New Living Translation
Exodus 20:19
19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
Exodus 20:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
- New International Version (NIV)and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
Context of Exodus 20:19
17“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” 18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” 20“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!” 21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.
Read all of Exodus 20Exodus 20:19 word by word
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 20:19
- Deuteronomy 18:16For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
- Acts 7:38Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.
- Exodus 33:20But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”
- Genesis 32:30Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
Commentaries on Exodus 20:19
- 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 20:19
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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