Exodus 20:19 (YLT)

Passage

and say unto Moses, `Speak thou with us, and we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.'

Nearby Context

Exodus 20:17 `Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which <FI>is<Fi> thy neighbour's.'

Exodus 20:18 And all the people are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand afar off,

Exodus 20:19 and say unto Moses, `Speak thou with us, and we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.'

Exodus 20:20 And Moses saith unto the people, `Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces--that ye sin not.'

Exodus 20:21 And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God <FI>is<Fi> .

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "speak", "thou", "hear", and "lest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And all the people are seeing the..." into verse 20's "And Moses saith unto the people Fear...", so "moses" and "speak" 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 "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.