Wisdom 12:9-11

New Catholic Bible

⁹ It was well within your power to have the godless vanquished in battle by the righteous
    or to destroy them in an instant by savage beasts or by one stern word.
¹⁰ But by carrying out your sentence in stages,
    you gave them the chance to repent.
You were well aware that they came from an evil stock,
    and that their wickedness was innate,
and that their way of thinking would never change,
¹¹     for they were an accursed race from the beginning.

Again, it was not because of fear of anyone
    that you allowed their sins to go unpunished.