18 a‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, bvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’
19 aPardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, baccording to the greatness of Your mercy, just cas You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, aaccording to your word;
21 but truly, as I live, aall the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—
22 abecause all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now bthese ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
23 they certainly shall not asee the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
24 But My servant aCaleb, because he has a different spirit in him and bhas followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and amove out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”
Death Sentence on the Rebels
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
27 a“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? bI have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me.
28 aSay to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:
29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, aall of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
30 aExcept for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I1 swore I would make you dwell in.
31 aBut your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall1 know the land which byou have despised.
32 But as for you, ayour carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your sons shall abe shepherds in the wilderness bforty years, and cbear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.
34 aAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, bforty days, for each day you shall bear your1 guilt one year, namely forty years, cand you shall know My rejection.
35 aI the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all bthis evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ”
36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land,
37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, adied by the plague before the Lord.
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Book Notes:
Robertson's Book Notes (NT)
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