95. And affliction and poverty, signifies that they are in falsities and thence not in goods. "To know their affliction" signifies to see that they are in falsities, and "to know their poverty" signifies to see that they are not in goods, for in the Word, "affliction" is predicated of falsities (as above, n. 33); and "poverty" of the lack of goods; spiritual poverty is nothing else. "The poor and needy" are often mentioned in the Word, and in the spiritual sense by "poor" is meant one who is not in truths, and by "needy" one who is not in goods. These words are also added, "yet thou art rich," but in a parenthesis, and this because in some codices they are omitted.
