Exodus 20:20 (LSB)

Passage

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be with you, so that you may not sin.”

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:18 And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance.

Exodus 20:19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”

Exodus 20:20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be with you, so that you may not sin.”

Exodus 20:21 So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near the dense gloom where God was.

Exodus 20:22 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "said", "people", "afraid", "come", "order", and "test". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Then they said to Moses Speak to..." into verse 21's "So the people stood at a distance...", so "moses" and "said" 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 "moses" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.