Numbers 14:18
in Numbers 14‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
KJV
The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
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This verse in Numbers 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThat is to say, God will not punish us at once for our thoughts and resolves but will send retribution upon their offspring, that is, upon the evil deeds and habits of sin which arise out of them.
This site's exposition
let the power of my Lord be great
on Numbers 14:17-19
Moses says according as thou hast spoken and then quotes God's own words back to him. What he quotes is the self-description of Exodus 34:6-7, given to him on the mountain after the calf, and he keeps the hard half of it as well as the mild half. This is the earliest place in Scripture where a man prays a sentence of God's own back to God, and the words he chooses are the words spoken to a nation that had just failed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The Lord is longsuffering,....
The more danger there is of others reproaching God's power the more desirous we should be to see it glorified. To enforce this petition, he refers to the word which God had spoken: The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy. God's goodness had there been spoken of as his glory;
A mitigation of the sentence in answer to the prayer of Moses; they shall not all be cut off, but the decree goes forth ratified with an oath, published to the people, again and again repeated, that this whole congregation should perish in the wilderness, and none of them enter Canaan but Caleb and Joshua only,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord is longsuffering - See the note on Exo 34:6.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶ֤רֶךְ | ʾerekh | [is] long of | H750 → | |
| אַפַּ֙יִם֙ | ʾapayim | anger<s> | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְרַב־ | verav- | and great of | H7227 → | 454 times |
| חֶ֔סֶד | chesed | covenant loyalty | H2617 → | |
| נֹשֵׂ֥א | nose' | forgiving | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עָוֹ֖ן | ʾavon | iniquity | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וָפָ֑שַׁע | vafasha' | and transgression | H6588 → | |
| וְנַקֵּה֙ | venakeh | and certainly <to leave unpunished> | H5352 → | 44 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְנַקֶּ֔ה | yenakeh | he will leave unpunished | H5352 → | 44 times |
| פֹּקֵ֞ד | poked | visiting | H6485 → | 303 times |
| עֲוֹ֤ן | ʾavon | [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| אָבוֹת֙ | ʾavot | parents | H1 → | 1212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּנִ֔ים | banim | [the] children | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים | shileshim | a third generation | H8029 → | |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רִבֵּעִֽים׃ | ribeim | a fourth generation | H7256 → |
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶ֤רֶךְ[is] long of
ʾerekhH750 →
אַפַּ֙יִם֙anger<s>
ʾapayimH639 →276 times
וְרַב־and great of
verav-H7227 →454 times
חֶ֔סֶדcovenant loyalty
chesedH2617 →
נֹשֵׂ֥אforgiving
nose'H5375 →656 times
עָוֹ֖ןiniquity
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
וָפָ֑שַׁעand transgression
vafasha'H6588 →
וְנַקֵּה֙and certainly <to leave unpunished>
venakehH5352 →44 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְנַקֶּ֔הhe will leave unpunished
yenakehH5352 →44 times
פֹּקֵ֞דvisiting
pokedH6485 →303 times
עֲוֹ֤ן[the] iniquity of
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
אָבוֹת֙parents
ʾavotH1 →1212 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּנִ֔ים[the] children
banimH1121 →4930 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖יםa third generation
shileshimH8029 →
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
רִבֵּעִֽים׃a fourth generation
ribeimH7256 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jonah 4:2So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish.…
it leads to
- Psalms 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 34:6–7
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Numbers 14:18–19
‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…
- Joel 2:13–14
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Psalms 145:8
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 86:15
Through
Exodus 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:9
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 5:9
Through
Psalms 145:8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
it leads to
- Psalms 103:8
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 103:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, LETTER 130.8; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.