Moses’ Entreaty

11 Then aMoses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O 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 athe Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.

13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You aswore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will bmultiply your 1descendants as the stars of the heavens, and call this land of which I have spoken I will give to your 1descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”

14 aSo the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15 aThen Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, btablets which were written on both 1sides; they were written on one side and the other.

16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.

17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people 1as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

18 But he said,

“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,

Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;

But the sound of singing I hear.”