Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said, “I have pardoned according to your word:
- KJV And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
- BSB “I have pardoned them as you requested,” the LORD replied.
- NKJV Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;
- NASB So the Lord said, “I have forgiven them in accordance with your word;
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God answered that He had pardoned the people according to Moses' word. Mercy spared the nation from total destruction.
Overview
In response to Moses' intercession, the LORD granted forgiveness, sparing Israel from being wiped out. Yet pardon from destruction did not mean the unbelieving generation escaped all consequences. God's mercy and His discipline operate together, as the following verses make clear.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness.
- Ps 106:23Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
- Jas 5:16Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 14:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.