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 will touch him – but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may go up on the mountain.” 14Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” 16On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place 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 will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel!
• Malachi 3:2Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
• Matthew 3:10Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 24:44Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
• 2 Peter 3:11Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness,
• Exodus 19:11and be ready for 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 replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women.”
• Joel 2:16Gather the people; sanctify an assembly! Gather the elders; gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom and the bride from her private quarters.
• Zechariah 6:3to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong.
• Zechariah 7:3by asking both the priests of the temple of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, “Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?”
• Zechariah 12:12The land will mourn, clan by clan – the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not 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