Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Bill,
     You suggested that many translations of Num 14:18 turn the words into
"double-speak" by adding "the guilty" after "He will not leave unpunished."
By "double-speak" I assume you mean that the verse would first say that God
forgives sin and then would say that He punishes sin. If He forgives it,
why does He punish it? If He forgives, why are the people still guilty?
[BTW, it seems wrong to say that NF&F) does not mean "forgive" when that is
a meaning found to be suitable by lexica at many verses.]
     The solution of these versions to insert "guilty" probably arises from
reading of Num 14:18 alongside Exod 20:5. There God divides people into two
groups, those who love Him and those who hate Him. Numbers 14:18 utilizes
this foundational passage in a condensed form, leaving the reader to supply
the missing elements. God is not forgiving and punishing the same group of
people simultaneously. He is forgiving those who love Him and punishing
those who hate Him.

                                                        Sincerely,
                                                        Harold Holmyard