Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak to us, or we will die!”
Parallel translations
- WEB They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
- KJV And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
- BSB “Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- NKJV Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
- NLT And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
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
The people begged Moses to speak to them so God would not, fearing they would die. They recognize their need for a mediator.
Overview
Overwhelmed by God's presence, the people ask Moses to stand between them and God. Their plea expresses the deep human need for a mediator who can bridge the gap sin has made. This longing is answered fully in Christ, the one Mediator through whom we may hear and approach God and live (1 Tim. 2:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 18:16This is according to all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again Yahweh my God’s voice, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I not die.”
- Acts 7:38This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living revelations to give to us,
- Exod 33:20He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.”
- Deut 5:23–27When you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
- Gen 32:30Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
- 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.
- Deut 5:5(I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to show you Yahweh’s word: for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn’t go up onto the mountain;) saying,
- Heb 12:19the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which those who heard it begged that not one more word should be spoken to them,
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 20:19 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.