Numbers 14:18 (DRB)

Passage

The Lord is patient and full of mercy, by taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:16 He could not bring the people into the land for which he had sworn, therefore did he kill them in the wilderness.

Numbers 14:17 Let then the strength of the Lord be magnified, as thou hast sworn, saying:

Numbers 14:18 The Lord is patient and full of mercy, by taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Numbers 14:19 Forgive, I beseech thee, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, as thou hast been merciful to them from their going out of Egypt unto this place.

Numbers 14:20 And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "lord", "patient", "full", "taking", "away", "iniquity", and "wickedness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Let then the strength of the Lord..." into verse 19's "Forgive I beseech thee the sins of...", so "mercy" and "lord" 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 "mercy" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.