Exodus 19:9

19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come ¹  to you in a dense cloud, ²  so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” ³  And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

Exodus 33:9

33:9 And ⁴  whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord ⁵  would speak with Moses. ⁶ 

Numbers 12:5

12:5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

¹ tn The construction uses the deictic particle and the participle to express the imminent future, what God was about to do. Here is the first announcement of the theophany.

² tn Heb “the thickness of the cloud”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT “in a thick cloud.”

³ tn Since “and also in you” begins the clause, the emphasis must be that the people would also trust Moses. See Exod 4:1-9, 31; 14:31.

⁴ tn Heb “and it was when.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.