Exodus 33:20

Literal Standard Version

He also says, "You are unable to see My face, for man does not see Me and live";

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He said, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live."

King James Version
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

Lexham English Bible
But he said, "You are not able to see my face, because a human will not see me and live."

New Century Version
But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.

New English Translation
But he added, "You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live."

Amplified Bible
But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!"

New American Standard Bible
He further said, "You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Furthermore he sayde, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me, and liue.

Legacy Standard Bible
But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

Contemporary English Version
but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die.

Complete Jewish Bible
But my face," he continued, "you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive.

Darby Translation
And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for Man shall not see me, and live.

Easy-to-Read Version
But you cannot see my face. No one can see me and continue to live."

English Standard Version
But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live."

George Lamsa Translation
And he said, You cannot see my face; for no man can see me and live.

Good News Translation
I will not let you see my face, because no one can see me and stay alive,

Christian Standard Bible®
But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”

Literal Translation
And He said, You are not able to see My face; for no man can see Me and live.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde morouer: Thou mayest not se my face, for there shall no ma lyue, yt seyth me.

American Standard Version
And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live.

Bible in Basic English
But it is not possible for you to see my face, for no man may see me and still go on living.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he said furthermore, Thou mayest not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and lyue.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And He said: 'Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.'

King James Version (1611)
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see mee, and liue.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And God said, Thou shalt not be able to see my face; for no man shall see my face, and live.

English Revised Version
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for man shall not see me and live.

Berean Standard Bible
And He added, "You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And eft God seide, Thou maist not se my face, for a man schal not se me, and schal lyue.

Young's Literal Translation
He saith also, `Thou art unable to see My face, for man doth not see Me, and live;'

Update Bible Version
And he said, You can not see my face; for man shall not see me and live.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

World English Bible
He said, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live."

New King James Version
But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."

New Living Translation
But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live."

New Life Bible
But He said, "You cannot see My face. For no man can see Me and live!"

New Revised Standard
But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But be said - Thou canst not see my face, For no son of earth can see me, and life

Douay-Rheims Bible
And again he said: Thou canst not see my face: for man shall not see me, and live.

Revised Standard Version
But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live."

THE MESSAGE
God continued, "But you may not see my face. No one can see me and live."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

Contextual Overview

¹²And Moses says to YHWH, "See, You are saying to me, Bring up this people, and You have not caused me to know whom You send with me; and You have said, I have known you by name, and you have also found grace in My eyes. ¹³And now, if, please, I have found grace in Your eyes, please cause me to know Your way, and I know You, so that I find grace in Your eyes, and consider that this nation [is] Your people"; ¹⁴and He says, "My presence goes, and I have given rest to you." ¹⁵And he says to Him, "If Your presence is not going—do not take us up from this [place]; ¹⁶and in what is it known now, that I have found grace in Your eyes—I and Your people—is it not in Your going with us? And we have been distinguished—I and Your people—from all the people who [are] on the face of the ground." ¹⁷And YHWH says to Moses, "Even this thing which you have spoken I do; for you have found grace in My eyes, and I know you by name." ¹⁸And he says, "Please show me Your glory"; ¹⁹and He says, "I cause all My goodness to pass before your face, and have called concerning the Name of YHWH before you, and favored him whom I favor, and loved him whom I love." ²⁰He also says, "You are unable to see My face, for man does not see Me and live";²¹YHWH also says, "Behold, a place [is] by Me, and you have stood on the rock,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou canst not: This is well explained by Rabbi Jehudah, in Sepher Cosri - P. iv. 3: "Of that divine glory mentioned in the Scripture, there is one degree which the eyes of the prophets were able to explore; another which all the Israelites saw, as the cloud and consuming fire; the third is so bright, and so dazzling, that no mortal is able to comprehend it; but should anyone venture to look on it, his whole frame would be dissolved." In such inconceivable splendour is the Divine Majesty revealed to the inhabitants of the celestial world, where he is said to "dwell in the light which no man can approach unto" - 1 Timothy 6:16. By the "face of God," therefore, we are to understand that light inaccessible before which angels may stand, but which would be so insufferable to mortal eyes, that no man could see it and live. Exodus 24:10, Genesis 32:30, Deuteronomy 5:24, Judges 6:22, Judges 13:22, Isaiah 6:5, John 1:18, 1 Timothy 6:16, Hebrews 1:13, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 1:17

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:21 - break Exodus 20:19 - let not Exodus 24:11 - laid not Exodus 33:18 - General Exodus 33:23 - thou shalt Exodus 34:6 - passed Deuteronomy 4:33 - General Job 26:9 - General Daniel 10:17 - talk Acts 7:32 - Then 1 John 4:12 - seen

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
And Noah builds an altar to YHWH, and takes from every clean beast and from every clean bird, and causes burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar;

Genesis 13:18
And Abram moves [his] tent, and comes, and dwells among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and builds there an altar to YHWH.

Genesis 21:33
and [Abraham] plants a tamarisk in Beer-Sheba, and preaches there in the Name of YHWH, the perpetual God;

Genesis 32:28
And He says, "Your name is no longer called Jacob, but Israel; for you have reigned with God and with men, and prevail."

Genesis 33:7
and Leah also draws near, and her children, and they bow themselves; and afterward Joseph has drawn near with Rachel, and they bow themselves.

Genesis 33:8
And he says, "What to you [is] all this camp which I have met?" And he says, "To find grace in the eyes of my lord."

Genesis 35:7
and he builds there an altar, and proclaims at the place the God of Bethel: for there had God been revealed to him, in his fleeing from the face of his brother.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, thou canst not see my face,.... Meaning not his form, his essence, his very nature, and the glory of it, that Moses must know he could never see; but the brightest displays of his grace and goodness in Christ, the fullest discoveries of it, which are too much for man, in the present state of things, to have, who sees in part, and but through a glass darkly, not face to face, or in the most complete and perfect manner; it is but a small part and portion of God, and of his ways and works, as of creation and providence, so more especially of grace, salvation, and redemption by Jesus Christ, that is known of him; the things of the Gospel in their full perfection are what eye has not seen; and particularly were more hidden and unseen under the legal dispensation; this face was covered with types and shadows, and dark representations of things; though, in comparison of that state, we now, with open face, behold the glory of the Lord, yet still it is through a glass darkly, and we have not the clear and full view of things as will be hereafter:

for there shall no man see me and live: if there was to be such a revelation made of the grace and goodness, and glory of God in Christ, as it really is in itself, it would be too much for mortals in the present state to bear; it would break their earthen vessels in pieces; the full discovery therefore is reserved to a future state, when these things will be seen as they are, and men will be in a condition to receive them; otherwise we find that men have, in a sense, seen the face of God in this life, and have lived; though many, and even good men, have been possessed with such a notion, that if a man saw God he must die, see Genesis 32:30.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But his request could not be granted in accordance with the conditions of human existence. The glory of the Almighty in its fulness is not to be revealed to the eye of man. Compare Judges 6:22; Isaiah 6:5. A further revelation of the divine goodness was however possible (see Exodus 33:6-7).

It was vouchsafed to Paul, as it had been to Moses, to have special “visions and revelations of the Lord” 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. But he had, also like Moses, to find the narrow reach of the intellect of man in the region of Godhead 1 Timothy 6:16. However intimate may be our communion with the Holy One, we are still, as long as we are in the flesh, “to see through a glass darkly,” waiting for the time when we shall see, with no figure of speech, “face to face” 1 Corinthians 13:12. Then we know “that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” 1 John 3:2.

Exodus 33:19

Will be gracious ... - Yahweh declares His own will to be the ground of the grace which He is going to show the nation. Paul applies these words to the election of Jacob in order to overthrow the self-righteous boasting of the Jews Romans 9:15.

Exodus 33:20

Such passages as this, being clearly in accordance with what we know of the relation of spiritual existence to the human senses, show how we are to interpret the expressions “face to face” Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10, “mouth to mouth” Numbers 12:8, and others of the like kind. See Exodus 24:10; Isaiah 6:1; and compare John 14:9.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 33:20. No man see me, and live. — The splendour would be insufferable to man; he only, whose mortality is swallowed up of life, can see God as he is. See 1 John 3:2. From some disguised relation of the circumstances mentioned here, the fable of Jupiter and Semele was formed; she is reported to have entreated Jupiter to show her his glory, who was at first very reluctant, knowing that it would be fatal to her; but at last, yielding to her importunity, he discovered his divine majesty, and she was consumed by his presence. This story is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, book iii., table iii., 5.