¹⁰ But all the assembly said, “Stone them with stones.” And the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting before all the children of Israel. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people disgrace Me? And how long will they not believe Me, in spite of all the signs which I have done among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make from you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹³ Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought this people up from among them, ¹⁴ and they will say to the inhabitants of this land that they heard that You, Lord, are among this people, that You, Lord, are seen face to face, and Your cloud stands over them, and in the pillar of cloud You go before them by day and by a pillar of fire at night. ¹⁵ Now if You kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of You will speak, saying, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, so He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷ “So now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your grace, just as You have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.”