“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”
- KJV And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
- NKJV And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
- NASB He also said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
- NLT He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses charged the people to be ready and to abstain from sexual relations. Even legitimate activities were set aside in focused preparation for God.
Overview
Temporary abstinence marked the people's undivided readiness for God's appearing, not because marriage is impure but to underscore the solemnity of the moment. Such consecration reflects the call to single-minded devotion when drawing near to God, a devotion perfected in those wholly set apart to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 19:11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
- 1 Sam 21:4–5“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
- 1 Cor 7:5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
- Joel 2:16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.
- Exod 19:16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
- Zech 7:3by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
- Zech 6:3the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses—all of them strong.
- Mal 3:2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Amos 4:12“Therefore, that is what I will do to you, O Israel, and since I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
- Matt 3:10–12The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- 2 Pet 3:11–12Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness
- Matt 24:44For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
- Zech 12:12–14The land will mourn, each clan on its own: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 19:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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