¹⁷ So they refused to listen,
        and they did not remember your wonders that you did for them.
        They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
        in order to return to their slavery in Egypt.
        But you are a God who is forgiving, merciful, and compassionate,
        slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
        So you did not abandon them.
¹⁸ However, they made a cast metal calf for themselves and said,
        “This is your god who brought you up from Egypt,”
        and they committed great blasphemies.
¹⁹ But in your abundant compassion, you did not abandon them in the wilderness.
        By day the pillar of cloud did not depart from above them
        or stop leading them on their way.
        By night the pillar of fire did not stop lighting the way that they should go.