Exodus 23:20

¹ “I am going to send ²  an angel ³  before you to protect you as you journey ⁴  and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. ⁵ 

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

"Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

"See, I am sending my angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you.

"Now get yourselves ready. I'm sending my Angel ahead of you to guard you in your travels, to lead you to the place that I've prepared.

See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you.

I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

¹ “I am going to send ²  an angel ³  before you to protect you as you journey ⁴  and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. ⁵ 

¹ sn This passage has some of the most interesting and perplexing expressions and constructions in the book. It is largely promise, but it is part of the Law and so demands compliance by faith. Its points are: God promises to send his angel to prepare the way before his obedient servants (20-23); God promises blessing for his loyal servants (24-33). So in the section one learns that God promises his protection (victory) and blessing (through his angel) for his obedient and loyal worshipers.

² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the active participle indicates imminent future, something God is about to do.

³ sn The word is מַלְאָךְ (mal’akh, “messenger, angel”). This angel is to be treated with the same fear and respect as Yahweh, for Yahweh will be speaking in him. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 305-6) says that the words of the first clause do not imply a being distinct from God, for in the ancient world the line of demarcation between the sender and the sent is liable easily to be blurred. He then shows how the “Angel of Yahweh” in Genesis is Yahweh. He concludes that the words here mean “I will guide you.” Christian commentators tend to identify the Angel of Yahweh as the second person of the Trinity (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:446). However, in addition to being a preincarnate appearance, the word could refer to Yahweh – some manifestation of Yahweh himself.

⁴ tn Heb “protect you in the way.”

⁵ tn The form is the Hiphil perfect of the verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish, prepare”).