הֶאָפֵ֣ס לָנֶ֣צַח חַסְדּ֑וֹ גָּ֥מַר אֹ֝֗מֶר לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃
Is His mercy clean gone for ever? Is His promise come to an end for evermore?
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
He writes subsequently that their sin consisted of the word אפס, that though they had spoken truthfully, and had reported on what they had been asked to report, that word means "zero," in the sense that the chances of accomplishing one's objective were "zero," non existent.