Exodus 14:12 (LSB)

Passage

Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than for us to die in the wilderness.”

Nearby Context

Exodus 14:10 Now Pharaoh drew near, and the sons of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very afraid; so the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh.

Exodus 14:11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this you have done against us in bringing us out of Egypt?

Exodus 14:12 Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than for us to die in the wilderness.”

Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Yahweh which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

Exodus 14:14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you will keep silent.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "word", "spoke", "egypt", "saying", "leave", "alone", "serve", and "egyptians". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "word" and "spoke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Then they said to Moses Is it..." into verse 13's "But Moses said to the people Do...", so "word" and "spoke" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "word" and "spoke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.