Sforno on Deuteronomy 32:31/ספורנו על דברים ל״ב:ל״א

1כי לא כצורנו צורם, no doubt what happened was due to the difference between their deities, and our G’d. Every nation enjoys a degree of success in its undertakings as long as its specific deity, i.e. agent appointed for them by G’d, is active, or its constellation is in the ascendancy in the sky. Although their specific deity will never become their adversary, they may fall within the power, the orbit of a competing deity, one that looks out for the interests of a different nation. This occurs in tandem with a master plan worked out by G’d for such historical developments. This is why when they “fall” this does not happen until one becomes so strong that it appears as if a single member of one nation can put a thousand of the competing nation to flight. [The author’s view of the collapse of empires appears based on the fact that when a major power was replaced by another this was not the result of a gigantic power struggle in which one nation proved stronger, but that the former world power had already declined in strength so much that they had become a pushover for the aggressor challenging them. Ed.]

2ואויבינו, even though these nations which are enemies of the true G’d and therefore enemies of His chosen nation, as Moses mentioned already in verse 26 and again in verse 42 when he speaks of מראש פרעות אויב, “from the beginning of our people’s existence it had enemies.”

3פלילים. philosophers of the various nations. Ovadiah 8 refers to them as והאבדתי חכמים מאדום, “I will wipe out the wise men from Edom.”