Numbers 14:13-19

New Catholic Bible

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your power you brought this people out from their midst. ¹⁴ They will report it to the people of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if you kill this people as if it were a single man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he promised them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, my Lord, show your great power, for as you have declared, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the father upon the sons to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ By your great mercy, I beseech you, forgive this people, just as you have forgiven this people ever since they left Egypt until now.”