Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9252

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9252. '[And] you shall not respond in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice]' means not being associated with those who turn forms of good and truths into evils and falsities, and vice versa. This is clear from the meaning of 'responding in a dispute' as answering in regard to what is just and fair, and what is good and true, about which there is contention, dealt with in 9024a, for 'answering' means giving an opinion and expressing a judgement; from the meaning of 'turning aside after many' as conforming with many and so being associated with them; and from the meaning of 'perverting' as turning truth into falsity and good into evil, and vice versa.

Notes

a The word rendered dispute here in Chapter 23 is rendered quarrel in 9024.


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