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18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” 19 The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.(A) 20 But you cannot see my face,(B) for no one can see me and live.[a] 21 Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. 22 When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.

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Footnotes

  1. 33:20 No one can see me and live: reflecting the tradition that to see God meant instant death. This is contradicted by the statements that Hagar (Gn 16:13), Jacob (Gn 32:31), and Manoah and his wife (Jgs 13:22) all “see God” and yet live (see also Ex 24:10–11).

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”(A)

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass(B) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,(C) the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.(D) 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see(E) me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock(F) and cover you with my hand(G) until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

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