3479.主降世前的犹太人，以及后来的犹太人对他们教会的宗教仪式没有任何其它概念，以为神圣敬拜唯独在于外在事物，毫不关心这些仪式代表并表示什么。事实上，他们既不知道也不想知道敬拜和圣言中有什么内在之物，以及有什么死后生命，因而有什么天堂，因为他们完全是感官和肉体的。由于他们沉浸在脱离内在的外在事物中，所以他们的敬拜无非是偶像崇拜，他们因此非常热衷于敬拜任何神明，只要他们确信这些神明能使他们发达。
不过，这个民族具有这样的性质，他们能处于神圣的外在事物，因而能拥有代表主国度的天堂事物的神圣仪式，还能敬重代表主的亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各，以及摩西和亚伦，还有后来的大卫，尤其能拥有对圣言深深的神圣敬意，而圣言中的每一个事物都是神性事物的代表和有意义的符号，所以代表性的教会建立在这个民族当中。然而，如果这个民族知晓内在事物，且到了承认它们的程度，那么他们早就亵渎它们了，并由此既拥有一个神圣的外在，同时又拥有一个亵渎的内在，以致代表与天堂就无法通过他们进行交流了。这就是为何内层事物，甚至连主来拯救他们灵魂的真理也没有向他们透露。
由于犹大支派比其它支派更具有这种特性，如今他们和从前一样，仍视能在耶路撒冷外举行仪式为神圣，还由于他们敬重祖先，尤其视旧约为神圣，并且主也预见到基督徒几乎会拒绝旧约，还会以亵渎之物玷污它的内在事物，故根据主在马太福音中说的话（24:34），这个民族被保存至今。如果基督徒因熟悉内在事物而如同内在人那样生活，情况就不同了。果如此，这个民族就会和其它民族一样，早在许多世纪之前就灭亡了。
然而，这个民族的情况是这样：他们外在的圣洁或敬拜的圣洁根本无法影响他们的内在，因为他们的内在由于污秽的自我之爱和污秽的尘世之爱，以及敬拜脱离内在的外在事物的偶像崇拜而不洁。因此，由于他们没有丝毫天堂之物在里面，所以他们无法将天堂之物带入来世，除了过着相爱的生活，并因此与自己相比，不蔑视他人的少数人之外。
Potts(1905-1910) 3479
3479. The Jews who lived before the coming of the Lord, as well as those who lived afterwards, had no other opinion concerning the rituals of their church than that Divine worship consisted solely in external things, and cared naught for what these represented and signified. For they did not know, and were not willing to know, that there was anything internal in worship and in the Word, thus that there was any life after death, nor consequently that there was any heaven, for they were altogether sensuous and corporeal; and inasmuch as they were in externals separate from things internal, relatively to these externals their worship was merely idolatrous, and therefore they were very prone to worship any gods whatsoever, provided only they were persuaded that such gods could cause them to prosper. [2] But as that nation was of such a nature that they could be in a holy external, and thus could have holy rituals by which the heavenly things of the Lord's kingdom were represented, and could have a holy veneration for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also for Moses and Aaron, and afterwards for David; by all of whom the Lord was represented; and especially could have a holy reverence for the Word, in which each and all things are representative and significative of Divine things, therefore in that nation a representative church was instituted. If however that nation had known internal things so far as to acknowledge them, they would have profaned them, and thereby when in a holy external would have been at the same time in a profane internal, so that there could have been through them no communication of representatives with heaven; and for this reason interior things were not disclosed to them, not even that the Lord was within, in order that He might save their souls. [3] Inasmuch as the tribe of Judah was of this character more than the other tribes, and at this day just as in former times regard as holy the rituals which can be observed outside Jerusalem, and as they have a holy veneration for their fathers, especially as they regard the Word of the Old Testament as holy, and inasmuch as it was foreseen that Christians would almost reject this Word, and would likewise defile its internal things with things profane, therefore that nation has been preserved until this time, according to the words of the Lord in Matt. 24:34. It would have been otherwise if Christians, being acquainted with internal things, had also lived as internal men; in this case that nation, like other nations, would before many generations have been cut off. [4] But the case with that nation is that their holy external or holy of worship cannot at all affect their internals, because these are unclean from the base love of self and from the unclean love of the world; and also from the idolatry of worshiping external things separate from internal; and thus because they have not anything of heaven in them, neither can they carry anything of heaven with them into the other life, except a few who live in mutual love, and thus do not despise others in comparison with themselves.
Elliott(1983-1999) 3479
3479. The Jews who lived before the Lord's Coming, as also those who have lived since then, had no other notion regarding the religious observances of their Church than that Divine worship consisted solely in things that were external. They were quite unconcerned about what those observances represented and meant. Indeed they neither knew nor wished to know that there was any internal element in worship or in the Word, nor thus that there was any life after death, nor consequently that there was any heaven; for they were entirely sensory- and bodily-minded. Now because they were engrossed in external things separated from internal, worship in their case was nothing but idolatrous, and for this reason they were very much inclined to worship any gods at all, provided they were convinced that those gods could enable them to prosper.
[2] Yet because a sense of holiness within external things could exist with that nation, so that they were able to regard as holy the religious observances by which the heavenly things of the Lord's kingdom were represented; and because they were able to venerate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also Moses and Aaron, and after these David, all of whom represented the Lord; and above all because they were able to have a deep and holy respect for the Word in which every single thing was representative and a meaningful sign of Divine things, the representative Church was therefore established among that nation. But if that nation had known of internal things to the extent that they acknowledged them they would have rendered them profane and in so doing would have possessed simultaneously external holiness and internal unholiness, so that there could not have been any communication at all of representatives with heaven by means of that nation. This is why interior things were not disclosed to them, not even the truth that the Lord would come to save their souls.
[3] Because this was the case with the tribe of Judah more than with all the other tribes, and because today as in former times they regard as holy the religious observances which can be performed outside Jerusalem; because also they venerate their patriarchs, and above all have a deep and holy respect for the Old Testament Word; and because it was foreseen that Christians would virtually reject the Old Testament and also would befoul their own internals with things that are unholy, that nation has been preserved up to the present day, in accordance with the Lord's words in Matthew 24:34. With Christians it was to be different, as they were to have knowledge of internal things and were also to live as internally-minded people. If Christians had in fact done so, the Jewish nation would like others have been annihilated before many centuries had gone by. With that nation however the situation is that their external holiness, or holiness of worship, can have no affect on them internally, for internally they are defiled from filthy self-love and filthy love of the world, and also from the idolatry in which they worship external things devoid of internal. And because accordingly they have nothing of heaven within themselves, they are not able to take anything heavenly with them into the next life, with the exception of the few who are governed by mutual love and so do not live in contempt of others compared with themselves.
Latin(1748-1756) 3479
3479. Judaei qui ante Domini Adventum vixerunt, sicut etiam qua postea, non aliam opinionem de ritualibus Ecclesiae suae habuerunt quam quod cultus Divinus solum consisteret in externis; quid repraesentabant et significabant, nihil curabant; non enim sciebant, nec scire volebant, quod aliquod internum cultus et Verbi daretur, {1}ita quod aliqua vita esset post mortem, {2}consequenter quod aliquod caelum, erant enim prorsus sensuales et corporei; et quia {3}in externis separatis ab internis erant, cultus respective ad illos non aliud fuit quam idololatricus, quapropter {4}pronissimi erant ad colendos quoscumque deos, modo persuaderentur quod illi prosperare eos possent: [2] sed quia gens illa talis erat ut in externo sancto potuissent esse, et sic sancta habere ritualia per quae repraesentabantur caelestia regni Domini, et sanctam venerationem habere pro Abrahamo, Jishako et Jacobo, et quoque pro Mose et Aharone, et postea pro Davide, per quos repraesentabatur Dominus, et cumprimis sanctitatem habere pro Verbo, in quo omnia et singula repraesentativa et significativa Divinorum sunt, ideo in illa gente Ecclesia repraesentativa instituta fuit; si autem gens illa novisset interna usque ad agnitionem, tunc profanavisset illa, et sic cum in sancto (x)externo simul in profano interno fuissent, ita prorsus nulla communicatio potuisset esse repraesentativorum cum caelo per illam gentem; inde est quod {5}interiora non illis detecta fuerint, ne quidem quod Dominus {6}venturus ut salvaret animas illorum. [3] Quia tribus Judaica prae reliquis tribubus talis fuit, et hodie sicut olim, ritualia quae extra Hierosolymam observari possunt, sancta habent, etiam sanctam venerationem pro patribus suis ac imprimis sanctitatem pro Verbo Veteris Testamenti, et praevisum quod Christiani paene rejicerent illud, et quoque foedarent interna sua profanis, ideo gens illa huc usque conservata est, secundum Domini verba apud Matthaeum, xxiv 34; aliter si Christiani, sicut norunt interna, quoque viverent interni homines; si hoc, gens illa ante plura saecula, sicut aliae gentes, excisa fuisset. {8}Sed cum gente illa ita se habet quod sanctum eorum externum seu sanctum cultus, nihil afficere possit interna eorum, haec enim immunda ex sordido amore sui et ex sordido mundi sunt, et quoque ex idololatrico quod externa colant absque internis; et (t)sic quia non aliquid caeli in se habent, nec aliquid caeli in alteram vitam {7}secum ferre possunt, praeter paucos qui in amore mutuo, et sic non in contemptu aliorum prae se vivunt.(s) @1 nec$ @2 ita$ @3 separabant interna ab externis$ @4 etiam pronissimi fuerunt$ @5 after fuerint$ @6 erat intus I$ @7 after caeli$ @8 populis I$