Exodus 19:13
New International Version
They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

New Living Translation
No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain.”

English Standard Version
No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Berean Standard Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

King James Bible
There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

New King James Version
Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

New American Standard Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

NASB 1995
‘No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

NASB 1977
‘No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Legacy Standard Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or surely shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Amplified Bible
No hand shall touch him [that is, no one shall try to save the guilty party], but the offender must be stoned or shot through [with arrows]; whether man or animal [that touches the mountain], he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Christian Standard Bible
No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows. No animal or man will live. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

American Standard Version
no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
A hand shall not come near it lest, being stoned, one will be stoned, and shot, he will be shot; if it is a beast or if a son of man, he shall not live, and when the trumpet has been silent, you are allowed to go up the mountain.’”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A hand shall not touch it, for every one that touches shall be stoned with stones or shot through with a dart, whether beast or whether man, it shall not live: when the voices and trumpets and cloud depart from off the mountain, they shall come up on the mountain.

Contemporary English Version
either with stones or arrows, and no one must touch the body of the person being put to death in this way. Even an animal that touches this mountain must be put to death. You may go up the mountain only after a signal is given on the trumpet.

Douay-Rheims Bible
No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.

English Revised Version
no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
No one should touch them. They must be stoned or shot with arrows. No matter whether it's an animal or a person, it must not live. The people may go up the mountain [only] when the ram's horn sounds a long blast."

Good News Translation
you must either be stoned or shot with arrows, without anyone touching you. This applies to both people and animals; they must be put to death. But when the trumpet is blown, then the people are to go up to the mountain."

International Standard Version
No hand is to touch that person, but he is certainly to be stoned or shot; whether animal or person, he is not to live.' They are to approach the mountain only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast."

JPS Tanakh 1917
no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the ram's horn soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.'

Literal Standard Version
a hand does not come against him, for he is certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man—it does not live; in the prolonging of the ram’s horn they go up into the mountain.”

Majority Standard Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

New American Bible
No hand shall touch them, but they must be stoned to death or killed with arrows. Whether human being or beast, they must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounds may they go up on the mountain.

NET Bible
No hand will touch him--but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; he must not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast they may go up on the mountain."

New Revised Standard Version
No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.”

New Heart English Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain."

Webster's Bible Translation
There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through: whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

World English Bible
No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Young's Literal Translation
a hand cometh not against him, for he is certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man it liveth not; in the drawing out of the jubilee cornet they go up into the mount.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel at Mount Sinai
12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows— whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” 14When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.…

Cross References
Hebrews 12:20
For they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned."

Exodus 19:14
When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

Exodus 19:17
Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Exodus 34:3
No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain--not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain."


Treasury of Scripture

There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.

whether

Exodus 21:28,29
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit…

Leviticus 20:15,16
And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast…

when the trumpet, or cornet

Exodus 19:16,19
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled…

1 Corinthians 15:52
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Jump to Previous
Animal Arrow Arrows Beast Blast Death Drawing Drawn Hand Horn Jubilee Live Mount Mountain Note Permitted Ram's Shot Soundeth Sounds Stoned Surely Touch Touched Trumpet Whether
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Animal Arrow Arrows Beast Blast Death Drawing Drawn Hand Horn Jubilee Live Mount Mountain Note Permitted Ram's Shot Soundeth Sounds Stoned Surely Touch Touched Trumpet Whether
Exodus 19
1. The people arrive at Sinai
3. God's message by Moses unto the people out of the mount
8. The people are prepared against the third day, for the giving of the law
12. The mountain must not be touched
16. The fearful presence of God upon the mount














(13) There shall not an hand touch it.--This translation gives an entirely wrong sense. The meaning is, beyond all doubt, "There shall not a hand touch him," i.e., the transgressor. To stop him and seize him, another person must have transgressed the bounds, and so have repeated the act which was forbidden. This course was to be avoided, and punishment was to be inflicted on the transgressor by stoning him, or transfixing him with arrows, from within the barrier.

Whether it be beast or man.--Though beasts are innocent of wrong-doing, and are thus no proper objects of punishment, yet the law of God requires their slaughter in certain eases--e.g. (1) when they are dangerous (Exodus 21:28); (2) when they have become polluted (Leviticus 20:15); (3) When their owner's sin is appropriately punished through their loss (Exodus 13:13). In the present case, it could only be through the culpable carelessness of an owner that a beast could get inside the barrier.

When the trumpet soundeth long.--Comp. Exodus 19:19.

They shall come up to the mount.--Rather, into the mount. The expression used is identical with that of the preceding verse, and there rendered "go up into the mount." Thus the act forbidden in Exodus 19:12 is allowed in Exodus 19:13; it is not, however, allowed to the same persons. The word "they" (hemah) in this present place is emphatic, and refers to certain privileged persons, as Moses and Aaron (Exodus 19:24), not to the people generally. . . .

Verse 13. - There shall not an hand touch it. Rather, "there shall not an hand touch him." The transgressor shall not be seized and apprehended, for that would involve the repetition of the offence by his arrester, who must overpass the "bounds" set by Moses, in order to make the arrest. Instead of seizing him, they were to kill him with stones or arrows from within the "bounds," and the same was to be done, if any stray beast approached the mountain. When the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. By translating the same Hebrew phrase differently here and in verse 12, the A. V. avoids the difficulty which most commentators see in this passage. According to the apparent construction, the people are first told that they may, on no account, ascend the mountain (ver. ,12), and then that they may do so, so soon as the trumpet sounds long (ver. 13). But they do not ascend at that time (ver. 19), nor are they allowed to do so - on the contrary, Moses is charged anew to prevent it (ver. 21-25); nor indeed do the people ever ascend, but only Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy eiders (Exodus 24:1, 2). What, then, is the permission here given? When we scrutinise the passage closely, we observe that the pronoun "they" is in the Hebrew, emphatic, and, therefore, unlikely to refer to "the people" of ver. 12. To whom then does it refer? Not, certainly, to "the Elders" of ver. 7, which would be too remote an antecedent, but to those chosen persons who are in the writer's mind, whom God was about to allow to ascend. Even these were not allowed to go up until summoned by the prolonged blast of the trumpet.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
No
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

hand
יָ֗ד (yāḏ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

shall touch him,
תִגַּ֨ע (ṯig·ga‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5060: To touch, lay the hand upon, to reach, violently, to strike

but
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

he shall surely
סָק֤וֹל (sā·qō·wl)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 5619: To stone, put to death by stoning

be stoned
יִסָּקֵל֙ (yis·sā·qêl)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5619: To stone, put to death by stoning

or
אוֹ־ (’ōw-)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

shot
יָרֹ֣ה (yā·rōh)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 3384: To flow as water, to lay, throw, to point out, to teach

with arrows—
יִיָּרֶ֔ה (yî·yā·reh)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3384: To flow as water, to lay, throw, to point out, to teach

whether
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

man
אִ֖ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

or
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

beast,
בְּהֵמָ֥ה (bə·hê·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 929: A dumb beast, any large quadruped, animal

he must not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

live.’
יִחְיֶ֑ה (yiḥ·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

Only when the ram’s horn
הַיֹּבֵ֔ל (hay·yō·ḇêl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3104: A ram, ram's horn (a wind instrument)

sounds a long blast
בִּמְשֹׁךְ֙ (bim·šōḵ)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 4900: To draw, drag

may they
הֵ֖מָּה (hêm·māh)
Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

go up
יַעֲל֥וּ (ya·‘ă·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

the mountain.”
בָהָֽר׃ (ḇā·hār)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country


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OT Law: Exodus 19:13 No hand shall touch him but he (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 19:12
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