The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus 20:25 Commento

The text was not written to justify the thief as though he were not guilty, but by using the comparison it indicates that the habit of lying is worse. As is said in the prophet Ezekiel, the fornication of Jerusalem is worse if compared with that of Samaria, though both merit condemnation. And in the Gospel, according to the word of the Lord, the sin of Sodom will be judged with more forbearance than that of Judea. In a mysterious way the thieves could indicate the Jews, of whom Paul says, “You who preach against stealing, steal,” and the lying heretics, whose crime is more intolerable than that of the Jews, since after receiving the grace of baptism and putting on the garments of Christ, they have returned to apostasy, offending the grace of the Spirit—but both crimes will be met with eternal perdition if repentance does not intervene.