“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Don’t come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
- KJV And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
- NKJV Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
- NASB Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
- NLT “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
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 tells Moses to remove his sandals, for he stands on holy ground. God's presence makes the place sacred and demands reverence.
Overview
Removing sandals was a gesture of humility and respect, acknowledging that the ground is holy only because God is there. The command teaches that sinful people cannot approach the holy God casually. It anticipates the whole sacrificial and priestly system, and ultimately Christ, through whom alone we may draw near to a holy God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 5:15The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
- Acts 7:33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
- Exod 19:12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
- Eccl 5:1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- Gen 28:16–17When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
- Heb 12:20For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”
- Exod 19:21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.
- Lev 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
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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 3:5 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.