Exodus 32:34

Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Moses following the golden calf incident, commanding him to resume the journey to the promised land. This directive occurs immediately after God declares He will blot out sinners from His book and precedes the plague He sends on the people.

The words — The Hebrew לֵ֣ךְ (lekh) means "go," and נְחֵ֣ה (ne.Cheh) translates to "lead," forming the direct command to guide the people forward. These terms establish the operational instruction that follows the judicial warning.

The thread — The promise of a preceding angel appears in Exodus 23:20, while the theme of divine settlement of accounts echoes Deuteronomy 32:35. The destination referenced aligns with the covenant promise in Exodus 3:17.

Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine guidance and divine judgment operate concurrently. It demands readiness to follow the commanded path despite the certainty of future reckoning.

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

וְעַתָּ֞הve./'a.Tahand/ now לֵ֣ךְ׀lekhgo נְחֵ֣הne.Chehlead אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָעָ֗םha./'Amthe/ people אֶ֤ל'elto אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-where דִּבַּ֙רְתִּי֙di.Bar.tiI have spokenלָ֔ךְLa/khto <the>/ youהִנֵּ֥הhi.Nehthere!מַלְאָכִ֖יmal.'a.Kh/iangel/ my יֵלֵ֣ךְye.Lekhhe will go לְפָנֶ֑יךָle./fa.Nei./kha<to>/ before/ you וּבְי֣וֹםu./ve./Yomand/ on/ [the] day פָּקְדִ֔יpa.ke.D/ivisit/ I וּפָקַדְתִּ֥יu./fa.kad.Tiand/ I will visit עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם'a.lei./Hemon/ them חַטָּאתָֽם׃cha.ta.Ta/msin/ their

King James Version

Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

Cross-references

Exodus 23:20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
Exodus 3:17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Exodus 33:2 And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Exodus 33:14 And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Numbers 14:27 “How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.
Numbers 20:16 and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
Psalms 99:8 O LORD our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, yet an avenger of their misdeeds.