Deuteronomy 9:28

28 'Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, "¹Because * the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness."

Deuteronomy 9:28 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 9:28

Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say
The land of Egypt, the inhabitants of it;

because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he
promised them;
the land of Canaan, the inhabitants of it being so mighty, and their cities so strongly fortified. Here Moses expresses his concern for the glory of God, and the honour of his perfections, and makes that a fourth argument why he should not destroy them:

and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the
wilderness;
out of Egypt, a plentiful country, into a wilderness where nothing was to be had; but his choice of them for his inheritance, his redemption of them out of bondage and misery, the care he took of them, and the provision he had made for them in the wilderness, clearly showed that they were not the objects of his hatred, but of his love.

Deuteronomy 9:28 In-Context

26 "I prayed to the LORD and said, 'O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even 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 look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin.

28 'Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, "Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness."

29 'Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.'

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 32:12; Numbers 14:16

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "spoken to"