Exodus 15:26

15:26 He said, “If you will diligently obey ¹  the Lord your God, and do what is right ²  in his sight, and pay attention ³  to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all ⁴  the diseases ⁵  that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” ⁶ 

Exodus 23:3

23:3 and you must not show partiality ⁷  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Exodus 23:6

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

Exodus 25:13

25:13 You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold,

Exodus 26:22

26:22 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west ⁸  you will make six frames.

Exodus 30:5

30:5 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

Exodus 30:26

30:26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony,

Exodus 35:3

35:3 You must not kindle a fire ⁹  in any of your homes ¹⁰  on the Sabbath day.” ¹¹ 

Exodus 40:14

40:14 You are to bring ¹²  his sons and clothe them with tunics

[15:26]  ¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of שָׁמַע (shama’). The meaning of the verb is idiomatic here because it is followed by “to the voice of Yahweh your God.” When this is present, the verb is translated “obey.” The construction is in a causal clause. It reads, “If you will diligently obey.” Gesenius points out that the infinitive absolute in a conditional clause also emphasizes the importance of the condition on which the consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[15:26]  ² tn The word order is reversed in the text: “and the right in his eyes you do,” or, “[if] you do what is right in his eyes.” The conditional idea in the first clause is continued in this clause.

[15:26]  ³ tn Heb “give ear.” This verb and the next are both perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutive; they continue the sequence of the original conditional clause.

[15:26]  ⁴ tn The substantive כָּל־ (kol, “all of”) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”

[15:26]  ⁵ sn The reference is no doubt to the plagues that Yahweh has just put on them. These will not come on God’s true people. But the interesting thing about a conditional clause like this is that the opposite is also true – “if you do not obey, then I will bring these diseases.”

[15:26]  ⁶ tn The form is רֹפְאֶךָ (rofÿ’ekha), a participle with a pronominal suffix. The word is the predicate after the pronoun “I”: “I [am] your healer.” The suffix is an objective genitive – the Lord heals them.

[23:3]  ⁷ tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[26:22]  ¹³ tn Or “westward” (toward the sea).

[35:3]  ¹⁹ sn Kindling a fire receives special attention here because the people thought that kindling a fire was not work, but only a preparation for some kind of work. The Law makes sure that this too was not done. But see also G. Robinson, “The Prohibition of Strange Fire in Ancient Israel: A Look at the Case of Gathering Wood and Kindling Fire on the Sabbath,” VT 28 (1978): 301-17.

[35:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “dwelling places”; KJV, ASV “habitations.”

[35:3]  ²¹ sn The presence of these three verses in this place has raised all kinds of questions. It may be that after the renewal of the covenant the people needed a reminder to obey God, and obeying the sign of the covenant was the starting point. But there is more to it than this; it is part of the narrative design of the book. It is the artistic design that puts the filling of the Spirit section (31:1-11) prior to the Sabbath laws (31:12-18) before the idolatry section, and then after the renewal there is the Sabbath reminder (35:1-3) before the filling of the Spirit material (35:4-36:7).

[40:14]  ²⁵ tn The verb is also “bring near” or “present.”