Numbers 14:19 (KJV)

Passage

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.

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 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.

Numbers 14:20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:

Numbers 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "pardon", "beseech", "thee", "iniquity", "people", "greatness", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "pardon", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "The LORD is longsuffering and of great..." into verse 20's "And the LORD said I have pardoned...", so "mercy" and "pardon" 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 "pardon" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.