"But gonow,leadthe peoplewhereI toldyou. Behold,My angelshall gobeforeyou; nevertheless in the daywhen I punish,I will punishthem for their sin."
O LORDour God,You answeredthem; You were a forgivingGodto them, And [yet] an avengerof their [evil] deeds.
"You will bringthem and plantthem in the mountainof Your inheritance,The place,O LORD,which You have madefor Your dwelling,The sanctuary,O Lord,which Your handshave established.
"You shall not worshipthem or servethem; for I, the LORDyour God,am a jealousGod,visitingthe iniquityof the fatherson the children,on the thirdand the fourthgenerations of those who hateMe,
"Behold,I am going to sendan angelbeforeyou to guardyou along the wayand to bringyou into the placewhichI have prepared.
"So I said,I will bringyou up out of the afflictionof Egyptto the landof the Canaaniteand the Hittiteand the Amoriteand the Perizziteand the Hiviteand the Jebusite,to a landflowingwith milkand honey."'
Then Mosessaidto the LORD,"See,You sayto me, 'Bringup thispeople!'But You Yourselfhave not let me knowwhomYou will sendwith me. Moreover, You have said,'I have knownyou by name,and you have alsofoundfavorin My sight.'
"I will sendan angelbeforeyou and I will driveout the Canaanite,the Amorite,the Hittite,the Perizzite,the Hiviteand the Jebusite.
In alltheir afflictionHe was afflicted,And the angelof His presencesavedthem; In His loveand in His mercyHe redeemedthem, And He liftedthem and carriedthem allthe daysof old.
Thussaysthe LORDto thispeople,"Even sothey have lovedto wander;they have not kepttheir feetin check.Therefore the LORDdoes not acceptthem; nowHe will remembertheir iniquityand calltheir sinsto account."
Thereforethussaysthe LORDGodof Israelconcerningthe shepherdswho are tendingMy people:"You have scatteredMy flockand driventhem away,and have not attendedto them; behold,I am about to attendto you for the evilof your deeds,"declaresthe LORD.
Shall I not punishthese[people]?' declaresthe LORD,'On a nationsuchas thisShall I not avengeMyself?'
"Shall I not punishthese[people]," declaresthe LORD,"And on a nationsuchas thisShall I not avengeMyself?
As for My sacrificialgifts,They sacrificethe fleshand eat[it], [But] the LORDhas takennodelightin them. NowHe will remembertheir iniquity,And punish[them] for their sins;They will returnto Egypt.
"For on the daythat I punishIsrael'stransgressions,I will also punishthe altarsof Bethel;The hornsof the altarwill be cutoffAnd they will fallto the ground.
"You onlyhave I chosenamongallthe familiesof the earth;ThereforeI will punishyou for allyour iniquities."
But when we criedout to the LORD,He heardour voiceand sentan angeland broughtus out from Egypt;now behold,we are at Kadesh,a townon the edgeof your territory.
sothat upon you may fall[the guilt of] allthe righteousbloodshedon earth,from the bloodof righteousAbelto the bloodof Zechariah,the sonof Berechiah,whomyou murderedbetweenthe templeand the altar.
Vengeanceis Mine, and retribution,In due timetheir footwill slip;For the dayof their calamityis near,And the impendingthingsare hasteningupon them.'
