O how good and sweet is thy Spirit, O Lord, in all things! 2And therefore thou chastisest them that err, by little and little: and admonishest them, and speakest to them, concerning the things wherein they offend: that leaving their wickedness, they may believe in thee, O Lord. 3For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst abhor, 4Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and wicked sacrifices, 5And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters of men's bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy consecration, 6And those parents sacrificing with their own hands helpless souls, it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our parents, 7That the land which of all is most dear to thee, might receive a worthy colony of the children of God. 8Yet even those thou sparedst as men, and didst send wasps forerunners of thy host, to destroy them by little and little. 9Not that thou wast unable to bring the wicked under the just by war, or by cruel beasts, or with one rough word to destroy them at once: 10But executing thy judgments by degrees, thou gavest them place of repentance, not being ignorant that they were a wicked generation, and their malice natural, and that their thought could never be changed. 11For it was a cursed seed from the beginning: neither didst thou for fear of any one give pardon to their sins.