Jerome : (Verse 15) Therefore I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, to not bring them into the land that I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the most excellent of all lands, because they had rejected my judgments and had not walked in my commandments, and had violated my sabbaths. After idols their heart went, and my eye spared them so as not to kill them, nor did I consume them in the wilderness. LXX: And I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, so as to not bring them into the land that I had given them: a land flowing with milk and honey: a hive beyond all lands: because they rejected my justifications, and had not walked in my commandments, and had violated my sabbaths, and had walked after the thoughts of their own hearts. And my eye spared them, so that I would not destroy them, and I did not kill them in the wilderness. Indeed I resolved to pour out my fury on them and to destroy them, but I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned among the nations, namely the Amalekites and the others who fought against them in the wilderness. I did not allow them to enter the land that I had promised to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the most excellent of all lands, like a honeycomb. The cause of this punishment and sentence is that they rejected my judgments, did not walk in my statutes, and violated my Sabbaths. The cause of this cause is that they did not do these things because their heart followed the idols of Egypt. However, my eye spared them, saying that I would not kill them and destroy them completely. But it is asked, how did I spare them when their corpses fell in the wilderness, and no one entered the promised land except Joshua and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. From which we understand that they are not kept for eternal punishments, nor erased from the book of the living, nor consumed in the presence of the Lord. For if it is believed that they perished because they were not admitted into the land of promise, then Moses also perished, who only saw the land of promise and did not enter it. This is mentioned in the book of the Lord Jesus: My servant Moses has died (Deut. XXXIV, 5). And in Malachi: Remember the Law of Moses my servant (Malachi 4:4). And in Jeremiah, as if speaking to a friend and familiar, God says: If Moses and Samuel stood before me (Jeremiah 15:1). Otherwise, it must be believed that the prayers of Moses were heard, when he interceded for the people, saying: If you forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written (Exodus 32:32, 33). But so that we may know that God's intention towards his sons and servants is for their improvement, not their destruction, let us listen to the testimonies of the Scriptures. My son, do not be saddened by the discipline of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him (Prov. III, 11). For whom the Lord loves, He corrects; and He chastises every son whom He receives (Heb. XII, 6). And in another place: When He killed them, then they sought Him (Ps. LXXVI, 34). And in the Song of Deuteronomy it says: I will kill, and I will give life (Deut. 32:39). We can also say this literally, that He did not destroy them, nor did He consume them with their offspring and descendants, but after killing the fathers, He spared the sons, whom He brought into the Promised Land. — Commentary on Ezekiel