New International Version
Exodus 19:15
15Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
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.
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”
Context of Exodus 19:15
13They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” 14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.” 16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Read all of Exodus 19Exodus 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, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.”
- Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
- Matthew 3:10The ax is already 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 24:44So 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 everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
- Exodus 19:11and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
- 1 Samuel 21:4But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”
- Joel 2:16Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
- Zechariah 6:3the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful.
- Zechariah 7:3by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
- Zechariah 12:12The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,
- 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will 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
In the dictionaries
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
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