Numbers 14:16

16 'Because the LORD ¹could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.'

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 tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD , are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD , are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

15 "Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,

16 'Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.'

17 "But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared ,

18 'The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.'

Cross References

• 1. Joshua 7:7