New English Translation
Exodus 20:21
21The people kept their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
- New International Version (NIV)The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
Context of Exodus 20:21
19They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” 20Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.” The people kept their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. 22The Lord said to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 23You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:21 word by word
וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד הָעָ֖ם מֵרָחֹ֑ק וּמֹשֶׁה֙ נִגַּ֣שׁ אֶל־הָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 20:21
- Exodus 19:16On 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.
- Deuteronomy 5:5(I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal to you the message of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:
- 1 Kings 8:12Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness.
- 2 Chronicles 6:1Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness.
- Psalms 18:9He made the sky sink as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet.
- Psalms 97:2Dark clouds surround him; equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Psalms 104:2He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
- 1 Timothy 6:16He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
Commentaries on Exodus 20:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 Compare Deuteronomy 5:22-31. Aaron Exodus 19:24 on this occasion accompanied Moses in drawing near to the thick darkness. Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33 is a series of laws which we may identify with what was written by Moses in the book called the book of the covenant, and read by him in the audience of the people Exodus 24:7. The document cannot be regarded as a strictly systematic whole. Portions of it were probably traditional rules handed…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 This law, which is so extensive that we cannot measure it, so spiritual that we cannot evade it, and so reasonable that we cannot find fault with it, will be the rule of the future judgment of God, as it is for the present conduct of man. If tried by this rule, we shall find our lives have been passed in transgressions. And with this holy law and an awful judgment before us, who can despise the gospel of Christ? And the knowledge of the law…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-21The people were very conscious of their sinfulness before a holy God and begged Moses to stand between them and God. Moses pointed out that God’s goal was neither to overawe them nor to destroy them. Rather, he wanted their awe of him to keep them from sinning (Exodus 20:20). Jesus is the ultimate mediator between God and people (1 Timothy 2:5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2118-21. all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings--They were eye and ear witnesses of the awful emblems of the Deity's descent. But they perceived not the Deity Himself.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 20
- 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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