Exodus 20:20

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Moses	מֹשֶׁ֣ה mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֨אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people	הָעָם֮ ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Fear	תִּירָאוּ֒ ti.ra.'U	H3372	to fear · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine plural
God	הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים ha.'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
come	בָּ֖א ba'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
to	לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ le.va.'a.Vur	H5668	properly · preposition + preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
prove	נַסּ֣וֹת na.Sot	H5254	to test · verb, piel infinitive construct
fear	יִרְאָת֛וֹ yir.'a.To	H3374	fear (also used as infinitive) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
faces	פְּנֵיכֶ֖ם pe.nei.Khem	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
sin	תֶחֱטָֽאוּ te.che.Ta.'u	H2398	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love…
Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
1 Samuel 12:20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD…
Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Deuteronomy 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee,…
Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:18-21

I. The extraordinary terror with which the law was given. Never was any thing delivered with such awful pomp; every word was accented, and every sentence paused, with thunder and lightning, much louder and brighter, no doubt, than ordinary. And why was the law given in this dreadful manner, and with all this tremendous ceremony? 1. It was designed (once for all) to give a sensible discovery of the glorious majesty of God, for the assistance of our faith concerning it, that, knowing the terror of the Lord, we may be persuaded to live in his fear. 2. It was a specimen of the terrors of the general judgment, in which sinners will be called to an account for the breach of this law: the archangel…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:19

let not God speak with us, lest we die, &c.--The phenomena of thunder and lightning had been one of the plagues so fatal to Egypt, and as they heard God speaking to them now, they were apprehensive of instant death also. Even Moses himself, the mediator of the old covenant, did "exceedingly quake and fear" (Heb 12:21). But doubtless God spake what gave him relief--restored him to a frame of mind fit for the ministrations committed to him; and hence immediately after he was enabled to relieve and comfort them with the relief and comfort which he himself had received from God (Co2 1:4).

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:20

And Moses said - Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces - The maxim contained in this verse is, Fear not, that he may fear - do not fear with such a fear as brings consternation into the soul, and produces nothing but terror and confusion; but fear with that fear which reverence and filial affection inspire, that ye sin not - that, through the love and reverence ye feel to your Maker and Sovereign, ye may abstain from every appearance of evil, lest you should forfeit that love which is to you better than life. He who fears in the first sense can neither love nor obey; he who fears not in the latter sense is sure to fall under the first temptation t…

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Dictionary and topics

Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Moral law given — Moral law given
Fear, Godly · Necessary to: Avoiding of sin — Necessary to: Avoiding of sin
Law Of Moses, The · Terror of Israel at receiving — Terror of Israel at receiving
Reverence · REVERENCE — REVERENCE
Sin · The fear of God restrains — The fear of God restrains

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 20:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:18-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:19

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:20

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 20:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 20:18-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 20:19

Adam Clarke on Exodus 20:20

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 20:20

John Calvin on Exodus 20:18-21

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 20:20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 20:18-26

Rashi on Exodus 20:20