God’s Word Translation
Exodus 3:5
5God said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy ground.
Exodus 3:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Context of Exodus 3:5
3So he thought, “Why isn’t this bush burning up? I must go over there and see this strange sight.” 4When the Lord saw that Moses had come over to see it, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” Moses answered, “Here I am!” God said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy ground. 6I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. 7The Lord said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering.
Read all of Exodus 3Exodus 3:5 word by word
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Draw not nighקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
- hitherהֲלֹםhălôm · hereH1988
- put offנָשַׁלnâshal · to slipH5394
- thy shoesנַ֫עַלna‛al na‛ălâh · sandalH5275
- from off thy feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- for the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- whereonאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- thou standestעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
Cross-references for Exodus 3:5
- Exodus 19:12Mark off a boundary around the mountain for the people, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even touch it. Those who touch the mountain must be put to death.
- Leviticus 10:3Moses said to Aaron, “This is exactly what the Lord said: ‘I will show my holiness among those who come to me. I will show my glory to all the people.’ ” Aaron was speechless.
- Hebrews 12:20They couldn’t obey the command that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”
- Genesis 28:16Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!”
- Joshua 5:15The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did as he was told.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1Watch your step when you go to the house of God. It is better to go there and listen than to bring the sacrifices fools bring. Fools are unaware that they are doing ⌞something⌟ evil.
- Acts 7:33The Lord told him, ‘Take off your sandals. The place where you’re standing is holy ground.
Commentaries on Exodus 3:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Put off thy shoes - It is likely that from this circumstance all the eastern nations have agreed to perform all the acts of their religious worship barefooted. All the Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees do so still. The Jews were remarked for this in the time of Juvenal; hence he speaks of their performing their sacred rites barefooted; Sat. vi., ver. 158: Observant ubi festa mero pede sabbata reges. The ancient Greeks did the same. Jamblichus, in the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Put off thy shoes - The reverence due to holy places thus rests upon God‘s own command. The custom itself is well known from the observances of the temple, it was almost universally adopted by the ancients, and is retained in the East. Holy ground - This passage is almost conclusive against the assumption that the place was previously a sanctuary. Moses knew nothing of its holiness after some 40 years spent on the Peninsula. It became holy by the presence…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The soil around the bush was holy, while the soil on the sandals of Moses was common. The common cannot touch the holy without being transformed or destroyed (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). At the start of the exodus, God made it clear that he is completely different from his creation. This is important for a proper relationship between God and humans. The word holy appears only a few times in the Bible before Exodus 3:5. It then becomes the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. put off thy shoes--The direction was in conformity with a usage which was well known to Moses, for the Egyptian priests observed it in their temples, and it is observed in all Eastern countries where the people take off their shoes or sandals, as we do our hats. But the Eastern idea is not precisely the same as the Western. With us, the removal of the hat is an expression of reverence for the place we enter, or rather of Him who is worshipped there…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 3:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 3
- 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
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