Exodus 14:12
Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
Cross-reference
Exodus 3:9 shows the people crying out for deliverance — a stark contrast to their later plea to return to Egypt.
Exodus 5:21 records the earlier complaint to Moses that the people recall here — 'you have made us stink in Pharaoh's sight.'
In Exodus 13:17, God foresaw Israel would want to return; this complaint fulfills that concern.
In Exodus 6:9, Israel refused to listen due to broken spirit — consistent unbelief that reappears in the complaint against Moses.
In Exodus 17:2, Israel again quarrels with Moses — another instance of grumbling against God's provision.
In Jonah 4:3, Jonah declares 'better to die than to live' — the same death-wish logic as Israel preferring slavery over wilderness death.
In Joshua 7:7, Joshua echoes the same complaint of 'would that we had stayed' — revealing how later leaders repeat the fear of the Exodus generation.
Psalm 106:7 directly names the rebellion 'by the sea, at the Red Sea' — confirming this complaint as a key example of Israel's unbelief.
Acts 7:39 says the fathers 'in their hearts turned to Egypt' — a direct summary of the Exodus 14 complaint, showing persistent rebellion.
Psalm 78:42 recounts Israel forgetting God's power — linking their complaint at the sea to a pattern of spiritual amnesia.
In Numbers 20:4, Israel complains 'why bring us to die here?' — same wilderness death-wish pattern as earlier.
In 1 Samuel 8:8, God cites the people's rebellion from Egypt onward — this complaint becomes proof of their chronic unfaithfulness.