Moses’ Plea

¹¹ Then ^(A)Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should ^(B)the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You ^(C)swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will ^(D)multiply your ^[a]descendants as the stars of the heavens, and ^(E)all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your ^[b]descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ^14 (F)So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

²⁵ “^(A)So I fell down before the Lord for the forty days and nights, which I ^[a]did because the Lord said He would destroy you. ^26 (B)And I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Lord God, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand! ²⁷ Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not turn Your attention to the stubbornness of this people, or to their wickedness, or their sin. ²⁸ Otherwise, the people of the land from which You brought us will say, “^(C)Since the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He had ^[b]promised them, and since He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness!” ²⁹ Yet they are Your people, and ^(D)Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your ^(E)great power and Your outstretched arm.’