Exodus 19:8

19:8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” ¹  So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

Exodus 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ²  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 24:3

24:3 Moses came ³  and told the people all the Lord’s words ⁴  and all the decisions. All the people answered together, ⁵  “We are willing to do ⁶  all the words that the Lord has said,”

Exodus 24:7

24:7 He took the Book of the Covenant ⁷  and read it aloud ⁸  to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey ⁹  all that the Lord has spoken.”

Deuteronomy 5:27-28

5:27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he ¹⁰  says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 5:28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he ¹¹  said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you – they have spoken well.

Deuteronomy 26:17

26:17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him.

Isaiah 44:5

44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use ¹²  the name ‘Jacob.’

One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and use the name ‘Israel.’” ¹³ 

¹ tn The verb is an imperfect. The people are not being presumptuous in stating their compliance – there are several options open for the interpretation of this tense. It may be classified as having a desiderative nuance: “we are willing to do” or, “we will do.”

² tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

³ sn The general consensus among commentators is that this refers to Moses’ coming from the mountain after he made the ascent in 20:21. Here he came and told them the laws (written in 20:22-23:33), and of the call to come up to Yahweh.

⁴ sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.

⁵ tn The text simply has “one voice” (קוֹל אֶחָד, qol ’ekhad); this is an adverbial accusative of manner, telling how the people answered – “in one voice,” or unanimously (see GKC 375 §118.q).

⁶ tn The verb is the imperfect tense (נַעֲשֶׂה, na’aseh), although the form could be classified as a cohortative. If the latter, they would be saying that they are resolved to do what God said. If it is an imperfect, then the desiderative would make the most sense: “we are willing to do.” They are not presumptuously saying they are going to do all these things.

⁷ tn The noun “book” would be the scroll just written containing the laws of chaps. 20-23. On the basis of this scroll the covenant would be concluded here. The reading of this book would assure the people that it was the same that they had agreed to earlier. But now their statement of willingness to obey would be more binding, because their promise would be confirmed by a covenant of blood.

⁸ tn Heb “read it in the ears of.”

⁹ tn A second verb is now added to the people’s response, and it is clearly an imperfect and not a cohortative, lending support for the choice of desiderative imperfect in these commitments – “we want to obey.” This was their compliance with the covenant.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

¹² tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”

¹³ tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”