Exodus 19:21 (DRB)

Passage

He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.

Nearby Context

Exodus 19:19 And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him.

Exodus 19:20 And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither,

Exodus 19:21 He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.

Exodus 19:22 The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.

Exodus 19:23 And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "down", "charge", "people", "lest", "should", "mind", and "pass". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "down", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And the Lord came down upon Mount..." into verse 22's "The priests also that come to the...", so "said" and "down" 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 "down" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.