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Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Exodus 23:21 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
  • BSB Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.
  • NKJV Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.
  • NASB Be attentive to him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your rebellion, since My name is in him.
  • NLT Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion.

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

Israel must heed and obey the angel without rebellion, because God's own name and authority rest in him. To resist him is to resist God Himself.

Overview

The warning that the angel 'will not pardon your disobedience' shows he speaks with God's full authority, for 'my name is in him.' This unusual statement led many older interpreters to identify the angel with the divine Word or pre-incarnate Christ. The call to obedient listening parallels the later demand to heed God's Son. To reject the One who bears God's name is the gravest danger; to trust and obey Him is life.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 37

  • Ps 78:56Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
  • Ps 78:40How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
  • Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
  • John 10:38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
  • John 10:30I and my Father are one.
  • Eph 4:30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
  • John 5:23That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
  • Exod 3:14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
  • Heb 10:26–29For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
  • Josh 24:19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
  • Deut 18:19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
  • Col 2:9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
  • Num 14:11And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
  • Exod 6:3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
  • Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
  • Num 14:35I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
  • Exod 32:34Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
  • Matt 1:23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
  • Rev 2:23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
  • Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
  • Ps 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
  • Jer 23:6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
  • Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
  • Isa 42:8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
  • Isa 45:6That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
  • Rev 2:8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
  • Isa 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
  • Ps 72:19And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
  • Heb 3:16For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
  • Rev 3:7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
  • Matt 17:5While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
  • Isa 57:15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
  • John 14:9–10Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
  • 1 Jn 5:16If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
  • Rev 1:8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
  • Heb 3:10–11Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
  • Jer 5:7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 23:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 23:21 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.