Acts 7:33

Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord addresses Moses immediately after identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses stands trembling before this divine commissioning.

The words — λῦσον (luson) means "do take off" and ὑπόδημα (hupodēma) means "sandal." The text places the command before the reason, using "for" to link the physical act to the ground's status.

The thread — The command to remove footwear on consecrated ground appears in Exodus 3:5 and Joshua 5:15. Acts 7:32–34 frames this moment as the direct precursor to God's declaration of Israel's oppression and His instruction to Moses.

Why it lands — The text requires the immediate physical removal of footwear as a response to standing on holy ground. It demands tangible reverence rather than casual proximity when approaching the divine.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

Cross-references

Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Joshua 5:15 The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Peter 1:18 And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.