Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to him, “Go down! You shall bring Aaron up with you, but don’t let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them.”
- KJV And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.
- BSB And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”
- NKJV Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.”
- NLT But the Lord said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the Lord, or he will break out and destroy them.”
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
God sent Moses down, allowing Aaron to come up but warning priests and people not to break through. Access to God is strictly on His terms.
Overview
God grants Aaron limited access alongside Moses but maintains the boundary for all others. Divinely appointed, ordered approach replaces human presumption. This restricted access anticipates the once-for-all opening of the way to God through Christ, who tears the veil and welcomes His people in (Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Heb 4:16Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.
- Heb 12:29for our God is a consuming fire.
- Heb 12:18–25For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
- Exod 24:1He said to Moses, “Come up to Yahweh, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from a distance.
- Exod 24:9Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up.
- Gal 3:22But the Scriptures imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
- Luke 16:16The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
- Gal 3:10–11For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
- Exod 19:21–22Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to gaze, and many of them perish.
- Luke 13:24“Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.
- Gal 3:19What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.
- Matt 11:12From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
- Rom 4:15For the law produces wrath, for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience.
- Heb 10:19–22Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
- 2 Cor 3:7–9But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which was passing away:
- Exod 19:12You shall set bounds to the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
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 19:24 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.