Exodus 19:21
in Exodus 19and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
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This verse in Exodus 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseNote, In divine things we must not covet to know more than God would have us know; and he has allowed us as much as is good for us. A desire of forbidden knowledge was the ruin of our first parents. Those that would be wise above what is written, and intrude into those things which they have not seen, need this admonition, that they break not through to gaze.
This site's exposition
came down upon mount Sinai
on Exodus 19:20-21
God comes down to the top of the mountain and calls Moses up, and the first thing he says to him there is to go down again. The warning names curiosity as the danger, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, rather than rebellion or attack. Moses spends the whole chapter climbing and descending, and that traffic between the two is the office he holds.
This site's exposition
lest many of them perish
Matthew Henry sets the warning against breaking through to see the LORD beside Eden, where the wish to know what God had withheld ruined the first parents. 1 Samuel 6:19 records the men of Beth-shemesh struck down for looking into the ark. The word for perish is literally fall.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the Lord said unto Moses, go down,....
Note, In divine things we must not covet to know more than God would have us know; and he has allowed us as much as is good for us. A desire of forbidden knowledge was the ruin of our first parents. Those that would be wise above what is written, and intrude into those things which they have not seen, need this admonition, that they break not through to gaze.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people--No sooner had Moses proceeded a little up the mount, than he was suddenly ordered to return, in order to keep the people from breaking through to gaze--a course adopted to heighten the impressive solemnity of the scene.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| רֵ֖ד | red | go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| הָעֵ֣ד | haed | warn | H5749 → | 44 times |
| בָּעָ֑ם | baam | <in> the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יֶהֶרְס֤וּ | yehersu | they should break through | H2040 → | 43 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִרְא֔וֹת | lirot | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְנָפַ֥ל | venafal | and it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נּוּ | mimenu | of it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| רָֽב׃ | rav | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
רֵ֖דgo down
redH3381 →381 times
הָעֵ֣דwarn
haedH5749 →44 times
בָּעָ֑ם<in> the people
baamH5971 →1873 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יֶהֶרְס֤וּthey should break through
yehersuH2040 →43 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִרְא֔וֹתto see
lirotH7200 →1300 times
וְנָפַ֥לand it will fall
venafalH5307 →435 times
מִמֶּ֖נּוּof it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
רָֽב׃many
ravH7227 →454 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 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.
it leads to
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Isaiah 1:12–20
When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?
- James 1:19
Through
Exodus 3:5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
it leads to
- Joshua 5:15
The 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 7:33
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
- Exodus 19:12
And 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…
- Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard 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.
- Joshua 5:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.