Exodus 20:19 (DBY)

Passage

and said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's wife, nor his bondman, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.

Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw [it], they trembled, and stood afar off,

Exodus 20:19 and said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exodus 20:20 And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.

Exodus 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the obscurity where God was.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "moses", "speak", "thou", "hear", and "lest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "moses", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And all the people saw the thunderings..." into verse 20's "And Moses said to the people Fear...", so "said" and "moses" 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 "said" and "moses" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.