Exodus 33:22 (ASV)

Passage

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:

Nearby Context

Exodus 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live.

Exodus 33:21 and Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock:

Exodus 33:22 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:

Exodus 33:23 and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "come", "pass", "glory", "passeth", "thee", "cleft", and "rock". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "and Jehovah said Behold there is a..." into verse 23's "and I will take away my hand...", so "shall" and "come" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.