Now please let the power of the Lord be great, according as you have spoken, saying,
Parallel Translations
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Now please let the power of the Lord be great, according as you have spoken, saying,
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And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
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And now, I pray Thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying:
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Numbers 14:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Micah 3:8 But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his disobedience, and to Israel his sin.
- Matthew 9:6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins-” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go to your house.”
- Matthew 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the…
Num 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Ver. 17. Let the power of my Lord be great.] In multiplying pardons, {Isa 55:8} in passing by the many and bony, or "mighty sins of" {a} this people, such sins as none else could or would pardon: "For who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth such iniquity?" &c. {Mic 7:18} Hebricians have observed, that in the word jidgal here used in the original text, there is a great jod, which in numbering is ten, to show, that if the people should murmur ten times more against God than they had done, yet out of tender respect to his own great name, which would otherwise be basely blasphemed, he should pardon and spare them. {Hebrew Text Note}
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{a} Amo 5:12. Heb., Bony sins, fortia peccata.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Be great, i.e. appear to be great, discover its…
Be great, i.e. appear to be great, discover its greatness; a real verb put for a declarative, or the thing for the manifestation of the thing. And this may be understood either,
1. Of God’s power in preserving the people, and carrying them on into Canaan, which sense may seem to be favoured by the foregoing verse, where the Egyptians deny that God had power to do so. And according to that sense he adds the following words, not as an explication of this power, but as an argument to move him to show forth his power for his people notwithstanding their sins, according as, or rather because, (as the Hebrew word is oft rendered,) he had spoken, saying, &c., and so he should maintain the honour and the truth of his own name, or of those titles which he had ascribed to himself. Or,
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2. The power of his grace and mercy, or the greatness of his mercy, as he calls it, Num 14:19, in pardoning of this and their other sins; for to this the following words manifestly restrain it,
according as thou hast spoken, & c., where the pardon of their sins is the only instance of this power both described in God’s titles, Num 14:18, and prayed for by Moses, Num 14:19, pardon, I beseech thee, &c., and granted by God in answer to him, Num 14:20, I have pardoned, &c. Nor is it strange that the pardon of sin, especially of such great sins, be spoken of as an act of power in God, because undoubtedly it is an act of omnipotent and infinite goodness; whence despairing sinners sometimes cry out that their sins are greater than God can pardon, as some translate Cain’s words, Gen 4:13. And since power is applied to God’s wrath in punishing sin, Rom 9:22, why may it not as well be attributed to God’s mercy in forgiving it? especially if it be considered that even in men revenge is an act of impotency, and consequently it must needs be an act of power to conquer their passions and inclinations to revenge, and to pardon those enemies whom they could destroy.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And now, I beseech thee, let the power of…
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Lord be great,.... That is, appear to be great; the power of God is great, not only mighty, but almighty; it knows no bounds, nothing is impossible with him, he can do whatever he pleases, Psa 147:5; his power, and the greatness of it, had been seen in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and in providing for them, protecting and defending them in the wilderness; and the request of Moses is, that it might appear greater and greater in bringing them into the land of promise; or else he means an exceeding great display of the grace and mercy of God in the forgiveness of the sins of the people; for as the power of God is seen in his forbearance and longsuffering with the wicked, Rom 9:22; much more in the forgiveness of the sins of men, there being more power and virtue in grace to pardon, than there is in sin to damn; and as it is an indication of strength in men, and of their power over themselves, when they can rule their own spirits, keep under their passions, and restrain their wrath, and show a forgiving temper, Pro 16:32; so it is an instance of the power of God to overcome his wrath and anger stirred up by the sins of men; and, notwithstanding their provocations, freely to forgive: pardon of sin is an act of power, as well as of grace and mercy, see Mat 9:6; and this sense agrees with what follows. The first letter in the word for "great" is larger than usual, that it might be taken notice of; and to signify the exceeding greatness of the power of God, Moses desired might be displayed in this case: and the letter numerically signifies ten, and has been thought to respect the ten times that Israel tempted the Lord, Num 14:22; and to suggest, that though they had so done, yet the grace and mercy of God should ten times exceed the ingratitude of the people (u):
according as thou hast spoken, saying; as in Exo 34:6; and is as follows.
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(u) Baal Hatturim in loc. & Buxtorf. Tiberias, c. 14. p. 38.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Be great - That is appear to be great,…
Be great - That is appear to be great, discover its greatness: namely, the power of his grace and mercy, or the greatness of his mercy, in pardoning this and their other sins: for to this the following words manifestly restrain it, where the pardon of their sins is the only instance of this power both described in God's titles, ver. 18, and prayed for by Moses ver. 19, and granted by God in answer to him, xiv, 20. Nor is it strange that the pardon of sin, especially such great sins, is spoken of as an act of power in God, because undoubtedly it is an act of omnipotent and infinite goodness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Lord, in overcoming all difficulties, raised either by the…
Lord, in overcoming all difficulties, raised either by the enemy, or by thy rebellious people.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain let the power of my Lord be great--be magnified.
let the power of my Lord be great--be magnified.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. let the power of my Lord be great]…
17. let the power of my Lord be great] The title Adonai is employed, not (as in Num_14:16; Num_14:18) the personal name Jehovah.
according as thou hast spoken] i.e. in Exo_34:6-7, which is here slightly abbreviated. Moses means that the divine power can shew itself in Jehovah’s ability to pardon and punish according to His supreme will.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17, 18) And now, I beseech thee, let the…
(17, 18) And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great.—The word Lord in Num_14:17 should not be printed in large capitals in this place, as in the Authorised Version of 1611, inasmuch as it is the rendering of Adonai, not of Jehovah, as in Num_14:18. Moses here employs a second argument, founded on the revelation of God’s name (i.e., His nature), as made to him on Mount Sinai (Exo_34:6-7), the substance of which he here recites in the same terms.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And now, I beseech thee, let the power of…
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great. Here the argument of Moses rises to a higher level; he ventures to put God in mind of what he had himself declared to Moses in the fullest revelation which he had ever made of his own unchangeable character, viz., that of all Divine prerogatives, the most Divine was that of forgiving sins and showing mercy. According as thou hast spoken. See on Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7. The words are not quoted exactly as there given, but are substantially the same.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 abundant in covenant faithfulness
abundant in covenant faithfulness
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be stated as "faithful" or "faithfully." AT: "always faithful to his covenant" or "always faithfully loves his people" (See: Abstract Nouns)
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He will by no means clear the guilty
"he will certainly not clear guilty people." Clearing away people's sin is a metaphor for refusing to punish them. God would not clear away the sin of guilty people. AT: "He will always punish the guilty" (See: Metaphor)
when he brings the punishment of the ancestors' sin on their descendants
Punishing people is spoken of as if punishment were an object that could be brought and put on people. AT: "when he punishes the guilty people's descendants for the guilty people's sins" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
beg
power
Yahweh
anger
covenant faithfulness
forgive
iniquity
transgress
guilt
punish
sin
descend
generation
forgive
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:17-18 Moses had used this same argument earlier when…
14:17-18 Moses had used this same argument earlier when he sought pardon for Israel’s rebellion (Exod 32:10-14). Moses knew that God would not let the Israelites off without punishment (Deut 7:9-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.