וַתָּ֧חָס עֵינִ֛י עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מִֽשַּׁחֲתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־עָשִׂ֧יתִי אוֹתָ֛ם כָּלָ֖ה בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃
Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.
Read midrashic interpretation of Ezekiel 20:17: and classical rabbinic exegesis.