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God cancels punishment of sinners, if he finds a man protecting them
I sought from them a male fencing a fence and standing in the breach before me for the land for it not be spoiled, and not found.
It would be natural for us, if God sought a man who would stop oppression of the poor, make fair judgment and stop ill-treating people (that is stopped the sins described in nearby verses), but instead God sought a man who would simply build a wall, protecting the city. So God searches not a way to punish sinners but to make them unpunished.