Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10469

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10469. 'What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?' means, Why is it that that nation has so turned itself away from the Divine? This is clear from the meaning of 'what did this people do to you?' as, Why is it that that nation is such? ('doing to you' here does not mean doing something to him, for 'Aaron' is not used to mean Aaron but the external, the essential nature of which is contemplated from the internal, and therefore 'what did they do to you?' - when understood in the abstract sense, without reference to persons - means, Why is it?); and from the meaning of 'a sin' as a turning away from the Divine, dealt with in 5841, 9346. Consequently 'bringing upon them so great a sin', when the external in that abstract sense is meant by 'Aaron', describes such and so great a turning away from the Divine.


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