^20:18All the people were seeing⁴² the thundering and the lightning, and heard⁴³ the sound of the horn, and saw⁴⁴ the mountain smoking—and when⁴⁵ the people saw it they trembled with fear⁴⁶ and kept their distance.⁴⁷^20:19They said to Moses, “You speak⁴⁸ to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” ^20:20Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you,⁴⁹ that the fear of him⁵⁰ may be before you so that you do not⁵¹ sin.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

42 The participle is used here for durative action in the past time ( §116.o).
43 The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” 2:).
44 The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).
45 The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.
46 The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2—“and his heart shook … as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”
47 Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”
48 The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.
49 נַסּוֹת (nassot) is the Piel infinitive construct; it forms the purpose of God’s coming with all the accompanying phenomena. The verb can mean “to try, test, prove.” The sense of “prove” fits this context best because the terrifying phenomena were intended to put the fear of God in their hearts so that they would obey. In other words, God was inspiring them to obey, not simply testing to see if they would.
50 The suffix on the noun is an objective genitive, referring to the fear that the people would have of God ( §135.m).
51 The negative form לְבִלְתִּי (lévilti) is used here with the imperfect tense (see for other examples §152.x). This gives the imperfect the nuance of a final imperfect: that you might not sin. Others: to keep you from sin.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance. “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.”

NLTNew Living Translation

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

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!”

“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And all the people were seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Public Domain