Numbers 14:18

The Lord is longsuffering ,.... Towards all men, and especially towards his own people:

and of great mercy , being abundant in goodness, and keeping mercy for thousands:

forgiving iniquity and transgression , all sorts of sin:

and by no means clearing the guilty , visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation ; which may seem to make against the plea of Moses for mercy and forgiveness; but the reason of these words being expressed seems to be, because they go along with the others in the passage referred to, and are no contradiction to the forgiving mercy of God in a way of justice; nor did Moses request to have the guilty cleared from punishment altogether, but that God would show mercy, at least to such a degree as not to cut off the whole nation, and leave no posterity to inherit the land; which is supposed in visiting the sin of the fathers to the third or fourth generation.