Exodus 19:15
13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- “Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
- KJV
- And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
- WEB
- He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”
- ASV
- And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
- DARBY
- And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day; do not come near [your] wives.
- BLB
- And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not draw near to a woman.”
- ÅB
- Og han sa til folket: Hold dere rede den tredje dag, kom ikke nær noen kvinne!
- OTB
- Han sa til folket: “Gjør dere klare til den tredje dagen. Avstå fra seksuelle relasjoner.”
- B1930
- Og han sa til folket: Hold eder rede den tredje dag, kom ikke nær nogen kvinne!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Corinthians 7:5
Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
Read in contextExodus 19:11
and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Read in context1 Samuel 21:4–5
“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
Read in contextJoel 2:16
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.
Read in contextZechariah 6:3
the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses—all of them strong.
Read in contextMatthew 24:44
For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
Read in contextMatthew 3:10–12
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Read in contextZechariah 7:3
by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
Read in context