Deuteronomy 32:25-27

New Living Translation

²⁵ Outside, the sword will bring death,
    and inside, terror will strike
both young men and young women,
    both infants and the aged.
²⁶ I would have annihilated them,
    wiping out even the memory of them.
²⁷ But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy,
    who might misunderstand and say,
“Our own power has triumphed!
    The Lord had nothing to do with this!”’