New Living Translation
Exodus 33:16
16How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”
Exodus 33:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
- New International Version (NIV)How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
Context of Exodus 33:16
14The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” 15Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” 17The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” 18Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”
Read all of Exodus 33Exodus 33:16 word by word
וּבַמֶּ֣ה׀ יִוָּדַ֣ע אֵפ֗וֹא כִּֽי־מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲנִ֣י וְעַמֶּ֔ךָ הֲל֖וֹא בְּלֶכְתְּךָ֣ עִמָּ֑נוּ וְנִפְלֵ֙ינוּ֙ אֲנִ֣י וְעַמְּךָ֔ מִכָּ֨ל־הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For wherein shall it be knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- hereאֵפוֹ'êphô 'êphô' · thenH645
- that I and thy peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- have foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- graceחֵןchên · favorH2580
- in thy sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
- not in that thou goestיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- with us? so shall we be separatedפָּלָהpâlâh · be distinguishedH6395
- upon the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- of the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: planetH127
Cross-references for Exodus 33:16
- Numbers 14:14Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
- Matthew 1:23“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
- Exodus 8:22But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land.
- Exodus 19:5Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.
- Exodus 34:10The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you.
- Numbers 23:9I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.
- Deuteronomy 4:7For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him?
- 2 Samuel 7:23What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way.
- 1 Kings 8:53For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign Lord, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession.”
- Psalms 147:20He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord!
- 2 Corinthians 6:17Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.
Commentaries on Exodus 33:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16So shall we be separated - By having this Divine protection we shall be saved from idolatry, and be preserved in thy truth and in the true worshipping of thee; and thus shall we be separated from all the people that are upon the face of the earth: as all the nations of the world, the Jews only excepted, were at this time idolaters.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Thou goest with us - It was this which alone distinguished (rather than “separated”) them from other nations, and which alone would render the land of promise a home to be desired. Compare 2 Samuel 7:23.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-23Verses 12-23 Moses is very earnest with God. Thus, by the intercession of Christ, we are not only saved from ruin, but become entitled to everlasting happiness. Observe here how he pleads. We find grace in God's sight, if we find grace in our hearts to guide and quicken us in the way of our duty. Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord's presence. God's gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should not only…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-16Moses made his request more direct. He showed he understood God's actions. The exodus was not just about leaving Egypt for Canaan. It was about experiencing God personally, which would change their lives. Without this, staying at Mount Sinai would have been better. Going to Canaan without the Lord would be disastrous.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-231. the Lord said--rather "had" said unto Moses. The conference detailed in this chapter must be considered as having occurred prior to the pathetic intercession of Moses, recorded at the close of the preceding chapter; and the historian, having mentioned the fact of his earnest and painful anxiety, under the overwhelming pressure of which he poured forth that intercessory prayer for his apostate countrymen, now enters on a detailed account of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 33:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 33
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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