Did the Lord pardon the iniquity of the rebellion in Numbers 14?

Question

Number 14:20-23 (NKJV)

20 Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD— 22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it

.After Moses intrvention during the rebellion in Numbers 14, God says he has pardoned.

But in the next few verses God goes ahead & pronounces judgment on the rebels

Did God actually pardon these rebels?

Answer 1

The many commentaries understand the word כדבריך, "according to your word" to mean that God pardoned the nation as far as what Moses had already said, namely:

Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, (Numbers 14:15, KJV)

Therefore, punishing the nation slowly, and still bringing them into the promised land would accomplish this.

So to conclude, God did not pardon them fully, but rather delayed/weakened their judgment based on Moses' intervention.