10504. 'And now, if You forgive their sin' means, nevertheless this turning away from the Divine will not be an impediment. This is clear from the meaning of 'sin' as a turning away from the Divine, as above in 10498, 10502; and from the meaning of 'forgiving it' as its not being an impediment to raising the internal things of the Word, the Church, and worship from their external things, nor thus to establishing contact with the heavens. For when these things are nonetheless accomplished no attention is paid to the turning away; and that to which no attention is paid is said to have been forgiven.

10502. 'And said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin' means that even though that nation has completely turned away and removed itself from the Divine ... This is clear from the meaning of 'commiting a great sin' as completely turning away and alienating themselves from the Divine, dealt with above in 10498. The words 'even though it has turned away' are used on account of the sequence of thought in the internal sense. For those who understand this level of meaning pay no attention to the literal account, only to the meaning of things within that follow one another in their own order.