Exodus 19:21

19:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn ¹  the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. ² 

Exodus 20:19

20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ³  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Exodus 23:29

23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals ⁴  multiply against you.

Exodus 23:33

23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare ⁵  to you.”

Exodus 34:12

34:12 Be careful not to make ⁶  a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare ⁷  among you.

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¹ tn The imperative הָעֵד (ha’ed) means “charge” them – put them under oath, or solemnly warn them. God wished to ensure that the people would not force their way past the barriers that had been set out.

² tn Heb “and fall”; NAB “be struck down.”

³ tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

⁴ tn Heb “the beast of the field.”

⁵ tn The idea of the “snare” is to lure them to judgment; God is apparently warning about contact with the Canaanites, either in worship or in business. They were very syncretistic, and so it would be dangerous to settle among them.

⁶ tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.

⁷ sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.