is even more limited when he imagines that no one knows what he himself is thinking. Besides this, he has no other idea than that an actual coming down from on high is meant, and when said of God, from the highest. But it is not in fact a coming down from the highest but from the inmost.
[3] From this one may see what the sense of the letter is like, namely that it is shaped according to appearances, and that if it were not, nobody would understand and acknowledge the Word, nor thus accept it. But angels are not limited by appearances in the way that man is, and therefore since the Word as to the letter is for man, it is as to the internal sense for angels, and also for those men who in the Lord's Divine mercy have been allowed during their lifetime in the world to be as the angels.
[4] Visitation is mentioned in various places in the Word, where it either means the vastation of the Church or of the individual, or else deliverance, and thus the investigation into the nature of persons or things. It stands for vastation in Isaiah,
What will you do on the day of visitation? It will come from afar. To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your glory? Isa 10: 3.
In the same prophet,
The stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not shed its light. And I will visit the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. Isa 13: 10, 11.
'The stars and the constellations which will not give their light, and the sun which will be darkened, and the moon which will not shed its light' means that no love and no charity will exist, see 2120. And since this is vastation it is 'the day of visitation'.
[5] In Jeremiah,
They will fall among those who fall, and in the time of their visitation they will stumble. Jer 8: 12.
This stands for the time when they have been vastated, that is, when no charity and faith exist. In Ezekiel,
The visitations of the city have drawn near, and each man has his weapon of destruction in his hand. Ezek 9: 1.
This too is a reference to vastation; consequently 'each man has a weapon of destruction'. In Hosea,
The days of visitation have come, the days of recompense have come. Hosea 9: 7.
Here the meaning is similar. In Micah,
The day of your watchmen, your visitation, has come; now will be their confusion. Micah 7:-4.
Here also it stands for charity that has been laid waste. In Moses, On the day of My visiting, I will visit them with their sin. Exod 32: 34.
This refers to the people in the wilderness after they had made themselves the golden calf. That visitation also means deliverance is evident from the following places, Exod 3: 16; 4: 31; Jer 27: 22; 29: 10; Luke 1:-68, 78; 19: 41, 42.
Latin(1748-1756) 2242
2242. `Descendam quaeso, et videbo': quod significet visitationem, constare potest ex significatione `descendere ad videndum' quod sit judicium, de qua in Parte Prima n. 1311, proinde quod sit visitatio; ultimum tempus Ecclesiae in communi, et ultimum tempus cujusvis in particulari, in Verbo vocatur visitatio, ac praecedit judicium, estque sic visitatio non aliud quam exploratio qualis est, nempe qualis Ecclesia {1} in communi, vel homo in particulari, quae exploratio exprimitur in sensu litterae per quod `descendat Jehovah et videat'; [2] sensus litterae qualis sit, inde constare potest, non enim descendit Jehovah, nam de Domino non praedicari potest descendere quia semper in supremis est; nec videt Jehovah num ita sit, nam nec de Domino praedicari potest videre num ita sit quia omnia et singula ab aeterno novit; sed usque ita dicitur quia apud hominem apparet sicut ita fieret; homo enim est in inferioribus, et cum ibi aliquid existit, non cogitat, ne quidem scit, quomodo se superiora habent, ita nec quomodo influunt, non (t)enim ultra quam ad proxima cogitatio {2} ejus vadit, inde non potest aliter percipere quam quod sit aliquid tale quod simile est descendere et videre; et eo magis cum putat quod nemo sciat quod cogitat; praeter quod non aliam ideam habeat {3} quam quod sit ab alto, et cum a Deo quod sit ab altissimo, cum tamen non ab altissimo, sed ab intimo; [3] inde constare potest qualis sit qualis litterae, quod nempe sit secundum apparentias, qui si non foret secundum apparentias, Verbum nemo intelligeret et agnosceret, ita non {4} reciperet; sed angeli non ita in apparentiis sunt sicut homo, quare Verbum cum quoad litteram est pro homine, quoad sensum internum est pro angelis, tum etiam pro illis hominibus quibus, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, donatum est, cum {5} vivunt in mundo, esse sicut angeli. [4] (s)Visitatio passim memoratur in Verbo, et per (c)eam significatur vel vastatio quae est Ecclesiae aut cujusvis, vel liberatio, ita exploratio qualis est; pro vastatione, apud Esaiam, Quid facietis die visitationis {6}?... E longinquo veniet, ad quem fugietis pro auxilio, et ubi relinquetis gloriam vestram? x 3:apud eundem, Stellae caelorum et sidera eorum non lucebunt luce sua, obtenebrabitur sol in egressu suo, et luna non splendere faciet lucem suam, et visitabo super orbem malum,' et super impios iniquitatem eorum, xiii 10, 11;
quod per `stellas et sidera quae non lucebunt, et solem qui obscurabitur, et lunam quae non splendere faciet lucem suam' significetur quod nullus amor {7} et nulla charitas, videatur n. 2120, et quia id est vastatio, est `dies visitationis': [5] apud Jeremiam, Cadent inter cadentes, et tempore visitationis eorum impingent, viii 12;
pro tempore cum vastati sunt, seu cum nulla charitas et fides: apud Ezechielem, Appropinquarunt visitationes urbis, et vir instrumentum perditionis ejus in manu ejus, ix 1;
ibi etiam {8} de vastatione agitur, inde `instrumentum perditionis viro': apud Hosheam, Venerunt dies visitationis, venerunt dies retributionis, ix 7;
similiter: apud Micham, Dies speculatorum tuorum, visitatio tua venit, nunc erit perplexitas eorum, vii 4;
etiam pro vastata charitate: apud Mosen, In die visitandi Me {9}, et visitabo super eos peccatum eorum, Exod. xxxii 34;
ubi de populo in deserto postquam fecerunt sibi vitulum aureum. Quod per visitationem significetur liberatio, patet {10} a sequentibus locis,' Exod. iii 16; iv 31; Jer. xxvii 22; xxix 10; Luc. i 68, 78; xix 41, 42.(s) @1 i vel.$ @2 i quae percipit.$ @3 possit habere.$ @4 nec.$ @5 dum.$ @6 i et devastationis.$ @7 amplius.$ @8 quoque.$ @9 A alters visitationis mei to visitandi Me.$ @10 passim in Verbo, ut.$