Exodus 19:15

Exodus 19:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
• New International Version (NIV)Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”

Context of Exodus 19:15

13No hand shall touch him [that is, no one shall try to save the guilty party], but the offender must be stoned or shot through [with arrows]; whether man or animal [that touches the mountain], he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified them [for God’s sacred purpose], and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, “Be prepared for the third day; do not be intimate with a woman.” 16So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and flashes of lightning, and a thick cloud was on the mountain, and a very loud blast was sounded on a ram’s horn, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood and presented themselves at the foot of the mountain.

Exodus 19:15 word by word

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־הָעָ֔ם הֱי֥וּ נְכֹנִ֖ים לִשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים אַֽל־תִּגְּשׁ֖וּ אֶל־אִשָּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• Beהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• readyכּוּןkûn · to establish: prepareH3559
• against the thirdשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• comeנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802

Cross-references for Exodus 19:15

• Amos 4:12“Therefore this is what I shall do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God [in judgment], O Israel!”
• Malachi 3:2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap [which removes impurities and uncleanness].
• Matthew 3:10And already the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 24:44Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
• 2 Peter 3:11Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be [in the meantime] in holy behavior [that is, in a pattern of daily life that sets you apart as a believer] and in godliness [displaying profound reverence toward our awesome God],
• Exodus 19:11and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.
• 1 Samuel 21:4The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; [you may have it] if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”
• Joel 2:16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. [No one is excused from the assembly.]
• Zechariah 6:3the third chariot had white horses (victory), and the fourth chariot had strong dappled horses (death through judgment).
• Zechariah 7:3speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying, “[Now that I am returned from exile] shall I weep in the fifth month [mourning the destruction of the temple], and fast as I have done these many years [in Babylon]?”
• Zechariah 12:12The land will mourn, every family by itself; the [royal] family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan [David’s son] by itself and their wives by themselves;
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other [of marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves [unhindered] to prayer, but come together again so that Satan will not tempt you [to sin] because of your lack of self-control.

Commentaries on Exodus 19:15

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 The solemn manner in which the law was delivered, was to impress the people with a right sense of the Divine majesty. Also to convince them of their own guilt, and to show that they could not stand in judgment before God by their own obedience. In the law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he is, and what he wants. There he learns the nature, necessity, and glory of redemption, and of being made holy. Having been taught to flee to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-15In the second stage of preparation, the people received commands that helped them get ready for God’s covenant. First, they had to wash their clothing (19:10, 14). This act showed that God is pure. Second, they had to set up a boundary around the mountain and not cross it (19:12–13). This command showed that God is holy (completely set apart). Third, they had to abstain from sexual relations (19:15). This instruction reminded them that God is not a sexual…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-159-15. The Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come ... in a thick cloud, &c.--The deepest impressions are made on the mind through the medium of the senses; and so He who knew what was in man signalized His descent at the inauguration of the ancient church, by all the sensible tokens of august majesty that were fitted to produce the conviction that He is the great and terrible God. The whole multitude must have anticipated the event with feelings of intense…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 19:15

• Israel
• Purification
• Sinai
• Trumpet

In the dictionaries

• Third Day
• Commandments, the Ten
• Festivals, Religious
• Kingdom
• Return
• Sanctify
• Thunder
• Treasure
• Wing
• Essenes

Commentaries on Exodus 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings