So he said he was going to destroy them. But Moses, his chosen leader, placed himself between the Lord and the people to persuade the Lord not to destroy them in his anger.
The Lord told me: Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me pleading with me on behalf of these people, I wouldn't feel sorry for them. Send them away from me. Have them leave.
But I still acted for them so I would not be misrepresented, so that I wouldn't lose respect in the eyes of the other nations who had seen me lead Israel out of Egypt.
But I did act so I would not be misrepresented, so that I wouldn't lose respect in the eyes of the other nations living near them who had seen me reveal myself to Israel by leading them out of Egypt.
but I didn't want to hear their conquerors jeering, their enemies misunderstanding what had happened and saying, ‘We won all by ourselves, the Lord didn't have anything to do with it.’