Otherwise, the country we left will say, “The Lord wasn’t able to bring them to the land he promised them. He hated them. That’s why he brought them out—to let them die in the desert.”
Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out ⌞of our land⌟.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people.
But I acted so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations where they were living. While other nations were watching, I made myself known to them by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
You complained in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us! That’s why he brought us out of Egypt. He wanted to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us!
But I didn’t want their enemies to make me angry. I didn’t want their opponents to misunderstand and say, ‘We won this victory! It wasn’t the Lord who did all this!’ ”
When the Canaanites and everyone who lives in the land hears about it, they will surround us and remove every memory of us from the earth. What will you do then so that your great name ⌞will be remembered⌟?”