Deuteronomy 32:25-27

New Catholic Bible

²⁵ Outside the sword will leave them childless,
    inside there will be only terror.
Upon the young man and the virgin,
    the infant and the old gray-haired man.
²⁶ I said, ‘I will scatter them
    and wipe out remembrance of them from among humans,’
²⁷ except that I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
    lest the foe misunderstand and say,
‘Our hand has triumphed;
    the Lord has not done this!’ ”