¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will these people make fun of me? How long will they refuse to believe in me? They refuse even though I have done many miraculous signs among them. ¹²So I will strike them down with a plague. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than they are.”

¹³Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it. You used your power to bring these people up from among them.

¹⁴“And the Egyptians will tell the people who live in Canaan about it. Lord, they have already heard a lot about you. They’ve heard that you are with these people. They’ve heard that you have been seen face to face. They’ve been told that your cloud stays over them. They’ve heard that you go in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day. They’ve been told that you go in front of them in a pillar of fire at night.

¹⁵“Suppose you put these people to death all at one time. Then the nations who have heard those things about you will talk. They’ll say, ¹⁶‘The Lord took an oath. He promised to give these people the land of Canaan. But he wasn’t able to bring them into it. So he killed them in the desert.’

¹⁷“Now, Lord, show your strength. You have said, ¹⁸‘I am the Lord. I am slow to get angry. I am full of love. I forgive those who sin. I forgive those who refuse to obey. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I punish the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the sin of their parents.’

¹⁹“Lord, your love is great. So forgive the sin of these people. Forgive them just as you have done from the time they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, just as you asked.

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