The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.
- KJV And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
- NKJV And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
- NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
- NLT Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
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 promised to come in a thick cloud so the people would hear Him speak to Moses and trust him forever. God authenticates His chosen mediator.
Overview
By speaking audibly through the cloud, God publicly confirms Moses' authority so Israel will believe him. Divine self-revelation establishes the credibility of His spokesman. This anticipates the Father's open confirmation of Christ, the greater Mediator, declared from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son... listen to him" (Matt. 17:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Deut 4:36He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.
- 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.
- Exod 24:15–16When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
- Exod 20:21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- Exod 14:31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Matt 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
- Deut 4:11–12You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
- 2 Chr 6:1Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;
- Isa 19:1This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.
- Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
- 2 Chr 20:20Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
- Luke 9:34–35While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
- John 12:29–30The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
- Rev 1:7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
- Isa 7:9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”
- 1 Kgs 8:12Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
- Ps 18:11–12He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
- Mark 9:7Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”
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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 19:9 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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