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 may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.” 14Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.” 16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. 17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood 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 4:12Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you, and since I will do that to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God!
• Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach.
• Matthew 3:10The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 24:44This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
• 2 Peter 3:11Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness
• Exodus 19:11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
• 1 Samuel 21:4The priest told him, “There is no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread, but the young men may eat it only if they have kept themselves from women.”
• Joel 2:16Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the infants, even babies nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
• Zechariah 6:3the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses — all strong horses.
• Zechariah 7:3by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?”
• Zechariah 12:12The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s house by itself and their women by themselves;
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you 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