Numbers 14:16 (DBY)

Passage

Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land that he had sworn unto them, he has therefore slain them in the wilderness.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, [who] have heard that thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of this people, that thou, Jehovah, lettest thyself be seen eye to eye, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night;

Numbers 14:15 if thou now slayest this people as one man, then the nations that have heard thy fame will speak, saying,

Numbers 14:16 Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land that he had sworn unto them, he has therefore slain them in the wilderness.

Numbers 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

Numbers 14:18 Jehovah is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth [generation].

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "able", "bring", "people", "land", "sworn", "therefore", and "slain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "able", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "if thou now slayest this people as..." into verse 17's "And now I beseech thee let the...", so "jehovah" and "able" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jehovah" and "able" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.