Bible Strands
Exodus 20:20
“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites immediately after they beg him to mediate God’s voice because they fear dying from direct divine speech. He speaks this reassurance right after the Decalogue and before the people stand at a distance while he enters the thick darkness.
The words — The Hebrew תִּירָאוּ (ti.ra.'U) commands "do not be afraid," while לְ/בַֽ/עֲבוּר (le./va./'a.Vur) marks purpose, indicating God’s descent is intended to produce a specific outcome.
The thread — This testing motif runs in Deuteronomy 13:3, where divine trials aim to verify loyalty, and in Proverbs 3:7, which links fearing the Lord with turning from evil. The reassurance pattern also echoes Samuel’s address in 1 Samuel 12:20 following Israel’s request for a king.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that divine presence demands reverence rather than panic, and that awe functions as a boundary against transgression. It asks the reader to submit to God’s testing as a means of moral preservation.
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 Hebrew words
King James Version
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 13:3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- 1 Samuel 12:20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
- Isaiah 8:13 The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.
- Genesis 22:1 Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
- Job 28:28 And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Proverbs 16:6 By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
- Genesis 20:11 Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
- Genesis 22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”