Exodus 19:12 (DRB)

Passage

And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.

Nearby Context

Exodus 19:10 And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.

Exodus 19:11 And let them be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.

Exodus 19:12 And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.

Exodus 19:13 No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.

Exodus 19:14 And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "shalt", "appoint", "certain", "limits", "people", and "round". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "shalt", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And let them be ready against the..." into verse 13's "No hands shall touch him but he...", so "thou" and "shalt" 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 "thou" and "shalt" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.