20Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” 21So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

      22Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24‘You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Moses said to the people: Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.

Darby Bible Translation
And Moses said to the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.

English Revised Version
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses said to the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

World English Bible
Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won't sin."

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses saith unto the people, 'Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces -- that ye sin not.'The Decalogue: I --Man and God
'And God spake all these words, saying, 2. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Decalogue: ii. --Man and Man
'Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 13. Thou shalt not kill. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15. Thou shalt not steal. 16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 18. And all the people saw the thunderings and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

May the Third Other Gods!
"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." --EXODUS xx. 1-11. If we kept that commandment all the other commandments would be obeyed. If we secure this queen-bee we are given the swarm. To put nothing "before" God! What is left in the circle of obedience? God first, always and everywhere. Nothing allowed to usurp His throne for an hour! I was once allowed to sit on an earthly throne for a few seconds, but even that is not to be allowed with the throne of God. Nothing is to share His sovereignty, …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Mediator --The Interpreter
To us, that day at Horeb is a type of the action of the law in our nature: thus doth the law deal with our consciences and hearts. If you have ever felt the law spoken home to you by the Spirit of God, you have heard great thunderings within. You have been forced to cry with Habakkuk, "When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones." And God intended it to be so, that you might look to the flames which Moses saw, and abandon forever all hope of acceptance …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 35: 1889

Weighed in the Balances
In the fifth chapter of Daniel we read the history of King Belshazzar. One chapter tells us all we know about him. One short sight of his career is all we have. He bursts in upon the scene and then disappears. THE EASTERN FEAST. We are told that he made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before them. In those days a feast would sometimes last for six months in Eastern countries. How long this feast had been going on we are not told, but in the midst of it, he "commanded to bring …
Dwight L. Moody—Weighed and Wanting

Traditionalism, Its Origin, Character, and Literature - the Mishnah and Talmud - the Gospel of Christ - the Dawn of a New Day.
In trying to picture to ourselves New Testament scenes, the figure most prominent, next to those of the chief actors, is that of the Scribe ({hebrew}, grammates, literatus). He seems ubiquitous; we meet him in Jerusalem, in Judæa, and even in Galilee. [437] Indeed, he is indispensable, not only in Babylon, which may have been the birthplace of his order, but among the dispersion' also. [438] Everywhere he appears as the mouthpiece and representative of the people; he pushes to the front, the …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Covenanting Sanctioned by the Divine Example.
God's procedure when imitable forms a peculiar argument for duty. That is made known for many reasons; among which must stand this,--that it may be observed and followed as an example. That, being perfect, is a safe and necessary pattern to follow. The law of God proclaims what he wills men as well as angels to do. The purposes of God show what he has resolved to have accomplished. The constitutions of his moral subjects intimate that he has provided that his will shall be voluntarily accomplished …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Beam on us Brightly, Blessed Day,
"The Lord blessed the Seventh day and hallowed it." -- Exodus 20:11. Beam on us brightly, blessed day, Dawn softly for our Savior's sake; And waft thy sweetness o'er our way, To draw us heavenward when we wake. O holy life that shall not end, Light that will never cease to be -- May every Sabbath-day we spend, Add to our happiness in Thee. …
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

For, Concerning False Witness, which is Set Down in the Ten Commands of The...
36. For, concerning false witness, which is set down in the ten commands of the Law, it can indeed in no wise be contended that love of truth may at heart be preserved, and false witness brought forth to him unto whom the witness is borne. For, when it is said to God only, then it is only in the heart that the truth is to be embraced: but when it is said to man, then must we with the mouth also of the body bring forth truth, because man is not an inspector of the heart. But then, touching the witness …
St. Augustine—On Lying

On the Other Hand, those who Say that we must Never Lie...
6. On the other hand, those who say that we must never lie, plead much more strongly, using first the Divine authority, because in the very Decalogue it is written "Thou shall not bear false witness;" [2306] under which general term it comprises all lying: for whoso utters any thing bears witness to his own mind. But lest any should contend that not every lie is to be called false witness, what will he say to that which is written, "The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul:" [2307] and lest any should …
St. Augustine—On Lying

What Then, if a Homicide Seek Refuge with a Christian...
22. What then, if a homicide seek refuge with a Christian, or if he see where the homicide have taken refuge, and be questioned of this matter by him who seeks, in order to bring to punishment a man, the slayer of man? Is he to tell a lie? For how does he not hide a sin by lying, when he for whom he lies has been guilty of a heinous sin? Or is it because he is not questioned concerning his sin, but about the place where he is concealed? So then to lie in order to hide a person's sin is evil; but …
St. Augustine—On Lying

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