Exodus 33:5

For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5)For the Lord had said unto Moses.—Rather, And the Lord said unto Moses. The message did not precede the repentance of the people, but followed it.

I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee.—Rather, were I to go up in the midst of thee, even for a moment (a brief space), I should consume thee. The people learnt by this the reason of God’s proposed withdrawal. It was in mercy, that they might not be consumed, as there was danger of their being unless they repented and turned to God.

Put off thy ornaments.—Rather, leave off thy ornaments, i.e., put them aside altogether; show thy penitence by giving up the use of them; then shall I know what to do with thee; then shall I be able to deal with thee in a way which otherwise were impossible.

Benson Commentary

Exodus 33:5. I will come up in the midst of thee — In anger, not in favour. This threatening hath a condition implied, except thou repent, as the next words plainly show. That I may know what to do unto thee — That I may either inflict my judgments or suspend them, as thou art penitent or impenitent.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

33:1-6 Those whom God pardons, must be made to know what their sin deserved. Let them go forward as they are; this was very expressive of God's displeasure. Though he promises to make good his covenant with Abraham, in giving them Canaan, yet he denies them the tokens of his presence they had been blessed with. The people mourned for their sin. Of all the bitter fruits and consequences of sin, true penitents most lament, and dread most, God's departure from them. Canaan itself would be no pleasant land without the Lord's presence. Those who parted with ornaments to maintain sin, could do no less than lay aside ornaments, in token of sorrow and shame for it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will come up ... - Better; If I were to go up for one moment in the midst of thee, I should consume thee.

That I may know ... - By that sign of their repentance Yahweh would decide in what way they were to be punished.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. put off thy ornaments—In seasons of mourning, it is customary with Eastern people to lay aside all gewgaws and divest themselves of their jewels, their gold, and every thing rich and splendid in their dress. This token of their sorrow the Lord required of His offending people.

that I may know what to do unto thee—The language is accommodated to the feeble apprehensions of men. God judges the state of the heart by the tenor of the conduct. In the case of the Israelites, He cherished a design of mercy; and the moment He discerned the first symptoms of contrition, by their stripping off their ornaments, as penitents conscious of their error and sincerely sorrowful, this fact added its weight to the fervency of Moses' prayers, and gave them prevalence with God in behalf of the people.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I will come up into the midst of thee, to wit, in anger; not in favour, Exodus 33:3, where the words are the same, but the sense differing,

and consume thee.

Object. But God had promised he would not do so, Exodus 33:3.

Answ. That was signified to Moses, not to the people, to whom the threatening was most proper and profitable; and this threatening hath a condition implied, to wit, except they repent, as the next words plainly show.

That I may know what to do unto thee; that I may either inflict my judgments, or suspend them, as thou art penitent or impenitent.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For the Lord had said to Moses,.... At the same time he had told it to the people:

say unto the children of Israel: Menachem, as quoted by Ainsworth, observes, that this is said in a way of mercy; for since their idolatry he had only called them the people of Moses, and the people, but now calls them by their beloved name, the children of Israel; but whether this was any hint of mercy and favour, is not very apparent by what follows:

ye are a stiffnecked people; obstinate and untractable; see Gill on Exodus 32:9,

I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee; before he threatens them that he would not go up in the midst of them, that is, in a way of grace and mercy, to guide, protect, and defend them himself; and now that he would come up in the midst of them, but in a different manner, in a way of wrath, and to take vengeance on them for their sins; and the meaning is, either that should he do so but one moment it would be all over with them, or they would be utterly consumed; or this is threatened on condition, provided they did not repent of their sins, and humble themselves:

therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee; not their armour, as some, nor the clothes they wore at the festival for the golden calf, for this was long after that; but the clothes they usually wore, the best they had, with all their decorations and ornaments, and put on mournful habits as an outward token of their repentance and mourning for their sins, if they had any real concern: this shows that these words must have been said before; since the people on hearing the evil tidings had clothed themselves in a mournful habit, and did not put on their ornaments, Exodus 33:4,

that I may know what to do unto thee; which does not suppose ignorance or irresolution in God, but is said after the manner of men, that he should deal with them in proportion to their conduct and behaviour, and as that should outwardly appear.

Geneva Study Bible

For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know {b} what to do unto thee.

(b) That I may either show mercy if you repent, or else punish your rebellion.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. The people are here told to do what they have already done (v. 4b), a clear proof that two narratives have been combined. In v. 4 the removal of the ornaments is a spontaneous token of grief; in v. 5 it is done at Jehovah’s command. It is true, LXX. omit v. 4b: but the omission is open to the suspicion of having been made to avoid the awkward anticipation of v. 5b.

Ye are, &c.] The compiler (so Di.) emphasizes afresh (see v. 3) Israel’s stiffneckedness. The entire context of the words assigned to E has naturally not been preserved.

go up in the midst of thee] viz. towards Canaan (as v. 3).

what to do unto thee] i.e. how o deal with thee.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. ? For the Lord had said unto Moses, etc. Rather, "And the Lord said unto M." (so most recent commentators, as Keil, Kalisch, etc.) The message was sent to the people after their repentance, and in reply to it. It was not, however, as our version makes it, a threat of destruction, but only a repetition of the statement made in ver. 2, that, if God went up with them, the probable result would be their destruction. Translate - "Ye are a stiff-necked people; were I for one moment to go up in the midst of thee, I should destroy thee," Put off thy ornaments. The command seems strange, when we had just been told that "no man did put on him his ornaments" (ver 4) but the word translated put off probably means "lay aside altogether." The intention was to make their continued disuse of the ornaments a test of their penitence. Exodus 33:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

That this good beginning of repentance might lead to a true and permanent change of heart, Jehovah repeated His threat in a most emphatic manner: "Thou art a stiff-necked people; if I go a moment in the midst of thee, I destroy thee:" i.e., if I were to go up in the midst of thee for only a single moment, I should be compelled to destroy thee because of thine obduracy. He then issued this command: "Throw thine ornament away from thee, and I shall know (by that) what to do to thee."