Exodus 19:21

Exodus 19:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
• New International Version (NIV)and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.

Context of Exodus 19:21

19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20And Yhwh came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: And Yhwh called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And Yhwh said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Yhwh to gaze, and many of them perish. 22And let the priests also, which come near to Yhwh, sanctify themselves, lest Yhwh break forth upon them. 23And Moses said unto Yhwh, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

Exodus 19:21 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה רֵ֖ד הָעֵ֣ד בָּעָ֑ם פֶּן־יֶהֶרְס֤וּ אֶל־יְהוָה֙ לִרְא֔וֹת וְנָפַ֥ל מִמֶּ֖נּוּ רָֽב׃Read the interlinear

• And Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Go downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• chargeעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• lest they break throughהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040
• to gazeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• of them perishנָפַלnâphal · to fall: killH5307

Cross-references for Exodus 19:21

• Exodus 19:12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
• Exodus 3:3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
• Exodus 33:20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
• 1 Samuel 6:19And he smote the men of Beth–shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Yhwh, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because Yhwh had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
• Ecclesiastes 5:1Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
• Hebrews 12:28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Commentaries on Exodus 19:21

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-25Verses 16-25 Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since, as this which was preached to the church in the wilderness. It might be supposed that the terrors would have checked presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard heart of an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution. We cannot stand…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-25The repeated warnings that no one should break through and approach the Lord made the scene even more serious. The people had just seen powerful signs of God’s presence. God is completely holy and far above his creation (transcendent, meaning beyond human limits). People must approach him in the way he commands. They may not come to him in their own way.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people--No sooner had Moses proceeded a little up the mount, than he was suddenly ordered to return, in order to keep the people from breaking through to gaze--a course adopted to heighten the impressive solemnity of the scene. The strict injunctions renewed to all, whatever their condition, at a time and in circumstances when the whole multitude of Israel were standing at the base of the mount, was…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 19:21

• Curiosity
• God
• Law
• Reverence
• Sinai
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Commandments, the Ten
• Festivals, Religious
• Kingdom
• Return
• Sanctify
• Thunder
• Treasure
• Wing
• Break

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