But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst,
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought up this people in your might from among them.
- KJV And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
- BSB But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them.
- NKJV And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them,
- NLT But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the Lord. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses began interceding by appealing to God's reputation among the Egyptians. He pleaded for the people on the basis of God's glory, not their merit.
Overview
Moses argued that destroying Israel would tarnish the LORD's name before the watching nations who knew He had delivered them. His prayer centered on God's honor rather than Israel's worthiness. This God-centered intercession models how believers may appeal to God's glory and faithfulness in prayer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 106:23Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
- Exod 32:11–14Moses begged Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
- Ezek 20:9But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
- Deut 32:27were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, ‘Our hand is exalted, Yahweh has not done all this.’”
- Deut 9:26–28I prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Lord Yahweh, don’t destroy your people and your inheritance, that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
- Josh 7:8–9Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!
- Ezek 20:14But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 14:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.