Exodus 19:23
New International Version
Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

New Living Translation
“But LORD,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’”

English Standard Version
And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’”

Berean Standard Bible
But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ ”

King James Bible
And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

New King James Version
But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

New American Standard Bible
And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’”

NASB 1995
Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’”

NASB 1977
And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for Thou didst warn us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain, and set it apart as holy.’”

Amplified Bible
Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying, ‘Set barriers around the mountain and consecrate it.’”

Christian Standard Bible
Moses responded to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But Moses responded to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since You warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.”

American Standard Version
And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Moshe said to LORD JEHOVAH, “The people cannot ascend the mountain of Sinai because you testified with us and you said to me, “Set boundaries to the mountain and hallow it.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Moses said to God, The people will not be able to approach to the mount of Sina, for thou hast solemnly charged us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain and sanctify it.

Contemporary English Version
Moses replied, "The people cannot come up the mountain. You warned us to stay away because it is holy."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou did charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.

English Revised Version
And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Moses said to the LORD, "The people can't come up Mount Sinai, because you warned us yourself to mark off a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy."

Good News Translation
Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up, because you commanded us to consider the mountain sacred and to mark a boundary around it."

International Standard Version
Moses told the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai because you warned us: 'Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.'"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Moses said unto the LORD: 'The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for thou didst charge us, saying: Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.'

Literal Standard Version
And Moses says to YHWH, “The people [are] unable to come up to Mount Sinai, for You have protested to us, saying, Make a border [for] the mountain, then you have sanctified it.”

Majority Standard Bible
But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

New American Bible
But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying: Set limits around the mountain to make it sacred.”

NET Bible
Moses said to the LORD, "The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us, 'Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.'"

New Revised Standard Version
Moses said to the LORD, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.’”

New Heart English Bible
Moses said to God, "The people can't come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, 'Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it.'"

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses said to the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

World English Bible
Moses said to Yahweh, “The people can’t come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it.’”

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses saith unto Jehovah, 'The people is unable to come up unto mount Sinai, for Thou -- Thou hast protested to us, saying, Make a border for the mount, then thou hast sanctified it.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD Visits Sinai
22Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.” 23But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’” 24And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”…

Cross References
Exodus 19:12
And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 19:24
And the LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them."


Treasury of Scripture

And Moses said to the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for you charged us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

set bounds

Exodus 19:12
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

Joshua 3:4,5
Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore…

Jump to Previous
Apart Bounds Charge Consecrate Holy Limits Making Marking Moses Mount Mountain Orders Round Sanctify Sinai Testified Thou Thyself Unable Warned
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Apart Bounds Charge Consecrate Holy Limits Making Marking Moses Mount Mountain Orders Round Sanctify Sinai Testified Thou Thyself Unable Warned
Exodus 19
1. The people arrive at Sinai
3. God's message by Moses unto the people out of the mount
8. The people are prepared against the third day, for the giving of the law
12. The mountain must not be touched
16. The fearful presence of God upon the mount














(23) The people cannot come up.--Moses probably means that they cannot do so unwittingly; he

Does not contemplate the case of an intentional trespass. But it was this which God knew to be contemplated, and was desirous of preventing.

Verse 23. - The people cannot come up. Moses can only have meant, that the people could not approach the mount unwittingly, since the fence commanded (ver. 12) was made. But to scale the fence, or break through it, was of course possible. (See ver 13.)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But Moses
מֹשֶׁה֙ (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

said
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the LORD,
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

“The people
הָעָ֔ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

cannot
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

come up
לַעֲלֹ֖ת (la·‘ă·lōṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

Mount
הַ֣ר (har)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

Sinai,
סִינָ֑י (sî·nāy)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5514: Sinai -- the mountain where the law was given

for
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

You
אַתָּ֞ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

solemnly warned
הַעֵדֹ֤תָה (ha·‘ê·ḏō·ṯāh)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5749: To duplicate, repeat, to protest, testify, to encompass, restore

us,
בָּ֙נוּ֙ (bā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew

‘Put a boundary around
הַגְבֵּ֥ל (haḡ·bêl)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 1379: To twist as a, rope, to bound

the mountain
הָהָ֖ר (hā·hār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

and set it apart as holy.’”
וְקִדַּשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ (wə·qid·daš·tōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6942: To be set apart or consecrated


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OT Law: Exodus 19:23 Moses said to Yahweh The people can't (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 19:22
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