The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus 5:4 Kommentar

While punishment is reserved for the day of judgment and the long-suffering of the Lord invites correction, impunity nourishes disdain in a servant. God, “who shall render to each one according to his deeds,” certainly does not impose on people the necessity to sin by virtue of predestination. One can read that he will ask a person to account for what he has done. “I have sinned,” the prophet says, “and what has happened to me?” As if to say, God certainly must not know the sins if he does not punish and chastise immediately; and again, “He thinks: ‘God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’ ” When he says, “God has forgotten,” he is making a judgment that the patience of the forgiver is actually negligence. He considers it an omission when, in reality, it is what this magnanimous administrator of justice has reserved for later.