What is referred to by the pronoun in "So We made it a deterrent..."?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. The sin (i.e. its consequences). [ʿAṭiyyah from Ibn ʿAbbās]
2. The punishment. [al-Ḍaḥḥāk from Ibn ʿAbbās.]
3. The village, and it is intended as reference to its inhabitants. [Qatādah, Ibn Qutaybah]
4. The nation that was transformed. [al-Kisāʾī, al-Zajjāj]