Exodus 2:14

2:14 The man ¹  replied, “Who made you a ruler ²  and a judge over us? Are you planning ³  to kill me like you killed that ⁴  Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ⁵  “Surely what I did ⁶  has become known.”

Exodus 14:13

14:13 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! ⁷  Stand firm ⁸  and see ⁹  the salvation ¹⁰  of the Lord that he will provide ¹¹  for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. ¹² 

Exodus 20:20

20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, ¹³  that the fear of him ¹⁴  may be before you so that you do not ¹⁵  sin.”

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “And he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “Who placed you for a man, a ruler and a judge over us?” The pleonasm does not need to be translated. For similar constructions see Lev 21:9; Judg 6:8; 2 Sam 1:13; Esth 7:6.

[2:14]  ³ tn The line reads “[is it] to kill me you are planning?” The form אֹמֵר (’omer) is the active participle used verbally; it would literally be “[are you] saying,” but in this context it conveys the meaning of “thinking, planning.” The Qal infinitive then serves as the object of this verbal form – are you planning to kill me?

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Egyptian.” Here the Hebrew article functions in an anaphoric sense, referring back to the individual Moses killed.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn The verb form is “and he said.” But the intent of the form is that he said this within himself, and so it means “he thought, realized, said to himself.” The form, having the vav consecutive, is subordinated to the main idea of the verse, that he was afraid.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn The term הַדָּבָר (haddavar, “the word [thing, matter, incident]”) functions here like a pronoun to refer in brief to what Moses had done. For clarity this has been specified in the translation with the phrase “what I did.”

[14:13]  ⁷ tn The use of אַל (’al) with the jussive has the force of “stop fearing.” It is a more immediate negative command than לֹא (lo’) with the imperfect (as in the Decalogue).

[14:13]  ⁸ tn The force of this verb in the Hitpael is “to station oneself” or “stand firm” without fleeing.

[14:13]  ⁹ tn The form is an imperative with a vav (ו). It could also be rendered “stand firm and you will see” meaning the result, or “stand firm that you may see” meaning the purpose.

[14:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “victory” (NAB) or “deliverance” (NIV, NRSV).

[14:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do,” i.e., perform or accomplish.

[14:13]  ¹² tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys consisting of a Hiphil imperfect (“you will not add”) and a Qal infinitive construct with a suffix (“to see them”) – “you will no longer see them.” Then the clause adds “again, for ever.”

[20:20]  ¹³ tn נַסּוֹת (nassot) is the Piel infinitive construct; it forms the purpose of God’s coming with all the accompanying phenomena. The verb can mean “to try, test, prove.” The sense of “prove” fits this context best because the terrifying phenomena were intended to put the fear of God in their hearts so that they would obey. In other words, God was inspiring them to obey, not simply testing to see if they would.

[20:20]  ¹⁴ tn The suffix on the noun is an objective genitive, referring to the fear that the people would have of God (GKC 439 §135.m).

[20:20]  ¹⁵ tn The negative form לְבִלְתִּי (lÿvilti) is used here with the imperfect tense (see for other examples GKC 483 §152.x). This gives the imperfect the nuance of a final imperfect: that you might not sin. Others: to keep you from sin.