5323.“有人在他前面喊着：跪下”表经由信而来的承认，以及崇拜。这从“喊”和“跪下”的含义清楚可知：“喊”是指经由信而来的承认，如下文所述；“跪下”是指崇拜，因为在原文，“跪下”表示“屈膝”，而屈膝就是崇拜。事实上，属于意愿，因而属于爱或情感，随之属于生命的一切内在努力都有与它们相对应的外在行为或举止。这些行为和举止都是从外在事物与内在事物的实际对应关系中流出的。带来谦卑，并由此带来崇拜的神性敬畏，也有相对应的行为或举止，即屈膝，向前屈膝下跪，以及身体俯伏在地。在这种状态下，如果崇拜出自真正的谦卑，如果谦卑出自真正的神圣敬畏，就会有一种灵人的缺席，这会导致属灵层与属世层联结、因而膝盖所在的边界或中间区域处的关节的下跌。因为膝盖以下的部位对应于属世事物，而膝盖以上的部位则对应于属灵事物。正因如此，屈膝是代表崇拜的一种标志。对属天人来说，这种行为是自发的；但对属灵人来说，这是他们意愿的有意行为。
在以前的年代里，当国王乘战车经过时，人们会在他们面前屈膝下跪，因为国王代表主的神性真理，而“战车”表示祂的圣言。当人们知道它代表什么时，这种崇拜的仪式就开始了；那时，国王并不认为这种崇拜是给他们本人的，而是给他们的王权；这王权不同于他们本人，只是附在他们身上。附在他们身上的王权是律法，由于律法来源于神性真理，所以只要国王是律法的守护者，这律法就附在这个王身上而受崇拜。因此，国王除了将守护律法的职责归给自己外，并不将任何王权归给自己。他越是远离这守护的职责，就越远离王权，因为他知道，除了律法以外，基于任何其它理由或来自任何其它源头的崇拜，即律法本身所受的崇拜之外的任何其它崇拜都是偶像崇拜。王权表示神性真理（参看1672，1728，2015，2069，3009，3670，4581，4966，5044，5068节），因而王权是律法，律法本身就是一国居民所要照之生活的真理。由此可见，“跪下”或“屈膝下跪”表示崇拜。
由于“喊”也是一种对应于信所产生的一种活的称谢或承认的行为，所以当需要作出这种称谢或承认的外在标志时，喊也是古人所遵循的习俗。因此，在圣言的各个地方，当与信所产生的称谢和承认有关时，经上就会提到“喊”或“呼喊”。如经上论到施洗约翰说：
约翰为耶稣作见证，喊着说，这就是我曾说，那在我以后来的，反成了在我以前的，因祂本来在我以前。我就是那在旷野有人声喊着说，修直主的道路的。（约翰福音1:15，23）
同一福音书：
他们就拿着棕树枝，出去迎接祂，喊着，和散那！奉主名来的以色列王是应当称颂的！（约翰福音12:13）
路加福音：
耶稣对法利赛人说，若是这些人不作声，这些石头也会喊起来。（路加福音19:40）
由于“喊”表示信所产生的承认，因而表示由这承认所产生的接受，所以关于主，我们有时会读到，祂“喊着说”，如约翰福音（7:28，37；12:44）；还有以赛亚书：
耶和华必像勇士出去，必像战士激动热心，要喊叫，大声呐喊。（以赛亚书42:13）
“喊”在反面意义上表示缺乏承认，因而表示厌恶（参看5016，5018；5027节）；这种用法与虚假有关（2240节）。
Potts(1905-1910) 5323
5323. And they cried before him, Abrech. That this signifies acknowledgment through faith, and adoration, is evident from the signification of "crying," as being acknowledgment through faith (of which hereafter); and from the signification of "abrech," as being adoration; for in the original language "abrech" means "bend the knees," and the bending of the knees is adoration. For all inward endeavors that are of the will, thus of the love or affection, consequently of the life, have outward acts or gestures corresponding to them; which acts or gestures flow from the very correspondence of outward things with inward ones. Holy fear with its consequent humiliation (and therefore adoration), has acts or gestures corresponding to itself, namely, bending the knees, falling down upon the knees, and also prostrating the body down to the earth. In this state, if the adoration is from genuine humiliation, or if the humiliation is from genuine holy fear, there is a failing of the spirits, and hence a giving way of the joints in the border or intermediate region where the spiritual is conjoined with the natural, thus where the knees are; for the parts below have correspondence with natural things, and those above with spiritual things. Hence it is that the bending of the knees is a sign representative of adoration. With celestial men this act is spontaneous; but with spiritual men it is a result of will. [2] When the kings of old rode in a chariot, knees were bent because kings represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and a "chariot" signified the Word. The rite of this adoration began when it was known what it represented; and at that time the kings did not ascribe the adoration to themselves, but to the royalty apart from themselves, although adjoined to them. With them the royalty was the law, which, being from Divine truth, was to be adored in the king insofar as he was the custodian of it. Thus the king ascribed none of the royalty to himself beyond the custody of the law; and insofar as he receded from this, so far he receded from the royalty, knowing that adoration on any other ground than the law, that is, any other adoration than of the law in itself, would be idolatry. That the royalty is Divine truth may be seen above (n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068); consequently the royalty is the law, which in itself is the truth of a kingdom according to which its inhabitants are to live. From what has been said it is now evident that "abrech," or "bend the knees," signifies adoration. [3] As a "cry" also is an act that corresponds to a living confession or acknowledgment from faith, the rite of crying out was observed among the ancients when this confession was to be signified; and for this reason "crying" or "shouting" is frequently mentioned in the Word in connection with confession and acknowledgment from faith, as where it is said of John the Baptist:
John bare witness of Jesus and cried, saying, This was He of whom I said, He that cometh after me was before me; for He was prior to me. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord (John 1:15, 23). In the same:
They took branches of the palm trees, and went to meet Jesus, and cried, Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel (John 12:13). And in Luke:
Jesus said to the Pharisees, If these should be silent, the stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). As "crying" signified acknowledgment from faith, and hence reception from this acknowledgment, we therefore sometimes read of the Lord that He "cried out," as in John 7:28, 37; 12:44; and also in Isaiah:
Jehovah shall go forth as a hero, He shall stir up zeal like a man of wars, He shall shout, yea, He shall cry out (Isa. 42:13). That in the opposite sense by "crying" is meant nonacknowledgment, thus aversion, may be seen above (n. 5016, 5018; 5027); and that it is predicated of falsity (n. 2240).
Elliott(1983-1999) 5323
5323. 'And they cried out before him, Abrek!' means acknowledgement coming through faith, and homage. This is clear from the meaning of 'crying out' as acknowledgement coming through faith, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'Abrek!' as homage, because Abrek in the original language means 'bend your knees', and the bending of knees is homage. For every inward impulse of a person's will, thus of his love and affection, and consequently of his life, has corresponding outward actions and gestures. Those actions and gestures flow from the actual correspondence of exterior things with interior ones. Holy fear that leads to humility, and from this to homage, has corresponding actions or gestures, which are bending the knees, falling forward on the knees, and also prostration of the body flat on the ground. If in that state homage is a product of genuine humility, and if humility is the product of genuine holy fear, there is an absence of spirits, which leads to a falling downwards of the joints at the border or intermediate area where the spiritual is joined to the natural, and so where the knees are. For the parts below the knee correspond to natural things, while the parts above the knee correspond to spiritual ones. These are the reasons why bending the knees is a sign representative of homage. Among celestial people this action comes quite spontaneously, but in the case of spiritual people it is a deliberate act of their will.
[2] In former times people bent their knees before kings when they rode by in a chariot. They bent them because kings represented the Lord's Divine Truth, while 'a chariot' meant His Word. This customary act of homage came into being when people knew what was represented by it, at which time kings did not think that such homage was paid to themselves but to their kingly authority, which was distinct from yet invested in their own persons. That authority invested in them was the law, and because this law had its origin in Divine Truth, it was the law invested in the person of the king, inasmuch as he was the guardian of the law, to which homage had to be paid. Thus a king did not attribute any royal authority to himself other than guardianship of the law. Insofar as he relinquished that guardianship he relinquished his royal authority; for he knew that homage arising from any other source than the law, that is, any other homage than that paid to the law itself, was idolatry. By royal authority is meant Divine Truth - see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068 - and therefore that authority is the law, which essentially is truth reigning in that kingdom, in accordance with which its inhabitants conduct their lives. From all this it may be seen that 'Abrek!' or 'bend your knees' means homage.
[3] Since 'a cry' is in a similar way an action which corresponds to a living confession or an acknowledgement that is a product of faith, crying out was also the custom followed by the ancients when an outward sign of such confession or acknowledgement needed to be made. The expression 'crying out' is therefore used in various places in the Word when confession and acknowledgement that are the product of faith are referred to, as in the description involving John the Baptist in John,
He bore witness to Jesus and he cried out, saying, This was He of whom I spoke, He who, though coming after me, was before me, for He was before me. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord. John 1:15, 23.
In the same gospel,
They took branches of palm trees, and went to meet Jesus, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! John 12:13.
In Luke,
Jesus said to the Pharisees that if [the disciples] kept silent, the stones would cry out. Luke 19:40.
Because 'crying out' meant an acknowledgement that was the product of faith and consequently acceptance rising out of the acknowledgement, one therefore reads several times of the Lord's crying out, as in John 7:28, 37; 12:44, 45. Also in Isaiah,
Jehovah will go forth as a Mighty Man, as a Man of Wars He will arouse zeal; He will shout aloud, and also will cry out. Isa 42:13.
In the contrary sense 'crying out' means lack of acknowledgement and so aversion, see 5016, 5018, 5027. This usage has reference to falsity, 2240.
Latin(1748-1756) 5323
5323. `Et clamaverunt ante eum, Abrech': quod significet agnitionem per fidem et adorationem, constat ex significatione `clamare' quod sit agnitio per fidem, de qua sequitur; et (e)a significatione `abrech' quod sit adoratio; abrech enim in lingua originali {1}est `flecte genua', et flexio genuum est adoratio; omnes enim conatus interni qui sunt voluntatis, ita qui sunt amoris aut affectionis, proinde qui sunt vitae, habent actus {2}seu gestus externos sibi correspondentes; actus hi aut gestus fluunt ex ipsa correspondentia {3}exteriorum cum interioribus; timor sanctus, et inde humiliatio, proinde adoratio, habet actus seu gestus sibi correspondentes, nempe flexionem genuum, procumbentiam super genubus, et quoque prostrationem corporis usque ad terram; in statu illo, si adoratio est ex genuina humiliatione, {4}aut si humiliatio ex genuino timore sancto, est deficientia spirituum, inde concidentia artuum in confinio seu intermedio ubi spirituale conjungitur naturali, ita ubi genua; nam quae infra sunt, correspondentiam habent cum naturalibus, et quae supra, cum spiritualibus; inde est quod flexio genuum sit signum repraesentativum adorationis; apud caelestes homines est hic actus spontaneus, sed apud spirituales est voluntarius. [2] Ante reges olim cum vehebantur curru, flectebantur genua ob causam quia `reges' repraesentabant Dominum quoad Divinum Verum, et `currus' significabat Verbum; ritus hujus adorationis inceptus fuit cum notum erat quid repraesentaretur, et tunc reges adorationem non sibi sed ipsi regio a se separato tametsi adjuncto, attribuerunt; regium illis fuit lex quae, quia a Divino Vero, adoranda erat in rege quatenus custos ejus, ita ipse rex nihil sibi de regio tribuebat praeter custodiam legis, a qua quantum recessit tantum a regio, sciens quod adoratio aliunde quam a lege, hoc est, alia quam legis in se, esset idololatria; quod `regium' sit Divinum Verum, videatur n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, proinde (t)regium est {5} lex, quae in se est verum regni{6}, secundum quod victuri qui ibi; ex his constare potest quod `Abrech seu flecte genua' significet adorationem. [3] Quia clamor etiam est actus qui correspondet confessioni vivae seu agnitioni ex fide, ideo quoque apud antiquos rituale clamandi receptum fuit, cum tale significaretur; ac ideo {7} in Verbo passim dicitur `clamare' cum agitur de confessione et agnitione ex fide, sicut de Johanne Baptista apud Johannem, Quod testatus de Jesu, et clamaverit dicens, Hic erat Quem dixi, Qui post me veniens, ante me fuit, quia prior me fuit: . . . ego vox clamantis in deserto, Rectam facite viam Domini, i 15, 23: apud eundem, Sumpserunt termites palmarum, et iverunt obviam Jesu, et clamaverunt, Osanna, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Rex Israelis, xii 13:(m)apud Lucam, Jesus dixit Pharisaeis, quod si tacuerint, lapides clamaturi sint, xix 40.(n) Quia `clamare' significabat agnitionem ex fide {8}et inde receptionem ex agnitione illa, idcirco aliquoties legitur de Domino quod clamaverit, ut apud Johannem vii 28, 37, xii 44, 45; et quoque apud Esaiam, Jehovah sicut heros exibit, sicut vir bellorum excitabit zelum, vociferabitur, etiamque clamabit, xlii 13. Quod clamare in sensu opposito sit non agnitio, ita aversatio, videatur n. 5016, 5018, 5027, et quod praedicetur de falso, n. 2240. @1 significat$ @2 aut$ @3 interiorum cum exterioribus$ @4 et$ @5 i tunc$ @6 i quod a Divino Vero$ @7 i etiam$ @8 proinde$