Exodus 19:21

Exodus 19:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
• New International Version (NIV)and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.

Context of Exodus 19:21

19The noise of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke to God and God answered him with a loud voice. 20The Lord came down onto the top of Sinai mountain. Then the Lord told Moses that he must come up to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up the mountain. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down to the people. Warn them that they must stay away from the mountain. They must not cross the line to try to see me, the Lord. If they do that, many of them will die. 22Even the priests must make themselves clean before they come near to me. If they do not obey this command, I will punish them. I am the Lord.’ 23Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up Sinai mountain. You warned us that we must make a line round the edge of the mountain. You said that we must make the mountain a special place.’

Exodus 19:21 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה רֵ֖ד הָעֵ֣ד בָּעָ֑ם פֶּן־יֶהֶרְס֤וּ אֶל־יְהוָה֙ לִרְא֔וֹת וְנָפַ֥ל מִמֶּ֖נּוּ רָֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Go downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• chargeעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• lest they break throughהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040
• to gazeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• of them perishנָפַלnâphal · to fall: killH5307

Cross-references for Exodus 19:21

• Exodus 19:12Make a line round the edge of the mountain so that the people do not cross it. Say to them, “Be careful! Do not go up the mountain or even touch the edge of it. If any people or animals touch the mountain, they must die.
• Exodus 3:3Moses said to himself, ‘I will go nearer and see this strange thing. I want to see why the bush is not completely burned.’
• Exodus 33:20But you will never see my face. Nobody can see my face and still be alive.’
• 1 Samuel 6:19But some of the men from Beth Shemesh looked inside the Lord's Covenant Box. So God killed 70 of them. The people were very sad because the Lord had punished them so much.
• Ecclesiastes 5:1When you go to God's temple, be careful what you do. Listen carefully when you come near to God. Do not offer sacrifices in the way that foolish people do. They do not even know that they are doing something bad.
• Hebrews 12:28But we are receiving a place where we will rule with God. We belong to God's kingdom, and nobody can ever shake that! So we should thank God. We should worship him in a way that makes him happy. He is great, and we should serve him well and respect him.

Commentaries on Exodus 19:21

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-25Verses 16-25 Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since, as this which was preached to the church in the wilderness. It might be supposed that the terrors would have checked presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard heart of an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution. We cannot stand…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-25The repeated warnings that no one should break through and approach the Lord made the scene even more serious. The people had just seen powerful signs of God’s presence. God is completely holy and far above his creation (transcendent, meaning beyond human limits). People must approach him in the way he commands. They may not come to him in their own way.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people--No sooner had Moses proceeded a little up the mount, than he was suddenly ordered to return, in order to keep the people from breaking through to gaze--a course adopted to heighten the impressive solemnity of the scene. The strict injunctions renewed to all, whatever their condition, at a time and in circumstances when the whole multitude of Israel were standing at the base of the mount, was…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 19:21

• Curiosity
• God
• Law
• Reverence
• Sinai
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Commandments, the Ten
• Festivals, Religious
• Kingdom
• Return
• Sanctify
• Thunder
• Treasure
• Wing
• Break

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