Numbers 14:17 (KJV)

Passage

And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

Numbers 14:16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

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 longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Numbers 14:19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beseech", "thee", "power", "lord", "great", "thou", "hast", and "spoken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beseech" and "thee", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Because the LORD was not able to..." into verse 18's "The LORD is longsuffering and of great...", so "beseech" and "thee" 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 "beseech" and "thee" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.