Exodus 14:12

12 Didn't we tell you before we left that this would happen? We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of the Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves there than to die here in the desert."

Exodus 14:12 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 14:12

Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt
The thing they suggested to him, and talked with him about while they were in the land of Egypt, before they came out of it, particularly after their service and bondage were made more severe and cruel upon Moses and Aaron's demanding their dismission, see ( Exodus 5:21 ) ( 6:9 ) :

saying, let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?
peaceably and quietly, as we have been used to do, since there is no likelihood of being freed, and since we are more evilly treated than before:

for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we
should die in the wilderness:
of such mean spirits were they, and had so poor a notion of, and taste for liberty, and so ungrateful were they to their deliverer.

Exodus 14:12 In-Context

10 When the Israelites saw the king and his army marching against them, they were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.

11 They said to Moses, "Weren't there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt!

12 Didn't we tell you before we left that this would happen? We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of the Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves there than to die here in the desert."

13 Moses answered, "Don't be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again.

14 The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still."