New King James Version
Exodus 20:22
22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
Exodus 20:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven.
Context of Exodus 20:22
20And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:22 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֥ה תֹאמַ֖ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם כִּ֚י מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עִמָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- Ye have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- that I have talkedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- with you from heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
Cross-references for Exodus 20:22
- Deuteronomy 4:36Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
- Nehemiah 9:13“You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.
- Hebrews 12:25See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
Commentaries on Exodus 20:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22I have talked with you from heaven - Though God manifested himself by the fire, the lightning, the earthquake, the thick darkness, etc., yet the ten words, or commandments were probably uttered from the higher regions of the air, which would be an additional proof to the people that there was no imposture in this case; for though strange appearances and voices might be counterfeited on earth, as was often, no doubt, done by the magicians of Egypt; yet it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22-26Verses 22-26 Nothing could be more appropriate as the commencement of the book of the covenant than these regulations for public worship. The rules for the building of altars must have been old and accepted, and are not inconsistent with the directions for the construction of the altar of the court of the tabernacle, Exodus 27:1-8 (compare Joshua 22:26-28).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-26Verses 22-26 Moses having entered into the thick darkness, God there spake in his hearing all that follows from hence to the end of chap. 23, which is mostly an exposition of the ten commandments. The laws in these verses relate to God's worship. The Israelites are assured of God's gracious acceptance of their devotions. Under the gospel, men are encouraged to pray every where, and wherever God's people meet in his name to worship him, he will be in the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-26The Lord is beyond human understanding, as shown by his speaking to the people with a voice from heaven (20:22). This had two effects on their practices: They could not use silver or gold to make human-shaped gods (20:23). They could not carve stones for an altar (20:25). This might be to prevent them from carving stone gods. They must make the altar from earth and uncut stones (20:24, 25). The rule against revealing nakedness might have been to…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. the Lord said unto Moses--It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai--that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 20:22
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries