20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
20 And he said, H559 Thou canst H3201 not see H7200 my face: H6440 for there shall no man H120 see H7200 me, and live. H2425
21 And the LORD H3068 said, H559 Behold, there is a place H4725 by me, and thou shalt stand H5324 upon a rock: H6697
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory H3519 passeth by, H5674 that I will put H7760 thee in a clift H5366 of the rock, H6697 and will cover H5526 thee with my hand H3709 while H5704 I pass by: H5674
23 And I will take H5493 away mine hand, H3709 and thou shalt see H7200 my back parts: H268 but my face H6440 shall not be seen. H7200
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live.
21 and Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock:
22 and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by:
23 and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen.
20 He saith also, `Thou art unable to see My face, for man doth not see Me, and live;'
21 Jehovah also saith, `Lo, a place `is' by Me, and thou hast stood on the rock,
22 and it hath come to pass, in the passing by of Mine honour, that I have set thee in a cleft of the rock, and spread out My hands over thee, until My passing by,
23 and I have turned aside My hands, and thou hast seen My back parts, and My face is not seen.'
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for Man shall not see me, and live.
21 And Jehovah said, Behold, [there is] a place by me: there shalt thou stand on the rock.
22 And it shall come to pass, when my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand, until I have passed by.
23 And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see me from behind; but my face shall not be seen.
20 He said, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live."
21 Yahweh also said, "Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.
22 It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;
23 then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen."
20 But it is not possible for you to see my face, for no man may see me and still go on living.
21 And the Lord said, See, there is a place near me, and you may take your place on the rock:
22 And when my glory goes by, I will put you in a hole in the rock, covering you with my hand till I have gone past:
23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back: but my face is not to be seen.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 33
Commentary on Exodus 33 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 33
Ex 33:1-23. The Lord Refuses to Go with the People.
1. the Lord said—rather "had" said unto Moses. The conference detailed in this chapter must be considered as having occurred prior to the pathetic intercession of Moses, recorded at the close of the preceding chapter; and the historian, having mentioned the fact of his earnest and painful anxiety, under the overwhelming pressure of which he poured forth that intercessory prayer for his apostate countrymen, now enters on a detailed account of the circumstances.
3. I will not go up … lest I consume thee—Here the Lord is represented as determined to do what He afterwards did not. (See on Ex 32:7).
4. when the people heard these evil tidings—from Moses on his descent from the mount.
5. put off thy ornaments—In seasons of mourning, it is customary with Eastern people to lay aside all gewgaws and divest themselves of their jewels, their gold, and every thing rich and splendid in their dress. This token of their sorrow the Lord required of His offending people.
that I may know what to do unto thee—The language is accommodated to the feeble apprehensions of men. God judges the state of the heart by the tenor of the conduct. In the case of the Israelites, He cherished a design of mercy; and the moment He discerned the first symptoms of contrition, by their stripping off their ornaments, as penitents conscious of their error and sincerely sorrowful, this fact added its weight to the fervency of Moses' prayers, and gave them prevalence with God in behalf of the people.
7. Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp—Not the tabernacle, of which a pattern had been given him, for it was not yet erected, but his own tent—conspicuous as that of the leader—in a part of which he heard cases and communed with God about the people's interests; hence called "the tabernacle of the congregation," and the withdrawal of which, in abhorrence from a polluted camp, was regarded as the first step in the total abandonment with which God had threatened them.
8. all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door—Its removal produced deep and universal consternation; and it is easy to conceive how anxiously all eyes would be directed towards it; how rapidly the happy intelligence would spread, when a phenomenon was witnessed from which an encouraging hope could be founded.
9-11. the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle—How would the downcast hearts of the people revive—how would the tide of joy swell in every bosom, when the symbolic cloud was seen slowly and majestically to descend and stand at the entrance of the tabernacle!
as Moses entered—It was when he appeared as their mediator, when he repaired from day to day to intercede for them, that welcome token of assurance was given that his advocacy prevailed, that Israel's sin was forgiven, and that God would again be gracious.
18-23. I beseech thee, show me thy glory—This is one of the most mysterious scenes described in the Bible: he had, for his comfort and encouragement, a splendid and full display of the divine majesty, not in its unveiled effulgence, but as far as the weakness of humanity would admit. The face, hand, back parts, are to be understood figuratively.