Wisdom of Solomon 12

Second, concerning the punishment of the Canaanites and Amorites.

O how good etc. After he treated of the benefits shown to the children of Israel in the affliction or punishment of the Egyptians principally, here he treats of the benefits shown to the same in the affliction of the Canaanites and Amorites who principally inhabited the land of promise.

In the first part, first is shown the just punishment of those peoples; second, the mercy shown in the manner of punishing: But also to these: third, the instruction of the people of God in both: But you, O ruler: fourth, the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries through both: Whence also to those.

First, concerning the just punishment of these peoples in two ways.

In the first part, first the pious intention of the one punishing is touched upon; second, the equity of the punishment: For those.

Of the pious intention, he first shows the cause, second the sign: And therefore etc.; third the end: That having abandoned wickedness etc.

(Verse 1). O how good etc. It is an exclamation suggesting the insufficiency of the speaker to express the goodness of the Creator; for the sense is: O how etc., as if to say: I am unable to express how great, and this on account of the infinity of your goodness. Good, namely by communicating your good things: "for the good is diffusive of itself," according to Dionysius; Matthew 19: "None is good but God alone"; for God alone communicates what is his own, every creature communicates what belongs to another, because it has nothing of its own; whence 1 Corinthians 4: "What have you that you have not received"? And your spirit is sweet, O Lord, in all things, namely by sparing our evils: in the Psalm: "Taste and see that the Lord is sweet"; your spirit, I say, in us, namely, all things, the Gloss: "Because the love of God is the font of all good." In all things, especially in those in which the mercy of God appears more: in the Psalm: "The Lord is sweet to all."

The Father is good, the Son is good, the Holy Spirit is good. About the Father it is written in Psalm 72, "How good is the God of Israel toward those who are pure of heart!" About the Son, "I am the good shepherd" and "Good Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" About the Holy Spirit, in Ezra, "You bestowed on them your good Spirit."

(Verse 2). And therefore, because You are good and gentle, those who go astray, that is, who wander outside the way of truth in faith or in morals, as those of whom Isaiah fifty-three says: "All we like sheep have gone astray"; likewise Lamentations four: "The blind have wandered in the streets"; You correct in parts, that is, sending punishments by parts, not all at once, but successively, according to Exodus twenty-three: "I will not cast them out from before your face in one year," but "little by little I will drive them out"; Job thirty-five: "For now He does not bring His fury, nor does He avenge wickedness greatly," but moderately: You correct, I say, either by Yourself, or "through others, whom You fill with the Holy Spirit," according to the Gloss: John sixteen: "He will convict the world of sin." And concerning the things in which they sin, that is, concerning the sins by which they sin: You admonish them, namely by promising pardon, according to Matthew four: "Do penance," etc.; likewise Isaiah forty-five: "Turn to Me, and you shall be saved," etc.; the Gloss: "Blessed are those who hear the voice of the one admonishing"; Isaiah thirty: "Your ears shall hear the word of one admonishing from behind." And You address them, that is, by threatening punishment: Isaiah one: "If you hear Me, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you will not hear, the sword shall devour you"; so that, having abandoned malice, namely of sin, or of unbelief, they may believe in You, Lord, namely with formed faith: in You, I say, not merely You, or to You only: Isaiah fifty-five: "Let the wicked forsake his way," etc. For the movement of penance is contrary to the movement of malice, because, just as the latter is from good to evil, so the former is from evil to good.

For those, etc. Here is touched upon the equity of punishment, and first from consideration of the fault itself; second, from consideration of the punishment: You willed to destroy.

(Verse 3). For those etc. I rightly said: You correct, etc., which is clear from the example. For those ancient inhabitants, namely the Canaanites and the Amorites and others of this kind, inhabitants of Your holy land, that is, the land promised to Your Saints, namely Abraham, Genesis fifteen; Isaac, twenty-six; Jacob, twenty-eight: whom You abhorred, so much so that You willed Your people neither be joined to them nor mixed with them, according to Deuteronomy seven: "You shall not enter into a covenant with them, nor shall you join in marriages, nor shall you show mercy to them."

(Verses 4-5). Because they were doing works hateful to You, namely enormous sins, below, chapter fourteen: "Alike hateful to God are the impious man and his impiety"; through sorceries, namely of poisoners, and unjust sacrifices, of idols, and this against God. There were, however, also just sacrifices, which were offered to God, as Noah offered, Genesis eight.

And slayers of their own children, and this against the neighbor, without mercy, that is, without compassion, because in the sacrifices of demons they immolated them with great devotion, according to that passage of the Psalm: "And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons." Against which, Deuteronomy 18: "Do not desire to imitate the abominations of those nations, nor let there be found among you one who purifies a son or daughter by leading them through fire." And eaters of the entrails of men, this is not read to have happened, but it must be believed to have been possible, just as during the siege of Samaria it is read to have occurred, 4 Kings 6; and Lamentations 4: "The hands of compassionate women cooked their own children"; and devourers of blood, human blood, against that passage of Genesis 9: "You shall not eat flesh with blood."

(Vers. 6.). And authors, that is, shedders of blood, parents, that is, although they were parents of the blood that was shed, which is more grievous: of the blood, I say, of souls, that is, of human beings; for he puts the part for the whole, and it is a synecdoche, as in Exodus 1, where it is said: "All the souls that entered with Jacob into Egypt"; helpless; The Gloss: "That is, of those who could not defend themselves, or whom they were unwilling to help," namely their own little infants, of whose blood they themselves were the begetters and shedders in sacrifice and eaters by eating of the sacrificed. Slayers, I say, of their own children, etc., you willed to destroy, that is, to expel, from the midst by your sacrament, that is, from the holy land of promise; and the land of promise is called holy or a sacrament on account of its signification of a sacred reality, that is, of the land of the living, and on account of the completion of the sacraments of our salvation in it, and on account of the institution of the Sacraments of the Church in it, such as the Eucharist and Baptism, and on account of the future dwelling of holy men in it, such as the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, and on account of the shedding and sprinkling of the blood of Christ in it, and on account of the dissolution of the sacred bodies and dust in it, namely of the ancient Fathers buried there; likewise on account of the building of a sacred place in it, namely the Temple, and on account of the birth and life of the Holy of Holies. Through the hands of our parents, namely those who entered the promised land with Joshua.

(Vers. 7.). That they might receive a worthy, namely our forefathers, sojourning, that is, a land of sojourning, of the children of God, namely the Patriarchs, concerning whom in Hebrews 11: "Confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers upon the earth." Which, namely the land of sojourning, is to you a land dearer than all, namely than all lands, that is, than all lands, namely on account of the salvation of the human race to be procured there, according to that passage of the Psalm: "He wrought salvation in the midst of the earth."

"I will send hornets ahead of you, and they will drive out from your presence the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites." We ask ourselves what these hornets might mean. God in fact makes this promise, and the book of Wisdom affirms that it occurred, saying, "And he sent them wasps as the vanguard of his army." But we do not find it written that this took place, neither in the time of Moses, nor under Joshua, nor under the judges nor under the kings. But perhaps these wasps indicate the sting of the fear of understanding that prodded the peoples mentioned so that they would leave their land to the children of Israel. God in fact speaks, and if something is said figuratively in his words that did not take place in the proper sense, this does not preclude putting faith in the account, from which one perceives the truth of the narration. Likewise, neither does the Gospel account lose its historicity if something is said there about Christ in a figurative sense.

Second, the mercy shown in the manner of punishment is demonstrated in two ways.

But even to these etc. Here the mercy shown in the manner of punishment is demonstrated: and of that manner he first removes the false cause; second, he introduces the true one: When therefore.

In the first part he first shows that that manner of punishing was not from impotence; second, that neither from ignorance: But in parts; third, that neither from fear: Nor fearing; fourth, that neither from injustice: For neither.

(Verse 8.). But even to these etc. Although some read this concerning the Fathers who were to be introduced, whose enemies the Lord first mercifully terrified, not wishing to expose them as mortal men to the sudden dangers of wars, nevertheless it seems more fittingly to be expounded concerning the Canaanite nations to be cast out from before them. He says therefore: But even to these, although, that is, they had sinned so enormously, you spared, that is, by not expelling all of them immediately and at once, as human beings, clothed in fragile flesh, and therefore more prone to sinning. "For the sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from its youth," Genesis 8. The Lord himself alleges this reason in Genesis 6: "My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh." And you sent wasps as forerunners of your army, that is, a kind of fly that stings severely; the Gloss says: "The sharpest fears, by which the hearts of the nations were stung." These are the hornets, concerning which Deuteronomy 7: "The Lord your God will send hornets among them, until he destroys and scatters them all"; Exodus 23: "I will send my terror before you"; and afterward: "Sending hornets first, which will put the Hivite to flight" etc. So that those, namely the Canaanites, they might destroy little by little, that is, place or drive them beyond the boundaries of the promised land, or beyond the boundaries of the present life, or beyond the boundaries of the land of the living; whence Baruch 3: "They were driven out and descended to the netherworld," excluded, that is, from the land of the living.

(Verse 9.). Not because you were unable in war to subject the impious to the just, according to that of the Psalm: "You have girded me with strength for war, and you have subdued those who rise against me beneath me"; or by savage beasts, that is, or through cruel beasts, according to that of Jeremiah 5: "The wolf at evening laid them waste and the leopard watching over their cities"; above in chapter 11: "For your almighty hand was not unable" etc. Or by a harsh word, that is, through a severe word, to destroy them all at once, according to that of Jeremiah 23: "Are not my words as fire and as a hammer that breaks rocks?"

(Vers. 10.). But by parts etc. Here he shows that he did not do this out of ignorance, namely of their actual or original fault, saying: But by parts etc. I have rightly said that not because he was powerless etc. ; but by parts, "that is, little by little or by portions" and successively, judging, that is, justly punishing; Deuteronomy 7: "He will consume these nations in your sight little by little and by parts, lest perhaps the beasts of the earth multiply against you"; you gave a place of repentance, so that, with some punished, others might be corrected; Job 24: "God gave him a place of repentance, and he abuses it in pride." Not being ignorant, because ignorance does not fall upon God, just as neither do shadows upon light: whence 1 John 1: "God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all." Because their nation is wicked, through the malice of fault, because the children of wicked fathers are wicked: whence above in chapter 4: "All who are born from the wicked are witnesses of their iniquity"; and their malice is natural, that is, similar to what is natural through the practice of evil habit. "For habit is a second nature"; for just as those things which are from nature can with difficulty or never be cast off, so neither can those things which are from habit: whence Jeremiah 13: "If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard its spots, then you also will be able to do good, when you have learned evil"; Gregory: "He rises with difficulty whom the weight of habit presses down." And their malice is natural: The Gloss: "Abiding, ingrained," namely through the practice of evil habit. And because their thought could not be changed forever, namely on account of the obstinacy of their perverse will: The Gloss: "Hardened by their own wickedness"; Lamentations 1: "He has delivered me into a hand from which I cannot rise."

But to the contrary: It is within the freedom of choice to sin and after sin to repent.

I respond: It could not, that is, it could scarcely; or it could not by itself alone, but only by God's inspiration. For man is "a spirit that goes forth," namely through fault, "and does not return," namely except through grace.

We look over all the generations, and we note that from generation to generation the Master "gave room for repentance" for all those who wanted to turn to him. Noah preached repentance, and all who listened to him were saved. Jonah predicted the destruction of the Ninevites, but, repentant for their sins, God looked favorably on them, and they received salvation, though they were foreigners to God.

In the time of judgment, which is to say always, he judges everyone, sometimes calling this time the "time of judgment," sometimes "the day of wrath" and "the day of rendering account." "Until" this "punishment arrives," while "the punishment has not yet come," repent. There is "room for repentance." "The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, as some believe, but is patient toward you, not wanting that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance." Since therefore an extension is given to you for repentance, repent before "the punishment comes."

The God who "judges little by little" those he punishes "gives space for repentance." By not punishing all at once for the sin, he delays the consummation of the punishment for the sinner. He thus punishes, "judging little by little." We have an example of this in Leviticus. In the curses against those who transgress the Law, after the first punishments it is written, "The Lord says, if you do not repent after these things, I will multiply my blows sevenfold." And again he sets forth another punishment, "And if, despite these punishments, you do not want to correct yourselves and turn to me but oppose yourselves to me, I will also oppose you with fury." You will note that God metes out punishments stingily, as it were, since he wants to lead the sinner to conversion instead of making him pay for everything all at once. With respect to the text, then, these are the things that befell the people. And threatening them with how much they might have suffered afterward, the Word says, "And yet in those days, I will not wholly destroy you."

Why would it have been written, "Their offspring was accursed from the beginning"? In fact, it was not said in the same sense in which we read, "offspring of Canaan and not of Judah," where it was shown to what persons they had become similar and from what persons they had degenerated. Rather, it called accursed the offspring of those very people whom it wanted us to understand to be naturally evil, as are all of the children of Adam. From among these, by grace, children of God are made.

(Vers. 11.). For their seed was cursed from the beginning, that is, in the first parent of their race, namely in Canaan: Genesis 9: "Cursed be Canaan." Or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, "that is, in the foreknowledge of God," or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, because "from the time they existed, a certain depraved quality was in them worthy of a curse."

Neither fearing. Here he excludes fear from God by a fourfold reason: first, because no one can examine his judgment; second, because neither can anyone resist him: Or who shall stand; third, because neither can anyone take vengeance: Or who in the sight; fourth, because neither can anyone reprove: Or who to you.

(Vers. 11.). He says therefore: Neither fearing anyone did you grant pardon to their sins. Neither fearing anyone, namely, as though someone more powerful than you: Ecclesiasticus 3: "Great is the power of God alone"; Isaiah 51: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man"? Likewise Job 22: "Will he, fearing, reprove you"? as if to say: no: indeed even "the pillars of heaven tremble and are terrified at his nod," Job 26: how much more the pillars of the earth?

The liberating grace of God appeals to us on every page of Scripture, so that we would entrust ourselves to it. And this psalm, of which we have begun to speak, by your leave, sings of it. May the Lord help us, so that grace would be given us to understand it as we should and to describe it according to your needs. In this, the love and the fear of God greatly urge us on. The fear of God, because he is just. The love of God, because he is merciful. "Who, in fact, could remonstrate with him" if he were to condemn the godless? How great, then, is his mercy when he justifies the godless!

(Vers. 12.). For who will say to you, that is, would dare to say, or could reasonably say: What have you done, namely, by examining the reason for your deed, as if to say: no one: whence Romans 9: "Does the thing formed say to him who formed it: Why have you made me thus"? Isaiah 45: "Does the clay say to the potter: What are you doing"? Or who will stand against your judgment? namely, by resisting your sentence: Job 9: "God, whose wrath no one can resist"; and later: "If the equity of judgment is sought, no one dares to bear witness on my behalf." Or who will come before your sight, that is, will dare to appear, as an avenger indeed of wicked men? that is, wishing to avenge the wicked by punishing you, as though you had done them an injustice by condemning them: as if to say: no one, because Deuteronomy 32: "Vengeance is mine," etc.: likewise in the same place: "See that I alone am, and there is none who can deliver from my hand." Or who will charge you, namely, by convicting you of fault, as if to say: no one: whence John 8: "Which of you will convict me of sin"? Who, I say, will charge you, if the nations which you made have perished? Have perished, through their own fault, which you made, with respect to their nature: the Gloss: "It is not the fault of the Creator if they perish, but the defect of nature"; Job 12: "If he destroys, there is no one who can build up."

We are all descendants of Adam, according to an order of succession that has reached to us. Nor are the works of God to be understood allegorically: Adam did exist, the fig leaves existed, the fig tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree set in the middle of the garden, the serpent, the disobedience, the obedience. The rivers existed, as did Eve. And everything was truly made by God, because "to him all things are possible," he who can make corruptible things incorruptible and earthly things perfect in incorruptibility. No one should wonder at this. Indeed, he gave us proof of this when he clothed his divinity with corruptible flesh, to offer us a model of incorruptibility in the flesh he assumed. "Who will oppose what he has done?" Let us now examine another exegetical aspect. The Scripture says that God cast them out of the garden, placing two cherubim with flaming swords to guard the entrance to the tree of life, so that Adam and Eve took up their dwelling opposite the garden, barred from Paradise. But this notwithstanding—let no one deceive you with empty words—"God, who can raise up his children from stones," was able to change corruptible beings into incorruptible, and he can do so at any time that he wants to make of the earth a place of peace, a paradise. In fact, earth and heaven do not have a different God, but everything is his, and he lavishes the gift of incorruptibility on every being as he wishes.

(Vers. 13.). For neither, etc. Well have I said: who will do any of the aforesaid things against your judgment? For neither is there any other God than you, according to that passage of Isaiah 45: "Am I not the Lord, and there is no further God besides me"? Than you, I say, who have care for all things: above in chapter 6: "You have equal care for all things."

But to the contrary: 1 Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen"?

It must be said that the care of providence is his for all things, but the care of discipline is for rational creatures alone.

So that, namely through this, you might show that you do not judge unjustly the judgment of the punishment of the wicked: in the Psalm: "You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right."

(Vers. 14.). Neither a king etc., as if to say: you judge so rightly that neither a king, who governs his own well and according to justice, nor a tyrant, who namely governs badly and through injustice: will inquire in your sight concerning those whom you have destroyed: Gloss: "Whether you have justly destroyed them," according to that passage in Job 9: "Who can say, why do you act thus?"

Since therefore etc. Here he shows the true cause why God showed mercy in the aforesaid manner of punishing, and this first by showing that God exercises justice in all things; second, that he nonetheless shows mercy: And because of this; third, that to unbelievers he sometimes shows power: Your strength etc.

(Vers. 15.). Since therefore you are just, namely in your nature, you dispose all things justly, namely in creation, namely "justly punishing a son" in the present, so that in the future you may spare him; Hebrews 12: "He scourges every son whom he receives"; Tobit 3: "You are just, O Lord, and all your judgments are just"; likewise in the Psalm: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves." Him also who ought not to be punished, that is, corrected by temporal punishment, you condemn; Gloss: "With eternal punishment, sparing him in the present, so that in the future you may punish": whence Ezekiel 16: "My jealousy shall be taken away from me, and I shall rest and be angry no more." And you esteem as foreign from your strength: Gloss: "That is, alien and unworthy of divine compassion." For the strength of God is compassion, according to that saying of Gregory: "O God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare," therefore in the Psalm: "In your strength," that is, in your compassion, "judge me." Or thus: and him who ought not to be punished, namely eternally, you condemn, namely according to the estimation of the reprobate, because you correct him in the present: and you esteem, that is, you cause others to esteem, such a one to be foreign, namely, from your strength, that is, alien and unworthy of your compassion, just as the friends of Job esteemed him unworthy of your compassion, because you punished him so grievously.

(Vers. 16.). For your strength, that is, mercy. For the work of justice is said to be foreign to God, Isaiah 28, but the work of mercy is proper to him. And this is because he has mercy on us from his own goodness, but he exercises justice upon us from our own cause, namely on account of our fault. Your strength, I say, that is, mercy, is the beginning of justice, namely ours, that is, of our justification, according to that saying of the Apostle in Titus 3: "Not by works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us"; likewise Romans 3: "Justified freely by his grace." And because you are Lord of all, namely by power, you make yourself to spare all, by mercy: whence the Gloss: "So that you who preside by power may be gentle by nature": above in chapter 11: "You have mercy on all, because you can do all things."

(Verse 17). For you show your strength, that is, power in punishing, you who are not believed, namely by those who err, to be consummate in power, that is, perfect: Job twenty-two: "They esteemed him as though the Almighty could do nothing." And those who know you not, namely the unfaithful, you convict in boldness, that is, you boldly lead to punishment, and this by the merit of their iniquities, above, chapter four: "Their iniquities shall convict them to their face."

Why did he not say "in wrath" but "as in wrath"? Because God does everything with absolute tranquility. Indeed, it is also written, "You, master of strength, judge with gentleness." Therefore, even when he threatens he does not become angry, nor is he disturbed in any way. It calls him angry because he punishes and does justice. Similarly, people who do not want to amend their lives are as though they were alive, but they do not live, because vengeance for the first sin, and for those that they have added, hangs over them. This vengeance is called the wrath of God, because it proceeds from God's judgment. Thus the Lord says of the one who does not believe, "but the wrath of God hangs over him." We also, being born mortal, were under the wrath of God. Therefore the apostle says, "We were once by nature deserving of wrath, like the others." What does "by nature deserving of wrath" mean, if not that we carry with us the wrath of the first sin? But if we convert, wrath ceases, and grace is offered to us. If, however, you do not want to convert, you add other offenses to the ones you were born with. And, "as in wrath," you will be devoured even in the present time.

How is it that it is written, "Power is in your hands whenever you want," as if God needs a period of time to carry out some work? Or, rather, are all things accomplished by God (as we say) like an artist thinks out a design—not over an extended period of time—but by that power that accomplishes in an enduring way even those things that we see are not enduring but passing? Even with our own speech, when some words pass away while others follow, we should not think that the same thing happens with the thought that gave rise to the expression we just finished. Consequently, although God, who exercises power when he wishes, accomplishes his works without the passage of time, nonetheless temporal natures themselves carry out their movements within time.

Third, the instruction of the people of God in both is shown.

But you, ruler, etc. Having shown the punishment of adversaries and the mercy of the judge in punishing, here he shows the instruction of the people of God in both, and first he touches upon the example by which he instructs; second, the mercy concerning which he instructs: You have taught; third, the manner by which he instructs: For if enemies; fourth, the end on account of which he instructs: When therefore to us.

(Verse 18). But you, etc. I have rightly said that you show your strength and power to the incorrigible; autem stands for "but": you, master of power, etc. This can be understood intransitively, so that the sense is: you, master of power, that is, powerful; or transitively, thus: master of power, that is, Lord of all powers, namely both angelic and human: in the Psalm: "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." You judge with tranquility, that is, without disturbance of intellect or affection; James one: "With whom there is no change"; Isaiah forty-two: "He shall bring forth judgment in truth; he shall not be sad nor troubled." And with great reverence, in effect, that is, with great moderation, you govern us, not like that judge "who neither feared God nor regarded man," Luke eighteen. For power is at hand to you, whenever you will: behold, the cause of tranquility in judging and of reverence in governing or in executing, namely because he is omnipotent: in the Psalm: "Whatsoever he willed, he did."

But it is objected that according to the order of understanding, power precedes will, not will power. Therefore it ought to say: willing is at hand to you when you are able, not being able when you will.

It must be said that power precedes in being, but will in acting: whence he is able to do many things which he does not do, because he does not will them.

With respect to existence and power, the Trinity is everywhere, wholly one God, filling all things with his power, not by his mass but wholly in each creature, and simultaneously wholly in all creatures. Regarding our thoughts, it is said that God descends to our level when he divinely moderates his word in such a way that he condescends to communicate his knowledge and love to us, speaking to us in a human way. Conversely, he rises in us when we ascend in charity and knowledge of the divinity, learning not to look for anything local in him who is infinite, or think that there is anything lowly in him who is sublime, or believe that there is anything changeable in God or think that there is anything temporary in him who is eternal.This is the way we are to understand the manifestation of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is said that God rested in the beginning after having finished the creation of the world, although he was not fatigued by his work, because he accomplished everything solely by his will. To him it was said, "You exercise power when you wish," as we hear in the psalm, "Whatever the Lord wishes he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the depths."

Abraham, "father of us all," as the apostle says, "did not doubt God's promise in unbelief but was strengthened in faith and gave glory to God, fully convinced that what he had promised, he was also able to do." There is therefore no falsehood whatsoever in God's promises, since no obstacle can stand before the action of the Almighty. And consequently, the effect of his will can ever fail, since we discover that his will itself is nothing other than his power. He who can do whatever he wants can want anything. Only of him, then, can it be truly said, "Whatever he wanted, he did." And further, "You exercise power when you wish." For this reason we said that in him there is as much power of the will as there is the will itself of the power. Since "power always accompanies his will," in him will and power are one. In fact, just as God is not constrained by any necessity to promise what he does not want to do, so he is not impeded by anything in doing what he has promised to a lesser degree than he wants to or to delay its realization.

(Verse 19). For you have taught your people: but others are not taught, whence Sirach twenty-one: "He who is not wise in good will not be instructed"; through such works, namely of justice and mercy together. Because it is necessary to be just, because you are just, and humane, that is, gentle, because man is by nature a gentle animal: and this, because you are merciful, not only just; whence in the Psalm: "Mercy and judgment I will sing to you, O Lord"; likewise: "The Lord is merciful and compassionate and just." And if the Lord, therefore also the servant; whence Matthew eighteen: "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I also had mercy on you?" Ecclesiastes seven: "Do not be excessively just," namely to such a degree that you exclude mercy from your justice: for the Samaritan poured upon the wounded man not only wine, but also oil together. And you have made your children of good hope, that is, concerning the obtaining of pardon, your faithful ones, who are your children: whence John one: "He gave them the power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." This is the good hope, concerning which in the Psalm: "Hope in him, all you assembly of the people"; likewise: "In God my heart has hoped, and I have been helped"; First Peter one: "Hope in the grace that is offered to you." Because judging, that is, punishing sinners, you give a place of repentance amid sins, that is, to those remaining in sins, namely by waiting for them unto repentance; Isaiah thirty: "Therefore the Lord waits, that he may have mercy on you." The place of repentance is this world: for after departure from this world there remains no place of repentance: on account of which Ecclesiastes eleven: "Wherever the tree falls, whether to the south or to the north, there it shall be." Chrysostom: "Then there will be no place of repentance, nor time for making satisfaction, nor power of restitution"; therefore Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work at it earnestly, because neither work nor reason nor knowledge nor wisdom will be in the netherworld, to which you hasten."

Their just God, teacher of mercy and compassion—who would later bestow the Law (by which he would give his people the precepts that would enable them to act with mercy and compassion and to do good works)—wanted them to first suffer every kind of affliction, tribulation and anguish in a foreign land. This was so they would more easily pity those who suffer these same things and so respect his commandments. Imagine a wise farmer who, before sowing the seed, takes time to soften the land with plow and rake, so that the seed that he entrusts to it will not be lost. Likewise God soaks and softens his people for a long time before bestowing on them the salutary seeds of the commandments. Finally, so that it would be even more evident that this was why he inflicted these things on his people, we see that the Lord says in his commandments, "Do not molest or oppress the alien, because you were aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt." We also read, "The great God, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes, who renders justice to the alien, the orphan and the widow. Delight in giving them bread and clothing, because you were like them in the land of Egypt." And elsewhere it says, "When harvesting your fields, if you miss a sheaf, do not go back to get it. It will be for the alien, the orphan and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands. You will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this." It is easy, then, to recognize that this is why he afflicted his people with every kind of misery, so that from what happened to them they would learn to be merciful toward others, as it is written, "In this way you taught your people that the righteous must love." In my opinion, it is very clear how God wants his people to be and how he shows, with many examples, the works by which they can gain his kindness.

(Vers. 20.). For if the enemies of your servants, as regards sin against neighbor, to which servants, I say, it is said in Luke 10: "He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me"; and those deserving of death, as regards sin against God, who is the life of souls, according to Augustine: deserving, I say, of death, according to that passage in Romans 1: "Not only those who do such things are worthy of death," etc. You tormented with such great deliberation, namely not all at once, but by punishing in parts and successively, as is evident in the plagues of Egypt; and you delivered, namely them from these, namely from temporal torments, because, when Moses prayed, they were delivered from each torment: a similar thing also happened with the Canaanites. Giving time and place, through which they might be changed from malice: time, namely the span of life, and place, namely the exile of this world: concerning time, Apocalypse 2: "I gave her time, that she might do penance"; concerning place, Job 24: "God gave him a place of penance, and he abuses it in pride."

(Vers. 21.). With how great diligence you judged your sons etc., as if to say: with great diligence and care, according to what the Psalmist sought, saying: "Rise up and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my cause." In a figure of this it is read in Genesis 3 that God, about to judge the sin of Adam, was walking about, etc. Your sons, namely the Saints, above in chapter 5: "Behold, how they are counted among the sons of God, and among the Saints is their lot." Or: your sons, that is, your faithful, according to that passage in John 1: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name." Whose, namely of the sons, parents, that is, the Patriarchs, such as Abraham, Genesis 15 and 22; Isaac, Genesis 26; Jacob, Genesis 28: you gave oaths and covenants, that is, sworn covenants. Note that a covenant is a simple promise, whereas an oath is a promise with the attestation of a sacred thing; Hebrews 6: "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have the strongest consolation," etc. Of good promises, namely concerning the promised land and concerning the blessing of the seed.

(Verse 22). When therefore etc., as if to say: you are so beneficent and merciful to adversaries: when therefore you give us discipline, that is, corrective punishment, which is not to be rejected, according to that passage in Proverbs 3: "The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not reject," because it instructs; whence in the Psalm: "Your discipline has corrected me unto the end," etc. Our enemies, namely those who hate us, although they are loved by us, according to what the Lord admonishes in Matthew 5: "Love your enemies"; in manifold ways you scourge, namely inwardly and outwardly, according to that passage of the Psalm: "Many are the scourges of the sinner"; the Gloss: "There is a great distance between the judgment of the elect and of the reprobate: for the former he corrects, that he may amend them; the latter pay the penalties of pride and faithlessness." That your goodness, namely in the present, we may consider when judging, namely others, whom we see scourged by you: the Gloss: "Happy is the judge who always looks upon the goodness and mercy of his Judge," namely so that, having beheld the mercy of God who judges, he may learn to have mercy when he judges others: in the Psalm: "How good is the God of Israel to those who are upright of heart": Nahum 1: "The Lord is good and strengthening in the day of tribulation and knows those who hope in him." And when we are judged, namely through the sending of present tribulations, we may hope for your mercy, namely in the future, namely the reward of eternal life: James 1: "Count it all joy, brethren, when you fall into various trials," etc.: Romans 5: "Glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience hope," etc.

Fourth, concerning the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt, six points are touched upon.

Whence also to those. Here is touched upon the condemnation of incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt of both, namely of divine justice and mercy: and first is touched upon the scourge by which they ought to have been corrected; second, the fittingness of the scourge: For indeed etc.; third, the incorrigibility of those scourged: But those who etc.; fourth, the manifestation of incorrigibility: For in these things; fifth, the reason on account of which they ought to have been corrected: Through those things which they thought; sixth, the finality of condemnation, because they were not corrected, there: On account of which etc.

(Verse 23). Whence etc., as if to say: thus you give discipline to your own; whence, namely by contrast; and, meaning also: to those who in their life lived senselessly and unjustly, with respect to error in faith; or: in their life, that is, in which they lived for themselves, not for God; and unjustly, with respect to error in morals; through those things which they worshipped, namely through brute animals, you gave the greatest, that is, exceedingly great, torments, such as through frogs and flies and locusts and wasps and things of this kind. Through these things etc.; namely in kind and without number or species.

(Vers. 24.). For indeed they themselves went astray, not for a short time, but for a long while, which aggravates their sin, because, as Gregory says, "sins are so much the worse, the longer they hold the unhappy soul bound." In the pathless way of error, that is, of unbelief, which is called error par excellence. Concerning this way it is said in Proverbs sixteen: "There is a way that seems right to a man, and its end leads to death." Esteeming as gods those things which are superfluous among living creatures, that is, animals artificially carved, not natural ones. Artificial animals are called superfluous, because they are useless; but all natural ones have some usefulness, as Damascene says. Esteeming them as gods, etc.; Romans one: "They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man"; likewise in the Psalm: "They changed their glory into the likeness of a calf eating hay." Note that he does not say "into a calf," but into the likeness of a calf, which is less and counts for the worse. Living after the manner of senseless children, as regards sins in morals: First Corinthians fourteen: "Do not become children in understanding"; likewise First Peter two: "As newborn babes, rational," not senseless. In this indeed they lived after the manner of senseless children, because, like children, they made and worshipped images, just as Ishmael is read in Genesis twenty-one to have played with Isaac, compelling him to worship clay images, as the Hebrews say.

The Greeks did nothing other than design in the images of the gods their peculiar passions, almost so as to be able to contemplate them with their eyes. The bloodthirsty person called his passion Ares. The adulterer and the adulteress, promiscuous Aphrodite. The tyrant, winged Victory. The squalid person, entirely caught up in lust for possessions, designed Cronus as his archetype. The effeminate, Cybele, also known as Rhea, I believe because of the flowing moods of sexual contact. Those who are always breathlessly moving about portrayed as their type Artemis the hunter. The drunkard, Dionysus. The one who faced many difficulties, Heracles. One who had sexual intercourse with anyone, Zeus and Apollo. But it is pointless to enumerate all the passions that agitate human beings. Indeed, the Egyptians deviated from the truth more than anyone, not only worshiping their passions but also exchanging the supreme Orderer for winged creatures and four-legged animals, for wild and ferocious animals of land and sea—in short, with the beasts that the God of holiness had given them to serve them. They deviated more than others because, in a completely irrational way, they divinized the animals of their region. Even now they are not ashamed to worship the barking dog or the polecat who eats reptiles, the goat, symbol of incontinence, and the sheep, symbol of weakness, or the huge, terribly sad crocodile, or the ibis that feeds on poison, the kite and the sparrow hawk, or the crow, which seems the most despicable of all animals, and the serpent, who deviously slithers and is totally disgusting.

(Vers. 25.). Therefore, as to senseless children, you gave a judgment in derision, that is, a punishment in which they were mocked, because they were afflicted by frogs and flies and such small and contemptible animals, not by greater and nobler ones, such as lions and bears, as is clear from Exodus seven through twelve.

For the one who does good, there are two judgments referred to in the Scriptures, one secret and the other manifest. The secret one takes place now, and the apostle Peter says of it, "It is time for judgment to begin with the household of the Lord." It follows that the secret judgment is the pain by which each person is tormented now, so that he purifies himself, or by which he is admonished so that he converts or, if he has despised God's calling and his teachings, he remains blind to damnation. The manifest judgment is rather that by which the Lord, when he comes, will judge the living and the dead, when all will know that it is he who assigns rewards to the good and torments to the wicked. But then, such a confession will not be a remedy for evils but a storing up of condemnation. It seems to me that the Lord spoke of these two judgments when he said, "The one who believes in me will pass from death to life and will not be judged," that is, in the manifest judgment. In fact, the passing from death to life by means of the various sufferings with which God chastises every child he receives is precisely the secret judgment. "The one who does not believe," rather, "is already judged," that is, in this secret judgment he has already made himself ready to undergo the manifest one. We also read of these two judgments in Wisdom, where it is written, "As to reckless young people, therefore, you sent them a judgment to mock them. But those who were not corrected by this judgment experienced the just judgment of God." Therefore, those who do not correct themselves following this secret judgment of God will be punished as they deserve in the manifest one.

(Vers. 26.). But those who by mockeries and rebukes, that is, rebukes full of mockery, were not corrected, namely from unbelief and perverse conduct, experienced a worthy judgment of God, namely of condemnation and death. From this he seems to imply that some were corrected amid the scourges; whence also some of the Egyptians went with the Israelites, as is clear from Exodus twelve, and the Gibeonites were confederated with them, as is clear from Joshua nine.

For in these things etc., as if to say: and deservedly; for in these things which they suffered, namely in the divine scourges, they bore it grievously, by carrying them impatiently. For in those things suffering, that is, enduring, so that suffering is said from passion, not from patience: they were indignant, namely by murmuring against God; Sirach thirty-three: "The heart of a fool is like a cart wheel." Through those things which they thought were gods, namely brute animals, in them, that is, through them, when they were destroyed, that is, punished; Baruch three: "They were destroyed and descended to the underworld"; seeing him, that is, God, as if perceiving by sensible experience; for in himself he cannot be seen; First John four: "No one has ever seen God." Whom formerly, namely in prosperity, they denied that they knew, according to that text in Exodus five: "I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." The true God, to be, supply: they acknowledged, by belief not voluntary, but extorted through punishments; such is the faith of demons; James two: "The demons believe" etc.; Isaiah twenty-six: "Lord, in distress they sought you." "For the eyes which guilt closes, punishment opens," as Gregory says. The text is to be construed thus: Seeing, namely the Egyptians and Canaanites, him whom formerly they denied that they knew, they acknowledged the true God, to be, supply: they acknowledged, I say, through those things which they thought were gods, that is, through brute animals; and this happened when they were destroyed through them. On account of which, namely, because they acknowledged God, yet did not glorify him, according to that text in Romans one: "Who, although they had known God, did not glorify him as God" etc.; and the end of their condemnation, that is, their final condemnation, of which Matthew twenty-five says: "Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire." The beginning of condemnation is in the separation of the soul from the body; the middle, in the torment of the separated soul; but the end, in the resurrection, when one will be tormented in hell with the resumed body; the end, I say, of their condemnation, who in the present life refused to be corrected, shall come etc.; Gregory: "Those whom scourges do not correct in the present, they transmit to future ones"; upon them, because from heaven for their oppression, so that they cannot resist, as though overwhelmed or crushed; in the Psalm: "He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire and brimstone" etc.

And if they were to repeat what the Son said? "Those who know you, the one true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ." Response: That the Son is true, just as the Father is, we demonstrate with the words of the prophets and the Gospels, since Isaiah says, "But my servants will be called by another name, which will be blessed on the earth, and they will bless the true God. And those who swear on earth will swear by the true God." And in Solomon, "They will be ashamed of those who believed that it was the gods who punished them. Seeing him whom they had previously denied, they recognized the true God." And in the psalm, "Truth sprung up from the earth, and justice looked down from heaven." And the Lord in the Gospel, "I am the way, the truth and the life." And in the same place, written of the Father, "Your word is truth." Then in the letter of John the apostle, "We know that the Son of God has come, and God has given us understanding to know what is true, and so that we would be in his true Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." You must therefore acknowledge the unity of the Father and the Son, since the divine Scripture never fails to proclaim that, like the Father, the Son is true God.