Lectionary Calendar
Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

The NET Bible®

Exodus 19:22

Let the priests also, who approach the Lord , sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through against them."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   Law;   Priest;   Reverence;   Sinai;   Worship;   Scofield Reference Index - Israel;   Thompson Chain Reference - Leaders;   Priests;   Religious;   Sanctification;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Law of Moses, the;   Priests;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Exodus;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Prophet, Prophetess, Prophecy;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Commandments, the Ten;   Festivals, Religious;   First-Born, Sanctification of the;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Mediator;   Priest;   Sabbath;   Trumpets, Feast of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Exodus, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Exodus;   Mediator, Mediation;   Moses;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Sina, Sinai ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Sinai;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Encampment at Sinai;   Events of the Encampment;   Proclamation of the Law;   Tabernacle, the;   Peculiarities of the Law of Moses;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Break;   Law in the Old Testament;   Priests and Levites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Holiness;   Primogeniture;   Theophany;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Let the Kohanim also, who come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth on them."
King James Version
And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord , sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.
Lexham English Bible
And even the priests who come near Yahweh must consecrate themselves, lest Yahweh break out against them."
New Century Version
Even the priests, who may come near me, must first prepare themselves. If they don't, I, the Lord , will punish them."
Amplified Bible
"Also have the priests who approach the LORD consecrate (sanctify, set apart) themselves [for My sacred purpose], or else the LORD will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them]."
New American Standard Bible
"Also have the priests who approach the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And let the Priestes also which come to the Lorde be sanctified, least the Lorde destroy them.
Legacy Standard Bible
Also let the priests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them."
Contemporary English Version
Only the priests may come near me, and they must obey strict rules before I let them. If they don't, they will be punished."
Complete Jewish Bible
Even the cohanim, who are allowed to approach Adonai , must keep themselves holy; otherwise, Adonai may break out against them."
Darby Translation
And the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, shall hallow themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.
Easy-to-Read Version
Also tell the priests who come near the Lord that they must prepare themselves for this special meeting. If they don't, I, the Lord , will punish them."
English Standard Version
Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them."
George Lamsa Translation
And let the priests also who come near to the LORD sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
Good News Translation
Even the priests who come near me must purify themselves, or I will punish them."
Christian Standard Bible®
Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them.”
Literal Translation
And also the priests, those approaching Jehovah, let them sanctify themselves that Jehovah not burst forth among them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The rulers also that come nye vnto ye LORDE, shal sanctifie themselues, lest the LORDE smyte the.
American Standard Version
And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
Bible in Basic English
And let the priests who come near to the Lord make themselves holy, for fear that the Lord may come on them suddenly.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And let the priestes also whiche come to the Lorde sanctifie them selues, lest the Lorde destroy them.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And let the priests also, that come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.'
King James Version (1611)
And let the Priestes also which come neere to the Lord, sanctifie themselues, lest the Lord breake foorth vpon them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And let the priests that draw nigh to the Lord God sanctify themselves, lest he destroy some of them.
English Revised Version
And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
Berean Standard Bible
Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
also preestis, that neiyen to the Lord, be halewid, lest Y smyte hem.
Young's Literal Translation
and also the priests who are coming nigh unto Jehovah do sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.'
Update Bible Version
And let the priests also, that come near to Yahweh, sanctify themselves, or else Yahweh will break forth on them.
Webster's Bible Translation
And let the priests also who come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
World English Bible
Let the priests also, who come near to Yahweh, sanctify themselves, lest Yahweh break forth on them."
New King James Version
Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."
New Living Translation
Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them."
New Life Bible
Have the religious leaders who come near to the Lord set themselves apart to be holy. Or the Lord will go against them."
New Revised Standard
Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea, even the priests who do approach unto Yahweh, must hallow themselves, - lest Yahweh break in upon them.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.
Revised Standard Version
And also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out upon them."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them."

Contextual Overview

16 On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking and God was answering him with a voice. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 The Lord said to Moses, "Go down and solemnly warn the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. 22 Let the priests also, who approach the Lord , sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through against them." 23 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.'" 24 The Lord said to him, "Go, get down, and come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord , lest he break through against them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the priests: Exodus 24:5, Leviticus 10:1-3, Isaiah 52:11

sanctify: Exodus 19:5, Exodus 19:14, Exodus 19:15

break: 2 Samuel 6:6-8, 1 Chronicles 13:9-11, 1 Chronicles 15:13, 2 Chronicles 30:3, 2 Chronicles 30:15, 2 Chronicles 30:18, 2 Chronicles 30:19, Acts 5:5, Acts 5:10, 1 Corinthians 11:30-32

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:24 - lest Leviticus 10:3 - I will be Psalms 68:17 - as in Sinai Joel 2:16 - sanctify

Cross-References

Genesis 13:10
Lot looked up and saw the whole region of the Jordan. He noticed that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt, all the way to Zoar.
Genesis 14:2
went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
Genesis 19:1
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
Genesis 19:10
So the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house as they shut the door.
Genesis 19:25
So he overthrew those cities and all that region, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew from the ground.
Genesis 19:28
He looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.
Exodus 32:10
So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation."
Deuteronomy 9:14
Stand aside and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are."
Isaiah 15:5
My heart cries out because of Moab's plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.
Isaiah 65:8
This is what the Lord says: "When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, someone says, ‘Don't destroy it, for it contains juice.' So I will do for the sake of my servants— I will not destroy everyone.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And let the priests also, which come near unto the Lord,.... Either the firstborn, as the Jews generally interpret it, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; who were sanctified to the Lord, and in whose stead afterwards the Levites were taken; or the sons of Aaron, who should be, and were potentially, though not actually priests, as Ben Gersom expresses it, from an ancient book of theirs called Mechilta; or rather some principal persons, as heads of families and the like, who, before the priesthood was settled in the family of Aaron, officiated as priests, and drew nigh to God, and offered up sacrifices for themselves and others, and were distinguished from others by this character, and therefore do not intend princes, as some interpret the word; for the description of them will not agree to them, but plainly points to a sort of men, to whom it was peculiar to perform that office. These Moses is bid to charge that they

sanctify themselves; in the same manner as the people in general were before ordered, and keep themselves within the same bounds; not daring to transgress them, because they were persons that used to draw nigh to God in the performance of religious actions:

lest the Lord break forth upon them; and smite them, that they die, in like manner as he made a breach on Uzzah afterwards for touching the ark of the Lord, 2 Samuel 6:6.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The priests also - Sacrifices had hitherto been offered by firstborn, or the heads of families. See Genesis 14:18 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 19:22. Let the priests also - sanctify themselves — That there were priests among the Hebrews before the consecration of Aaron and his sons, cannot be doubted; though their functions might be in a considerable measure suspended while under persecution in Egypt, yet the persons existed whose right and duty it was to offer sacrifices to God. Moses requested liberty from Pharaoh to go into the wilderness to sacrifice; and had there not been among the people both sacrifices and priests, the request itself must have appeared nugatory and absurd. Sacrifices from the beginning had constituted an essential part of the worship of God, and there certainly were priests whose business it was to offer them to God before the giving of the law; though this, for especial reasons, was restricted to Aaron and his sons after the law had been given. As sacrifices had not been offered for a considerable time, the priests themselves were considered in a state of impurity; and therefore God requires that they also should be purified for the purpose of approaching the mountain, and hearing their Maker promulgate his laws. Exodus 28:1.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile