Exodus 19:22 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

Exodus 19:24 And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he kill them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "priests", "come", "lord", "sanctified", "lest", and "strike". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "priests" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "He said unto him Go down and..." into verse 23's "And Moses said to the Lord The...", so "priests" 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 "priests" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.