¹For your immortal spirit is in everything.

²Therefore, little by little you correct those who disobey,

and you warn them about the way they are sinning.

You do this so they will be freed from their wickedness

and trust in you, O Lord.

³Those Canaanites who lived long ago in your holy land[#12:3 The Canaanites are alluded to but not explicitly named in the Greek text; also in 12:8, 11.]

⁴were hated by you because of their detestable practices,

their sorceries, and their wicked rituals.

⁵They mercilessly slaughtered their own children

and feasted on sacrifices of human flesh and blood during their pagan rituals.

⁶You told our ancestors to destroy

those parents who sacrificed innocent lives,

⁷for you wanted the land most dear to you

to receive a worthy colony of God’s servants.

⁸Yet you spared even these Canaanites, since they were merely human beings,

but you sent hornets as forerunners of your army,

to destroy them little by little.

⁹You could have handed over the wicked to the righteous by means of war

or destroyed them in one fell swoop by fearsome animals or your stern word.

¹⁰But you judged them little by little to give them a chance to repent,

although you knew that they were evil by nature

and that their way of thinking would never change.

¹¹The Canaanites were a cursed race from the beginning.

It was your kindness, not fear of anyone, that you did not punish them for their sins.

The Justice of the Lord

¹²For who will say to you: “What have you done?”

Or who will challenge your judgment?

Who will accuse you for destroying the nations you have made?

Or who will face you to avenge the death of the unrighteous?

¹³For there is no other God but you, and you care for all,

proving that you have not judged unjustly.

¹⁴No king or ruler can confront you

about those you have punished.

¹⁵You are righteous, and you rule over all things righteously.

You consider it uncharacteristic of your power

to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished.

¹⁶Your strength is the source of righteousness;

because you rule over all, you are gracious to all.

¹⁷You show your strength when people doubt your absolute power,

and you rebuke those who do believe in your power but are arrogant.

¹⁸Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge mildly,

and you govern us leniently,

for your power is at hand when you choose to use it.

¹⁹In this way you have taught your people

that the righteous must be kind.

You have given your children good reason for hope

because you make room for repentance of sins.

²⁰After showing great care and leniency, you finally punished

your servants’ enemies, who deserved to die.

You had given them time and opportunity to repent of their wickedness.

²¹So you have judged your own children even more strictly,

for you swore oaths and covenants of good promises to their ancestors.

²²Therefore, while you merely discipline us,

you punish our enemies ten thousand times more,

so that when we judge others, we may keep your goodness in mind,

and when we are judged, we may hope for mercy.

²³So those who foolishly live unrighteous lives

are tormented by you through their own sins.

²⁴For the Egyptians strayed far down the path of error[#12:24 The Egyptians are alluded to but not explicitly named in the Greek text; also in 12:27.]

and worshiped the most despised animals;

they were deceived like foolish children.

²⁵Therefore, as with senseless children,

you punished them in a way that made them look ridiculous.

²⁶But those who do not heed gentle warnings

experience the just punishment of God.

²⁷The Egyptians became angry because they suffered

and were punished by the very animals they considered gods.

So they realized and confessed that the One they had formerly rejected was the true God.

For this reason they had been completely condemned.