13 But Moses said to God, "The Egyptians are going to hear about this! You delivered this people from Egypt with a great show of strength, and now this? 14 The Egyptians will tell everyone. They've already heard that you are God, that you are on the side of this people, that you are present among them, that they see you with their own eyes in your Cloud that hovers over them, in the Pillar of Cloud that leads them by day and the Pillar of Fire at night. 15 If you kill this entire people in one stroke, all the nations that have heard what has been going on will say, 16 'Since God couldn't get these people into the land which he had promised to give them, he slaughtered them out in the wilderness.' 17 "Now, please, let the power of the Master expand, enlarge itself greatly, along the lines you have laid out earlier when you said, 18 God, slow to get angry and huge in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin; Still, never just whitewashing sin. But extending the fallout of parents' sins to children into the third, even the fourth generation. 19 "Please forgive the wrongdoing of this people out of the extravagance of your loyal love just as all along, from the time they left Egypt, you have been forgiving this people."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 14:13-19

Commentary on Numbers 14:11-19

(Read Numbers 14:11-19)

Moses made humble intercession for Israel. Herein he was a type of Christ, who prayed for those that despitefully used him. The pardon of a nation's sin, is the turning away the nation's punishment; and for that Moses is here so earnest. Moses argued that, consistently with God's character, in his abundant mercies, he could forgive them.