Tradition
St. Irenaeus
Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus
Chapter 43
In these things there was signified by prophecy that the people, having become transgressors, shall be bound by the chains of their own sins. But the breaking of the bonds of their own accord indicates that, upon repentance, they shall be again loosed from the shackles of sin.
Source: Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus (New Advent)