Another matter, “God did not lead them [naḥam].” Although Pharaoh let them go, the Holy One blessed be He was not mollified. To what is this matter comparable? It is [comparable] to a king whose son was taken captive, and his father went to save him from the highwaymen, and he killed them.
The son was saying to his father: ‘This and that they did to me, this is how they struck me and enslaved me.’ Even though he killed them, he would not be mollified; rather, he would say: ‘This and that they did to my son.’ So the Egyptians did; they enslaved Israel, as it is stated: “They embittered their lives” (Exodus 1:14). The Holy One blessed be He brought ten plagues upon them and redeemed His children.
Nevertheless, He would say: I will not be mollified [mitnaḥem] until I kill all of them, as it is stated: “The Lord overturned Egypt in the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:27), and it is written: “The horse and its rider He cast into the sea” (Exodus 15:1), and it is written: “Egypt shall be a desolation” (Joel 4:19); that is why it is stated: “…did not lead them [naḥam].”