What Does Exodus 20:19 Mean in the King James?
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
They promise to hear and respond to Moses, while fearing that hearing God directly will bring death.
THE MEANING
You can want to receive the words while fearing the nearness of the voice that speaks them. The verse holds both impulses together: you ask for speech you can bear, while direct speech from God feels like a threat to life.
THE ROOT
וְנִשְׁמָעָה
venishma'ah
GROWS FROM
שׁמע
Hear or listen; in responsive contexts, heed and answer.
“hear” in this verse is venishma'ah. This is the root behind shema: hearing can mean receiving and responding, not merely sound reaching the ear. Their promise is a promise of response, but they attach it to Moses’ voice, drawing a boundary around the voice they can bear.
ALSO GROWS
shema: Hear and respond.
שְׁמַע
The familiar command carries the same movement from receiving words to answering them.
shemu'ah: A report or news; something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch presents a message as something received by hearing, illuminating the people’s request for words to reach them through Moses.
מֹשֶׁה
Mosheh
GROWS FROM
משׁה
Draw out.
“Moses” in this verse is Mosheh. Mosheh’s name is tied to mashah, “draw out”: the man marked by being drawn out now stands between a feared voice and the people asking to receive it. That echo makes mediation part of the scene’s texture, while the verse leaves their fear of direct speech unsoftened.
ALSO GROWS
māšâ: Draw out.
מָשָׁה
This is the verb linked to Moses’ name, giving his presence an added sense of drawing something out.
meshithihu: I drew him out.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
This form appears in the naming explanation in Exodus 2:10, where Moses is drawn out of the waters.
THE PATTERN
When direct encounter feels unbearable, people ask for the same words to reach them through a voice they can bear.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:THE THREAD
Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.The same roots recur: dabar, “speak,” and shama, “hear and respond.” Exodus 20:19 gives the request; this verse opens it further by making the people’s promised response explicit: they will hear the words Moses brings and do them.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us