Numbers 14:16

16 Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land.

Numbers 14:16 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:16

Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the
land which he sware unto them
That though he brought them out of Egypt, he was not able to bring them through the wilderness into Canaan; and that though he had wrought many signs and wonders for them, he could work no more, his power failed him, he had exhausted all his might, and could not perform the promise and oath he had made:

therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness;
because he could not fulfil his word, and so made short work of it, destroying them all together, which Moses suggests would greatly reflect dishonour on him; and in this he shows, that he was more concerned for the glory of God than for his own.

Numbers 14:16 In-Context

14 And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

15 Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say,

16 Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land.

17 So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said:

18 The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation.