Numbers 14:20

20 The Lord answered, "I have forgiven them as you asked.

Numbers 14:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:20

And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word.
] So as not to kill them utterly as one man: which is an instance of his being plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive; and of the virtue and efficacy of the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, and of the great regard the Lord has to the prayers of a good man for others. The Jerusalem Targum is,

``and the Word of the Lord said, lo, I have remitted and forgiven according to thy word;''

which must be understood of Christ, the essential Word, and shows, according to the sense of the Targumist, that he has a power to forgive sin, and must be a divine Person, for none can forgive sin but God; see ( Mark 2:7 Mark 2:10 ) .

Numbers 14:20 In-Context

18 'The Lord doesn't become angry quickly, but he has great love. He forgives sin and law breaking. But the Lord never forgets to punish guilty people. When parents sin, he will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, and their great-great-grandchildren.'

19 By your great love, forgive these people's sin, just as you have forgiven them from the time they left Egypt until now."

20 The Lord answered, "I have forgiven them as you asked.

21 But, as surely as I live and as surely as my glory fills the whole earth, I make this promise:

22 All these men saw my glory and the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert, but they disobeyed me and tested me ten times.