Exodus 20:21

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The people kept their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • 1 Kgs 8:12 : 12 Then Solomon said,“The LORD has said that he lives in thick darkness.
  • Ps 18:9 : 9 He made the sky sink as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet.
  • Ps 97:2 : 2 Dark clouds surround him; equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.
  • Ps 104:2 : 2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
  • 1 Tim 6:16 : 16 He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
  • Ps 18:12 : 12 From the brightness in front of him came hail and fiery coals.
  • 2 Chr 6:1 : 1 Then Solomon said,“The LORD has said that he lives in thick darkness.
  • Exod 19:16-17 : 16 On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain.
  • Deut 5:5 : 5 (I was standing between the LORD and you at that time to reveal the LORD’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:
  • Deut 5:22 : 22 The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response The LORD said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Exod 20:18-20
    3 verses
    82%

    18All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking– and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their distance.

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

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

  • Exod 19:16-17
    2 verses
    81%

    16On the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud horn; all the people who were in the camp trembled.

    17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain.

  • Deut 4:11
    78%

    11You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it and yet dark with a thick cloud.

  • Exod 24:1-2
    2 verses
    77%

    1The Lord Ratifies the Covenant But to Moses the LORD said,“Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.

    2Moses alone may come near the LORD, but the others must not come near, nor may the people go up with him.”

  • Exod 19:9
    76%

    9The LORD said to Moses,“I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

  • Exod 10:21-22
    2 verses
    75%

    21The Ninth Blow: Darkness The LORD said to Moses,“Extend your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt.”

    22So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.

  • Exod 20:22
    75%

    22The Altar The LORD said to Moses:“Thus you will tell the Israelites:‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven.

  • Exod 19:19-21
    3 verses
    75%

    19When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking and God was answering him with a voice.

    20The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the LORD summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

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

  • Heb 12:21
    75%

    21In fact, the scene was so terrifying that Moses said,“I shudder with fear.”

  • Acts 7:31
    74%

    31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord,

  • Exod 24:18
    74%

    18Moses went into the cloud when he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

  • Exod 24:15-16
    2 verses
    73%

    15Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

    16The glory of the LORD resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud.

  • Num 20:6-7
    2 verses
    73%

    6Moses Responds So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

    7Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

  • Exod 19:3
    73%

    3Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain,“Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people of Israel:

  • Exod 19:23-25
    3 verses
    73%

    23Moses said to the LORD,“The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us,‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’”

    24The LORD said to him,“Go, get down, and come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the LORD, lest he break through against them.”

    25So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

  • Exod 3:4-6
    3 verses
    73%

    4When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said,“Moses, Moses!” And Moses said,“Here I am.”

    5God said,“Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

    6He added,“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

  • Exod 33:8-9
    2 verses
    72%

    8And when Moses went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand at the entrance to their tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent.

    9And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.

  • Exod 34:30
    72%

    30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to approach him.

  • Deut 5:23
    72%

    23Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me.

  • Lev 9:5
    72%

    5So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Meeting Tent and the whole congregation presented them and stood before the LORD.

  • Exod 35:20
    72%

    20So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses.

  • Exod 14:20
    71%

    20It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night.

  • Exod 20:1
    71%

    1The Decalogue God spoke all these words:

  • Num 14:13-14
    2 verses
    71%

    13Moses said to the LORD,“When the Egyptians hear it– for you brought up this people by your power from among them–

    14then they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, LORD, are among this people, that you, LORD, are seen face to face, that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

  • Num 4:21
    71%

    21The Service of the Gershonites Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

  • Exod 40:35
    71%

    35Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

  • Lev 19:1
    71%

    1Religious and Social Regulations The LORD spoke to Moses:

  • Exod 34:34
    71%

    34But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded.

  • Lev 20:1
    71%

    1Prohibitions against Illegitimate Family Worship The LORD spoke to Moses:

  • Num 16:20
    70%

    20The Judgment on the Rebels The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

  • Heb 12:18
    70%

    18For you have not come to something that can be touched, to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind

  • Deut 5:5
    70%

    5(I was standing between the LORD and you at that time to reveal the LORD’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:

  • Num 16:44
    70%

    44The LORD spoke to Moses:

  • Exod 33:21
    70%

    21The LORD said,“Here is a place by me; you will station yourself on a rock.

  • Exod 34:5
    70%

    5The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the LORD by name.