4 You hated them because of their horrible deeds—they practiced magic and did vulgar things when they worshiped their gods;
5 they mercilessly sacrificed children and ate human flesh and blood. They were members of pagan cults
6 and murdered their own helpless children. That's why you decided to let our ancestors destroy them,
7 so that your most precious land would accept a group of people worthy to be your servants.
8 But since these people were merely human, you spared many of them and sent hornets ahead of your army to destroy them a little at a time.
9 You did this, even though you could have let your own people destroy that evil nation, or you could have wiped them out all at once with fierce animals or with one harsh word.
10 Although you knew that they were sinful by nature and that they would never give up their evil thoughts, you still punished them little by little, giving them time to turn back to you.