Nevertheless mine eye spared them, and I destroyed them not, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.

Yet my eye spared them, so that I destroyed them not: neither did I consume them in the desert.

And Mine eye hath pity on them, against destroying them, And I have not made of them an end in the wilderness.

But still my eye had pity on them and I kept them from destruction and did not put an end to them completely in the waste land.

Yet my eye was lenient concerning them, so that I did not utterly destroy them, nor did I consume them in the desert.

Et pepercit oculus meus super ipsos [269] ne perderem ipsos, et ne facerem ipsos [270] consumptionem in deserto.

This is added, because God often afflicted the people with heavy punishments, but he restrained himself, that he should not utterly destroy both their persons and their name. He says, then, that he spared them through respect for his own name, as he formerly said, that he should not execute consumption on them; that is, that he should not utterly blot out the memory of them. He did not spare them entirely to foster their depravity by his indulgence, but as we shall afterwards see, he withdrew his hand that he should not consume them, as he might most justly have done. It now follows --

Nevertheless, mine eye spared them from destroying them,.... Utterly, so as to leave neither root nor branch; for though the whole generation died excepting two, either by the immediate hand of God in wrath, or else by ordinary deaths; yet there was a generation raised up in their stead, to whom mercy was shown:
neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness; that they should be no more a nation and people; though the carcasses of them that believed not fell in the wilderness, and never saw the good land, yet their posterity was spared to see it, and did.

Nevertheless--How marvellous that God should spare such sinners! His everlasting covenant explains it, His long-suffering standing out in striking contrast to their rebellions (Psalm 78:38; Jeremiah 30:11).