9347. 'When you serve their gods' means if worship is kindled by falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'serving' as worship, dealt with in 7934, 8057; and from the meaning of 'gods' as falsities, dealt with in 4544, 7873, 8367, 8941.

1260. Since 'nations' in the Most Ancient Church and in the Ancient Church meant goods or good persons, therefore also in the contrary sense they mean evils or evil persons Similarly with 'peoples'; since these meant truths, therefore also in the contrary sense they mean falsities. For in a corrupted Church good is turned into evil, and truth into falsity, as a consequence of which the meaning of nations and peoples in that contrary sense occurs many times in the Word, as in Isaiah 13:4; 14:6; 18:2, 7; 30:28; 34:1-2; Ezekiel 20:13; and in many other places.