767. [verse 9] 'And they shall weep for her, and wail over her, the kings of the land who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously, when they see the smoke of her burning' signifies the interior griefs of those who have been in higher dominion and its delights by means of the falsified and adulterated truths of the Word which they have made the holy things of the Church, when they see them turned into profane things. In this and the following verse it treats of the mourning of 'the kings of the hand' by whom are understood the highest in rank who are called great men and primates. From vers. 11-16 it treats of the mourning of 'the merchants of the land' by whom are understood those lower in rank who are called monks. And from vers. 17-19 it treats of the mourning of 'shipmasters and sailors' by whom are understood those who make contributions who are called the laity. Here now [it treats] of 'the kings of the land' by whom are signified the highest in rank. That by 'kings' are not understood kings, but those who are in truths derived from good, and in the opposite sense, in untruths derived from evil, may be seen above (n. 483, 704, 737, 740, 720). Here, therefore, by 'the kings of the land who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with the harlot' are signified those who are in dominion and its delight by means of the falsified and adulterated truths of the Word, especially by means of that truth falsified and adulterated by them which the Lord told Peter, concerning which something follows. That 'to commit whoredom' signifies to falsify and adulterate the truths of the Word may be seen (n. 134, 632, 635); and that 'to live luxuriously' signifies to enjoy the delights of dominion and at the same time of opulence (n. 759). By [the statement] that 'they shall weep and wail' their interior griefs are signified. 'To weep and wail' is said because 'to weep' is said of grief over the casting down from dominion, and 'to wail' is said of grief over the deprivation of opulence. And because the griefs of these are more interior than those of 'the merchants of the land', it is therefore said of 'the kings of the land' by whom are understood those higher in rank that they would 'weep and wail', and of 'the merchants of the land' by whom are understood those lower in rank it is said that they would 'weep and mourn'. By 'to see the smoke of her burning' is signified that they are seeing the untruths of their form of religion, which are falsified and adulterated truths of the Word, turned into profane things. By 'the smoke' those untruths are signified (n. 422, 452), and by the 'burning' is signified what is profane (n. 766). From these things, and those that have been expounded above (n. 766), it is plain that by 'they shall weep for her and wail over her, the kings of the land who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her, when they see the smoke of her burning' are signified the interior griefs of those who have been in higher dominion and its delights by means of falsified and adulterated truths of the Word, when they see them turned into profane things.