2 and so you gently correct those who sin against you. You remind them of what they are doing, and warn them about it, so that they may abandon their evil ways and put their trust in you, Lord.
3-4 You hated the people who lived in your holy land long ago, because they did horrible things: they practised magic and conducted unholy worship;
5 they killed children without mercy and ate the flesh and blood of human beings. They were initiated into secret rituals
6 in which parents murdered their own defenceless children. It was your will that our ancestors should destroy those people,
7 so that the land which you consider the most precious of all lands would be a suitable home for your people.
8 But even in this you showed mercy towards their enemies, since they too were human beings. You sent hornets ahead of your army, to destroy the enemy gradually.
9 You could have allowed the righteous to destroy those ungodly people in battle; you could have wiped them out immediately with wild animals or with one harsh command.