Numbers 14:21

21 But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD ’s glory,

Numbers 14:21 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:21

But [as truly as] I live
Which is the form of an oath, as the Targum; the Lord swears by his life, or by himself, because he could swear by no greater:

all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord;
this is not the thing sworn unto or confirmed, but that by which the oath is made and confirmed; and the sense is, that as sure as the earth "had been" filled with the glory of the Lord, as it may be rendered, as it had been with the fame of what he had done in Egypt, and at the Red sea; or as it "should be" filled with it in later times, especially in the kingdom of the Messiah in the latter day; see ( Isaiah 6:3 ) ( Habakkuk 1:14 ) ; so sure the men that had provoked him should not see the land of Canaan.

Numbers 14:21 In-Context

19 In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

20 Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.

21 But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD ’s glory,

22 not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

23 They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.