25 “So I bowed down before the Lord 40 days and 40 nights, because the Lord said he would destroy you.
26 I prayed to the Lord. I said, ‘Lord GOD, don’t destroy your people. They belong to you. You freed them and brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.
27 Remember your promise to your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Forget how stubborn these people are. Don’t look at their evil ways or their sins.
28 If you punish your people, the Egyptians might say, “The Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them. And he hated them. So he took them into the desert to kill them.”
29 But they are your people, Lord. They belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.’