2 Maccabees 6:14

14 The Lord does not treat us as he does other nations: he waits patiently until they have become deeply involved in sin before he punishes them,

2 Maccabees 6:14 In-Context

12 I beg you not to become discouraged as you read about the terrible things that happened. Consider that this was the Lord's way of punishing his people, not of destroying them.

13 In fact, it is a sign of kindness to punish a person immediately for his sins, rather than to wait a long time.

14 The Lord does not treat us as he does other nations: he waits patiently until they have become deeply involved in sin before he punishes them,

15 but he punishes us before we have sinned too much.

16 So the Lord is always merciful to us, his own people. Although he punishes us with disasters, he never abandons us.