¹¹ But Moses sought the favor^(A) of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?^{(B) 12} Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?^(C) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster^(D) on your people. ¹³ Remember^(E) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:^(F) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars^(G) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land^(H) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” ¹⁴ Then the Lord relented^(I) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

¹³ Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.^{(A) 14} And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard^(B) that you, Lord, are with these people^(C) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,^(D) that your cloud stays over them,^(E) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.^{(F) 15} If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath,^(G) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’^(H)

¹⁷ “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.^(I) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’^{(J) 19} In accordance with your great love, forgive^(K) the sin of these people,^(L) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”^(M)

²⁰ The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,^(N) as you asked.

⁸ They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying^(A) out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Then Samuel^(B) took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.^(C)

¹⁰ While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered^(D) with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic^(E) that they were routed before the Israelites. ¹¹ The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone^(F) and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,^[a](G) saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”