Parashas Shelach · Side page (TT silent)
And they will say to the inhabitant of this land: They have heard that You, Hashem, are in the midst of this people, that You are seen eye to eye, and Your cloud stands over them, and in a pillar of cloud You go before them by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
Classic: the visible cloud and fire make any destruction public proof before the nations.
English: They have heard that You, Hashem, are in the midst of this people… and in a pillar of cloud You go before them by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
Public presence of the Divine as argument for mercy.
TT silent; Moshe piles the visible signs so that the nations cannot say the God of Israel abandoned His people in secret.