Exodus 33:14
in Exodus 33And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
KJV
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
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This verse in Exodus 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseMy presence shall go with thee - פני ילכו panai yelechu, my faces shall go. I shall give thee manifestations of my grace and goodness through the whole of thy journey. I shall vary my appearances for thee, as thy necessities shall require.
This site's exposition
My presence shall go with thee
The angel of verse 2 gives way to the presence itself, which is the whole of what Moses had been asking for. Rest is added to the promise without being asked for, and the rest promised to that generation is the subject Psalm 95:8-11 takes up and Hebrews 3:7 to 4:11 applies to its own readers. The Hebrew behind presence here is the word for face, so the sentence reads my face shall go, six verses before God says that no man can see that face and live.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(2.) To the people for his sake. Moses was not content with that answer which bespoke favour to himself only, he must gain a promise, an express promise, for the people too, or he is not at rest; gracious generous souls think it not enough to get to heaven themselves, but would have all their friends go thither too.
Commentary on Chapter XXXIII 5. I will come up - As if he had said, ye deserve that I should do so. Put off thine ornaments, that I may know what to do with thee - That is, put thyself into the posture of a penitent, that the dispute may be determined in thy favour, and mercy may rejoice against judgment.
And he said,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
MAY the inexpressibly precious promises of our text be fulfilled to every one of you throughout the whole of your lives. What could heart desire, or mind conceive beyond the heaped-up blessedness of my text? God's Presence and God's rest—a ring of finest gold set with the choicest pearl! The benedictions are worthy of God, Himself, and such as only His boundless love could have uttered. Think them over and use them as food for your souls—with them you may well be content even if the preacher's lips should be shut up as a spring, a sealed fountain!
MAY the inexpressibly precious promises of our text be fulfilled to every one of you throughout the whole of your lives. What could heart desire, or mind conceive beyond the heaped-up blessedness of my text? God's Presence and God's rest—a ring of finest gold set with the choicest pearl! The benedictions are worthy of God, Himself, and such as only His boundless love could have uttered. Think them over and use them as food for your souls—with them you may well be content even if the preacher's lips should be shut up as a spring, a sealed fountain! You do not need any sermon—only let the Holy Spirit speak these words with power as coming directly from the great Father's lips to you and your inmost soul will be satisfied as with marrow and fatness!— "Enough, my gracious Lord, Let faith triumphant cry! My heart can on this promise live, Can on this promise die. 'My Presence will go with you
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rest - This was the common expression for the possession of the promised land. Deu 3:20; Jos 1:13, Jos 1:15; compare Heb 4:8.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
In the opinion of all commentators this means, “I myself will go.” And they brought a parallel expression to this from the verse, ‘upanecha’ (and thine own person) shalt go to battle. 478 II Samuel:11.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פָּנַ֥י | panai | presence my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יֵלֵ֖כוּ | yelekhu | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַהֲנִחֹ֥תִי | vahanichoti | and I will give rest | H5117 → | 142 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | to <the> you |
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
פָּנַ֥יpresence my
panaiH6440 →2123 times
יֵלֵ֖כוּthey will go
yelekhuH1980 →1546 times
וַהֲנִחֹ֥תִיand I will give rest
vahanichotiH5117 →142 times
לָֽךְ׃to <the> you
lakh
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
Matthew 11:28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
it leads to
- Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- John 6:37
Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
- Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
- Isaiah 55:1–3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- Matthew 11:29
Through
Joshua 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Romans 8:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1583: “Choice Food for Pilgrims to Canaan” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.