God pardoned the people according to Moses’ prayer; nevertheless, their unbelief had certain negative consequences (vv. 21-38). Cf. Heb. 3:7-19. God forgave the sinning Israelites yet still punished them. This shows that God’s forgiveness is of different kinds. One kind is forgiveness through punishment. Cf. note Matt. 12:322b and note Matt. 18:341.