Exodus 33:4 (GNV)

Passage

And when the people heard this euill tydings, they sorowed, and no man put on his best rayment.

Nearby Context

Exodus 33:2 And I will send an Angel before thee and will cast out the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, the Hiuites, and the Iebusites:

Exodus 33:3 To a lande, I say, that floweth with milke and hony: for I will not goe vp with thee, because thou art a stiffe necked people, least I consume thee in the way.

Exodus 33:4 And when the people heard this euill tydings, they sorowed, and no man put on his best rayment.

Exodus 33:5 (For the Lord had said to Moses, Say vnto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffe necked people, I wil come suddenly vpon thee, and consume thee: therefore now put thy costly rayment from thee, that I may know what to do vnto thee)

Exodus 33:6 So the children of Israel layed their good raiment from them, after Moses came downe from the mount Horeb.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "people", "heard", "euill", "tydings", "sorowed", "best", and "rayment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "people" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "To a lande I say that floweth..." into verse 5's "For the Lord had said to Moses...", so "people" and "heard" 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 "people" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.