Numbers 14:19 (GNV)

Passage

Be mercifull, I beseech thee, vnto the iniquitie of this people, according to thy great mercie, and as thou hast forgiuen this people from Egypt, euen vntill nowe.

Nearby Context

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

Numbers 14:18 The Lord is slowe to anger, and of great mercie, and forgiuing iniquitie, and sinne, but not making the wicked innocent, and visiting the wickednes of the fathers vpon the children, in the thirde and fourth generation:

Numbers 14:19 Be mercifull, I beseech thee, vnto the iniquitie of this people, according to thy great mercie, and as thou hast forgiuen this people from Egypt, euen vntill nowe.

Numbers 14:20 And the Lord said, I haue forgiuen it, according to thy request.

Numbers 14:21 Notwithstanding, as I liue, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercifull", "beseech", "thee", "vnto", "iniquitie", "people", "great", and "mercie". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercifull" and "beseech", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "The Lord is slowe to anger and..." into verse 20's "And the Lord said I haue forgiuen...", so "mercifull" and "beseech" 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 "mercifull" and "beseech" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.