Exodus 19:21

19:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn ¹  the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. ² 

Exodus 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ³  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 23:29

23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals ⁴  multiply against you.

Exodus 23:33

23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare ⁵  to you.”

Exodus 33:3

33:3 Go up ⁶  to a land flowing with milk and honey. But ⁷  I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you ⁸  on the way.”

Exodus 34:15

34:15 Be careful ⁹  not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when ¹⁰  they prostitute themselves ¹¹  to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, ¹²  you will eat from his sacrifice;

[19:21]  ¹ tn The imperative הָעֵד (ha’ed) means “charge” them – put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.

[19:21]  ² tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”

[20:19]  ³ 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.

[23:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “the beast of the field.”

[23:33]  ⁷ tn The idea of the “snare” is to lure them to judgment; God is apparently warning about contact with the Canaanites, either in worship or in business. They were very syncretistic, and so it would be dangerous to settle among them.

[33:3]  ⁹ tn This verse seems to be a continuation of the command to “go up” since it begins with “to a land….” The intervening clauses are therefore parenthetical or relative. But the translation is made simpler by supplying the verb.

[33:3]  ¹⁰ tn This is a strong adversative here, “but.”

[33:3]  ¹¹ tn The clause is “lest I consume you.” It would go with the decision not to accompany them: “I will not go up with you…lest I consume (destroy) you in the way.” The verse is saying that because of the people’s bent to rebellion, Yahweh would not remain in their midst as he had formerly said he would do. Their lives would be at risk if he did.

[34:15]  ¹¹ tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.

[34:15]  ¹² tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.

[34:15]  ¹³ tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.

[34:15]  ¹⁴ tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.