Tree of Life Version
Exodus 3:5
5Then He said, “Come no closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Exodus 3:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Context of Exodus 3:5
3Moses thought, “I will go now, and see this great sight. Why is the bush not burnt?” 4When Adonai saw that he turned to look, He called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” So he answered, “Hineni.” Then He said, “Come no closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” So Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7Then Adonai said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their slave masters, for I know their pains.
Read all of Exodus 3Exodus 3:5 word by word
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Draw not nighקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
- hitherהֲלֹםhălôm · hereH1988
- put offנָשַׁלnâshal · to slipH5394
- thy shoesנַ֫עַלna‛al na‛ălâh · sandalH5275
- from off thy feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- for the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- whereonאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- thou standestעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
- holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
Cross-references for Exodus 3:5
- Exodus 19:12You are to set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Be very careful not to go up onto the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Adonai spoke of, saying: To those who are near Me I will show myself holy. Upon the faces of all the people I will be glorified.” Then Aaron kept silent.
- Hebrews 12:20For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”
- Genesis 28:16Jacob woke up from his sleep and said, “Undoubtedly, Adonai is in this place—and I was unaware.”
- Joshua 5:15Then the commander of Adonai’s army replied to Joshua, “Take your sandal off of your foot, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1Do not be quick with your mouth nor hasty in your heart to utter a word in God’s presence. For God is in heaven, and you are on the earth— therefore, let your words be few.
- Acts 7:33But Adonai said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
Commentaries on Exodus 3:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Put off thy shoes - It is likely that from this circumstance all the eastern nations have agreed to perform all the acts of their religious worship barefooted. All the Mohammedans, Brahmins, and Parsees do so still. The Jews were remarked for this in the time of Juvenal; hence he speaks of their performing their sacred rites barefooted; Sat. vi., ver. 158: Observant ubi festa mero pede sabbata reges. The ancient Greeks did the same. Jamblichus, in the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Put off thy shoes - The reverence due to holy places thus rests upon God‘s own command. The custom itself is well known from the observances of the temple, it was almost universally adopted by the ancients, and is retained in the East. Holy ground - This passage is almost conclusive against the assumption that the place was previously a sanctuary. Moses knew nothing of its holiness after some 40 years spent on the Peninsula. It became holy by the presence…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The soil around the bush was holy, while the soil on the sandals of Moses was common. The common cannot touch the holy without being transformed or destroyed (see “Clean, Unclean, and Holy” Theme Note). At the start of the exodus, God made it clear that he is completely different from his creation. This is important for a proper relationship between God and humans. The word holy appears only a few times in the Bible before Exodus 3:5. It then becomes the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. put off thy shoes--The direction was in conformity with a usage which was well known to Moses, for the Egyptian priests observed it in their temples, and it is observed in all Eastern countries where the people take off their shoes or sandals, as we do our hats. But the Eastern idea is not precisely the same as the Western. With us, the removal of the hat is an expression of reverence for the place we enter, or rather of Him who is worshipped there…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 3:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 3
- 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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