Numbers 14:21 (WEB)

Passage

but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory;

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your loving kindness, and just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Numbers 14:20 Yahweh said, “I have pardoned according to your word:

Numbers 14:21 but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory;

Numbers 14:22 because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;

Numbers 14:23 surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "very", "deed", "live", "earth", "shall", "filled", "yahweh", and "glory". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "very" and "deed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Yahweh said I have pardoned according to..." into verse 22's "because all those men who have seen...", so "very" and "deed" 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 "very" and "deed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.