And Moses said may be changed to “But Moses replied” (Durham). Do not fear is exactly what he said to them in 14.13 (“Fear not”), when they were at the Red Sea. It is more natural to say “Do not be afraid” (New Revised Standard Version) or “Don’t be afraid” (Good News Translation). For God has come to prove you is literally “for on account of testing you [plural] God came,” so Good News Translation has “God has only come to test you” (so also Contemporary English Version). The idea is that the people needed to be tested to see how they would respond to God’s powerful presence. The word to prove may also mean to train, in the sense of gaining practical experience. So Durham has “for it is with the purpose of giving you the experience that God has come.” An alternative model is “God has come in order to let you experience his powerful presence” or “in order to see how you respond to his presence.” This clause, of course, must be joined to the following clause.

And that the fear of him may be before your eyes is literally “and in order that his fear will be on your faces.” This explains further the reason why God has come. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “and in order that the fear of Him may be ever before you,” and New Revised Standard Version has “and to put the fear of him upon you.” Moses seems to contradict himself, for he has just said Do not fear. But the word for fear also means reverence and awe. So Translator’s Old Testament interprets this as “to fill your mind with reverence for him,” and Durham has “so that reverence for him might grip you.” Good News Translation‘s “and make you keep on obeying him” brings out the meaning but loses the play on the word fear.

That you may not sin, literally “lest you [plural] miss the mark,” gives the real reason why God has come. The Hebrew word for sin (chataʾ) appears frequently in the Old Testament both as a verb and as a noun. As explained at 10.16, it most often refers to moral wrongdoing. Its root meaning of “missing the mark” thus gives the idea of missing the goal or standard set by divine law, or failure to observe what God requires. The Israelites must experience enough fear of God that they will “not go astray” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). New International Version has “to keep you from sinning,” Translator’s Old Testament has “This will prevent you from sinning,” and Good News Translation has “so that you will not sin.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .