Bible Strands
Numbers 14:21
“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses and the Israelite congregation immediately after pronouncing forgiveness for their idolatry, using a solemn oath to define the boundary of that pardon.
The words — The text anchors its guarantee in חַי אָנִי (chai ani, "as I live") and declares וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹד יְהוָה (ve-yimmale k'vod Yahweh, "and the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD") as an inescapable reality.
The thread — This specific formulation of universal divine glory recurs in Psalms 72:19, Habakkuk 2:14, and Isaiah 6:3.
Why it lands — The verse establishes that God's judicial and merciful decisions rest on His own unchanging life and ultimate sovereignty, requiring the reader to submit to His authority rather than rely on human merit.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Psalms 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
- Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
- Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”
- Deuteronomy 32:40 For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
- Isaiah 49:18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.
- Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
- Ezekiel 5:11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Ezekiel 18:3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
- Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
- Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”