Numbers 14:19
in Numbers 14Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Pardon, I pray thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy lovingkindness, and according as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
KJV
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
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This verse in Numbers 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
may the power of my Lord be magnified
on Numbers 14:17-19
Moses asks that the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared, and then quotes God's words back to Him. The quotation is the self-description of Exodus 34:6-7, given after the calf, and he keeps its hard half with its mild half.
This site's exposition
Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people
Moses measures the pardon by the greatness of God's loving devotion, the hesed of verse 18, and grounds it on the forgiveness shown since Egypt. Psalm 99:8 says God was a forgiving God to Moses and Aaron and an avenger of their misdeeds. Verse 20 grants the pardon.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), that is, "Do not bring upon them the ruin they deserve." This was Christ's prayer for those that crucified him, Father forgive them. The pardon of a national sin, as such, consists in the turning away of the national punishment; and that is it for which Moses is here so earnest.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
35 I the L ORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. We have here God's answer to the prayer of Moses, which sings both of mercy and judgment. It is given privately to Moses (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy,....
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
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people - From Num 14:13 to Num 14:19 inclusive we have the words of Moses’s intercession; they need no explanation, they are full of simplicity and energy; his arguments with God (for be did reason and argue with his Maker) are pointed, cogent, and respectful; and while they show a heart full of humanity, they evidence the deepest concern for the glory of God. The argumentum ad hominem is here used in the most unexceptionable manner, and with the fullest effect.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| סְלַֽח־ | selach- | forgive | H5545 → | 46 times |
| נָ֗א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לַעֲוֹ֛ן | laavon | <to> [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הָעָ֥ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כְּגֹ֣דֶל | kegodel | according to [the] greatness of | H1433 → | |
| חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ | chasdekha | covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | |
| וְכַאֲשֶׁ֤ר | vekhaasher | and just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָשָׂ֙אתָה֙ | nasatah | you have forgiven | H5375 → | 656 times |
| לָעָ֣ם | laam | <to> the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הֵֽנָּה׃ | henah | now | H2008 → |
סְלַֽח־forgive
selach-H5545 →46 times
נָ֗אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לַעֲוֹ֛ן<to> [the] iniquity of
laavonH5771 →233 times
הָעָ֥םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כְּגֹ֣דֶלaccording to [the] greatness of
kegodelH1433 →
חַסְדֶּ֑ךָcovenant loyalty your
chasdekhaH2617 →
וְכַאֲשֶׁ֤רand just as
vekhaasherH834 →5497 times
נָשָׂ֙אתָה֙you have forgiven
nasatahH5375 →656 times
לָעָ֣ם<to> the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
מִמִּצְרַ֖יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְעַד־and until
vead-H5704 →1261 times
הֵֽנָּה׃now
henahH2008 →
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
Exodus 32:32Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”
it leads to
- Psalms 69:28
May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.
- Romans 9:3
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Philippians 4:3
Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in…
- Daniel 12:1
“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning…
- Psalms 69:28
Through
Exodus 34:9“O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as…
it leads to
- Psalms 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance!
- Deuteronomy 32:9
But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
- Psalms 94:14
For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
- Psalms 33:12
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Forgiveness35 verses
On this page
Studies14
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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.