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.

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.

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.

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.'

And Moses said to the people, Have no fear: for God has come to put you to the test, so that fearing him you may be kept from sin.

And Moses said to the people: "Do not be afraid. For God came in order to test you, and so that the dread of him might be with you, and you would not sin."

Respondit autem Moses populo, Ne timeatis: quia ut tentaret vos venit Deus, et ut sit timor ejus ante conspectum vestrum, ut non peccetis.

And Moses said - Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces - The maxim contained in this verse is, Fear not, that he may fear - do not fear with such a fear as brings consternation into the soul, and produces nothing but terror and confusion; but fear with that fear which reverence and filial affection inspire, that ye sin not - that, through the love and reverence ye feel to your Maker and Sovereign, ye may abstain from every appearance of evil, lest you should forfeit that love which is to you better than life. He who fears in the first sense can neither love nor obey; he who fears not in the latter sense is sure to fall under the first temptation that may occur. Blessed is the man who thus feareth always.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to (o) prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
(o) Whether you will obey his precepts as you promised in (Exodus 19:8).

And Moses said unto the people,.... By representatives and messengers, the heads of the tribes and elders:
fear not; be not afraid of God with a slavish fear; be not afraid of the thunders and lightnings, as if they were like one of the plagues of Egypt, which terrified Pharaoh and his people; be not afraid of being consumed by them, they will do you no hurt; be not afraid of dying by the hand of God, at his presence, and through the voice of his words spoken to you; be of good courage, for the design of God is not to destroy you, but to instruct you, and do you good:
for God is come to prove you; whether, being now freed by him from Egyptian bondage, they would take and own him for their King, and be subject to his laws and government; whether they would abide by what they had said, all that the Lord hath spoken will we do, Exodus 19:8, whether they thought they had purity and righteousness enough to answer to the divine law, and whether they imagined they had strength enough to fulfil it, and whether they needed a mediator between God and them or not: some Jewish writers (q) give a different sense of this clause, as if the coming of God to them in this grand and majestic manner was to exalt them, and make them great and honourable among the nations of the world; taking the word used to be derived from a root, which signifies to lift up, as a banner or ensign is lifted up on high: but the former sense is best:
and that his fear may be before your faces; not a slavish fear of death, of wrath, and damnation, before dehorted from; but a reverence of the divine Majesty, an awe of his greatness and glory, a serious regard to his commands, delivered in so grand a manner, and a carefulness to offend him by disobeying them:
that ye sin not: by breaking the law, and transgressing the precepts of it, which they might be deterred from, as it might be reasonably thought, when they reflected with what solemnity, and in what an awful manner it was delivered to them.
(q) Jarchi in loc. Medrash apud Kimchi in Sepher Shorash. rad. & Ben Melech in loc.

To direct the sinner's holy awe in the presence of the holy God, which was expressed in these words of the people, into the proper course of healthy and enduring penitence, Moses first of all took away the false fear of death by the encouraging answer, "Fear not," and then immediately added, "for God is come to prove you." נסּוּת referred to the testing of the state of the heart in relation to God, as it is explained in the exegetical clause which follows: "that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." By this terrible display of His glory, God desired to inspire them with the true fear of Himself, that they might not sin through distrust, disobedience, or resistance to His guidance and commands.

Fear not - That is, Think not that this thunder and fire is, designed to consume you. No; it was intended, To prove them, to try how they could like dealing with God immediately, without a mediator, and so to convince them how admirably well God had chosen for them in putting Moses into that office. Ever since Adam fled upon hearing God's voice in the garden, sinful man could not bear either to speak to God, or hear from him immediately. To keep them to their duty, and prevent their sinning against God. We must not fear with amazement; but we must always have in our minds a reverence of God's majesty, a dread of his displeasure, and an obedient regard to his sovereign authority.