Deuteronomy 9:28

28 Otherwise, Egypt will say, 'It was because the Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them, and it was because he hated them that he took them into the desert to kill them.'

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, "Lord God, do not destroy your people, your own people, whom you freed and brought out of Egypt by your great power and strength.

27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don't look at how stubborn these people are, and don't look at their sin and evil.

28 Otherwise, Egypt will say, 'It was because the Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them, and it was because he hated them that he took them into the desert to kill them.'

29 But they are your people, Lord, your own people, whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and strength."