Exodus 24:7

Translation
King James Version
And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
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KJV (with Strong's)
And he took H3947 the book H5612 of the covenant H1285, and read H7121 in the audience H241 of the people H5971: and they said H559, All that the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 will we do H6213, and be obedient H8085.
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Complete Jewish Bible
Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded, "Everything that ADONAI has spoken, we will do and obey."
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Berean Standard Bible
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
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American Standard Version
And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.
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World English Bible Messianic
He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken will we do, and be obedient.”
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Geneva Bible (1599)
After he tooke the booke of the couenant, and read it in the audience of the people: who said, All that the Lord hath said, we will do, and be obedient.
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Young's Literal Translation
and he taketh the Book of the Covenant, and proclaimeth in the ears of the people, and they say, `All that which Jehovah hath spoken we do, and obey.'
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See also
Deuteronomy 31:11Deuteronomy 31:13Exodus 24:3Exodus 24:41 Thessalonians 5:27Jeremiah 7:23Jeremiah 7:24
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In the KJVVerse 2,185 of 31,102

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SUMMARY

Exodus 24:7 captures a pivotal moment in the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant, where Moses formally presents the "book of the covenant" to the assembled Israelites. Following the detailed revelation of God's laws at Mount Sinai, this verse records the people's unanimous and enthusiastic affirmation to obey all that the LORD had commanded, signifying their solemn commitment to the terms of the divine agreement. This public declaration underscores the reciprocal nature of the covenant and Israel's willing submission to God's supreme authority, setting the stage for the formal ratification ceremony.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Exodus 24:7 is situated at the climax of the covenant ratification ceremony at Mount Sinai, immediately following the detailed exposition of God's laws. The preceding chapters (Exodus 20, Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Exodus 23) contain the Ten Commandments and the "Book of the Covenant," which outlines civil, social, and ceremonial statutes. Prior to this verse, Moses had already prepared the physical elements for the ceremony, including building an altar, setting up twelve pillars, and overseeing the offering of burnt and peace offerings, with the blood collected for the covenant's sealing (Exodus 24:4-6). The public reading of the covenant terms and the people's verbal affirmation in this verse are crucial steps that precede the sprinkling of the blood upon the people, which formally seals the agreement (Exodus 24:8). This sequence emphasizes the solemnity, intentionality, and comprehensive nature of Israel's entry into a binding relationship with Yahweh.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The act of covenant-making in the ancient Near East was a highly formalized process, often mirroring the structure of suzerainty treaties between a great king (suzerain) and his vassal. In this divine context, Yahweh functions as the supreme Suzerain, and Israel as His vassal nation. The "book of the covenant" (likely referring to the laws given in Exodus 20, Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Exodus 23) served as the written terms of this divine treaty, a common feature in such agreements. The public reading of these terms ensured that every member of the community, regardless of status, was fully informed of their obligations, leaving no room for ignorance or future dispute. The people's collective verbal affirmation, "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient," was a formal, binding oath of allegiance, a customary element in ancient treaties, signifying their acceptance of the covenant's stipulations and their willing submission to the divine authority of their God. This moment solidified Israel's identity as a unique nation bound to Yahweh by a sacred and legally defined pact.
  • Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Exodus and the Pentateuch. It highlights the theme of Divine Sovereignty and Initiative, as God is the one who establishes the covenant terms and calls His people into relationship. It emphasizes Human Responsibility and Obedience, showcasing Israel's volitional choice to accept and live by God's commands, a recurring motif throughout the wilderness narrative and into the promised land, as seen in passages like Deuteronomy 28. The "book of the covenant" underscores the Authority and Permanence of God's Word, establishing a written, tangible record of divine expectations. Furthermore, the public nature of the event reinforces the theme of Corporate Identity and Accountability, demonstrating that the covenant was made with the entire nation, binding them together in their commitment to Yahweh. This collective pledge foreshadows the ongoing tension between Israel's covenant obligations and their historical failures, a theme explored extensively by the prophets (e.g., Jeremiah 11:1-8).

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • book (Hebrew, çêpher', H5612): This term, properly referring to "writing" or a "document," by implication denotes a "book," "scroll," or "register." In this context, it emphasizes the written, authoritative, and permanent nature of the covenant stipulations. It signifies that God's laws were not merely oral traditions but a tangible, recorded compilation, ensuring their preservation and serving as a legal witness to the divine-human agreement.
  • covenant (Hebrew, bᵉrîyth', H1285): This word describes a "compact," "confederacy," or "league," often conceived as being "cut" (referencing the ancient practice of cutting animals in two and parties passing between the pieces to ratify an agreement). It signifies a solemn, binding agreement, typically initiated by a superior party (God) and accepted by an inferior party (Israel), establishing a unique and exclusive relationship with mutual obligations, blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience.
  • said (Hebrew, dâbar', H1696): This primitive root means "to speak" or "to arrange," but can also imply to "command," "declare," or "utter." In the context of "All that the LORD hath said," it refers to the entirety of God's revealed will and commands, emphasizing that the people's commitment is to the divine utterance itself, indicating the authority and origin of the covenant stipulations.
  • do (Hebrew, ʻâsâh', H6213): This primitive root means "to do" or "to make" in the broadest sense, encompassing accomplishment, performance, and execution. The people's declaration "will we do" signifies their intention to actively put the covenant stipulations into practice, to perform the actions required by God's laws. It is a commitment to active, practical obedience, not merely passive mental agreement.
  • be obedient (Hebrew, shâmaʻ', H8085): This primitive root means "to hear intelligently," often implying "to listen attentively," "to understand," and crucially, "to obey" or "to pay heed to." In Hebrew thought, "hearing" is not just auditory perception but a comprehensive response of the will. Coupled with "do," it underscores a holistic commitment: they will not only actively perform the commands but also listen attentively, internalize, and submit to the authority and wisdom behind God's voice.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And he took the book of the covenant,": Moses, acting as the divinely appointed mediator, physically takes the written compilation of God's laws. This "book" represents the tangible, authoritative terms and conditions of the covenant, encompassing the Ten Commandments and the detailed statutes given in Exodus 20, Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Exodus 23. The act of taking it signifies its importance and readiness for official, public presentation.
  • "and read in the audience of the people:": Moses' public reading ensured that every individual present, from the leaders to the common person, was fully informed of the covenant's demands. This was not a private or exclusive agreement but a public, national commitment, underscoring the transparency and collective responsibility inherent in the covenant. The phrase "in the audience of the people" highlights that the covenant was heard and understood by all, leaving no room for claims of ignorance regarding their obligations.
  • "and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.": This is the people's unanimous, enthusiastic, and solemn oath of allegiance. Their declaration is comprehensive ("All that the LORD hath said") and dual-faceted ("will we do, and be obedient"). "Will we do" signifies their volitional commitment to actively perform the commands, while "be obedient" implies a readiness to listen attentively, internalize, and submit to God's ongoing voice and authority. This verbal pledge formalizes their acceptance of the covenant terms and their willingness to enter into a binding, exclusive relationship with Yahweh.

Literary Devices

Exodus 24:7 employs several significant literary devices to convey the gravity and meaning of this pivotal moment. The most prominent is the Covenant Formula, which is evident in the structured presentation of the covenant terms (the "book of the covenant") followed by the people's explicit, collective affirmation. This pattern mirrors ancient Near Eastern treaty structures, lending immense gravitas, legal weight, and solemnity to the divine-human agreement. Repetition is also key, particularly in the people's dual response, "we will do, and be obedient." This emphasizes the comprehensive and earnest nature of their commitment, signifying both active performance of commands and attentive, submissive listening to God's voice. Furthermore, the "book of the covenant" itself functions as powerful Symbolism, representing God's authoritative word, the tangible terms of the sacred relationship, and a perpetual witness to Israel's obligations. The act of Moses reading it aloud is a form of Public Proclamation, ensuring universal awareness and collective accountability, thereby reinforcing the communal and national nature of the covenant.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Exodus 24:7 powerfully underscores the themes of divine initiative, human responsibility, and the foundational importance of God's revealed word. God, as the sovereign Lord, graciously establishes the terms of the covenant, demonstrating His holiness and His desire for an exclusive relationship with His chosen people. Israel's unanimous and enthusiastic response highlights the necessity of human volition and corporate commitment in accepting and living out this relationship. Their pledge of obedience is not merely a legalistic burden but a joyful, communal affirmation of their identity as God's treasured possession, called to live distinctly according to His righteous standards. This moment sets the precedent for all future interactions between God and Israel, where faithfulness to the covenant is consistently presented as the path to blessing, while disobedience leads to consequences, as vividly portrayed throughout the historical books and prophetic literature.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Exodus 24:7 serves as a profound reminder of the seriousness and joy of our commitment to God's word. Just as the Israelites publicly and enthusiastically pledged their obedience to the covenant terms, so too are believers today called to a wholehearted "yes" to the Lord. While we live under the New Covenant, established by Christ's blood and grace, the principle of willing and active obedience remains central to our faith and discipleship. Our understanding of God's will, as revealed in the Scriptures, should lead not merely to intellectual assent or theoretical agreement but to a heartfelt desire to live in accordance with His truth, motivated by love, gratitude, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. This verse challenges us to examine the depth of our commitment: Do we truly listen to God's voice as revealed in His word, and are our lives a living affirmation of His commands, reflecting a genuine desire to "do" and "be obedient"?

Questions for Reflection

  • What does "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" practically mean for my daily choices and actions?
  • In what specific areas of my life do I find myself most challenged to fully obey God's commands and surrender my will?
  • How does my understanding of God's boundless grace, revealed in Christ, inform and motivate my desire for obedience?
  • What tangible steps can I take this week to better "hear" God's voice through Scripture and more faithfully "do" His word in my life?

FAQ

What was the "book of the covenant" mentioned in Exodus 24:7?

Answer: The "book of the covenant" refers to the specific collection of laws and stipulations that God had just revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai. While it might not have been a single, bound volume as we understand books today, it was a written compilation of divine instructions. Scholars generally agree that it primarily encompassed the Ten Commandments given in Exodus 20, along with the detailed civil and ceremonial laws found in Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Exodus 23. These laws formed the foundational terms of the covenant agreement between God and the nation of Israel, outlining their responsibilities and the framework for their unique relationship with Yahweh. Moses' act of writing them down made them tangible, authoritative, and a permanent record of God's expectations for His people.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Exodus 24:7, with its depiction of the Old Covenant's ratification through a public declaration of obedience, powerfully foreshadows the New Covenant established in Jesus Christ. The Israelites' earnest pledge, "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient," represented their commitment to a covenant based on law and human effort, a covenant which they ultimately failed to uphold due to the weakness of the flesh, as evidenced throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Jeremiah 31:32). However, Jesus, as the perfect mediator of a new and better covenant, fulfills the spirit and intent of this ancient promise. His life of perfect, unwavering obedience to the Father's will (e.g., Philippians 2:8) and His sacrificial death on the cross (e.g., Hebrews 9:15) establish a covenant not based on human works, but on divine grace and His shed blood. Just as Moses sprinkled blood to ratify the old covenant (Exodus 24:8), Jesus' blood inaugurates the new (e.g., Luke 22:20), providing forgiveness and enabling true obedience. Under this New Covenant, God writes His laws not on tablets of stone, but on the hearts of His people through the Holy Spirit (e.g., Hebrews 8:10), empowering believers to live in newness of life through faith in Him (e.g., Romans 8:3-4). Thus, the ultimate "doing" and "being obedient" is found in Christ, who perfectly fulfilled the Law and enables His followers to walk in His ways.

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Commentary on Exodus 24 verses 1–8

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

The first two verses record the appointment of a second session upon mount Sinai, for the making of laws, when an end was put to the first. When a communion is begun between God and us, it shall never fail on his side, if it do not first fail on ours. Moses is directed to bring Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, that they might be witnesses of the glory of God, and that communion with him to which Moses was admitted; and that their testimony might confirm the people's faith. In this approach, 1. They must all be very reverent: Worship you afar off, Exo 24:1. Before they came near, they must worship. Thus we must enter into God's gates with humble and solemn adorations, draw near as those that know our distance, and admire the condescensions of God's grace in admitting us to draw near. Are great princes approached with the profound reverences of the body? And shall not the soul that draws near to God be bowed before him? 2. They must none of them come so near as Moses, Exo 24:2. They must come up to the Lord (and those that would approach to God must ascend), but Moses alone must come near, being therein a type of Christ, who, as the high priest, entered alone into the most holy place.

In the following verses, we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel, and the exchanging of the ratifications; and a very solemn transaction it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers through Christ.

I. Moses told the people the words of the Lord, Exo 24:3. He did not lead them blindfold into the covenant, nor teach them a devotion that was the daughter of ignorance; but laid before them all the precepts, general and particular, in the foregoing chapters; and fairly put it to them whether they were willing to submit to these laws or no.

II. The people unanimously consented to the terms proposed, without reservation or exception: All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. They had before consented in general to be under God's government (Exo 19:8); here they consent in particular to these laws now given. O that there had been such a heart in them! How well were it if people would but be always in the same good mind that sometimes they seem to be in! Many consent to the law, and yet do not live up to it; they have nothing to except against it, and yet will not persuade themselves to be ruled by it.

This is the tenour of the covenant, That, if they would observe the foregoing precepts, God would perform the foregoing promises. "Obey, and be happy." Here is the bargain made. Observe,

1.How it was engrossed in the book of the covenant: Moses wrote the words of the Lord (Exo 24:4), that there might be no mistake; probably he had written them as God dictated them on the mount. As soon as ever God had separated to himself a peculiar people in the world, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since, and will do while the world stands and the church in it. Moses, having engrossed the articles of agreement concluded upon between God and Israel, read them in the audience of the people (Exo 24:7), that they might be perfectly apprised of the thing, and might try whether their second thoughts were the same with their first, upon the whole matter. And we may suppose they were so; for their words (Exo 24:7) are the same with what they were (Exo 24:3), but something stronger: All that the Lord hath said (be it good, or be it evil, to flesh and blood, Jer 42:6) we will do; so they had said before, but now they add, "And will be obedient; not only we will do what has been commanded, but in every thing which shall further be ordained we will be obedient." Bravely resolved! if they had but stuck to their resolution. See here that God's covenants and commands are so incontestably equitable in themselves, and so highly advantageous to us, that the more we think of them, and the more plainly and fully they are set before us, the more reason we shall see to comply with them.

2.How it was sealed by the blood of the covenant, that Israel might receive strong consolations from the ratifying of God's promises to them, and might lie under strong obligations from the ratifying of their promises to God. Thus has Infinite Wisdom devised means that we may be confirmed both in our faith and in our obedience, may be both encouraged in our duty and engaged to it. The covenant must be made by sacrifice (Psa 50:5), because, since man has sinned, and forfeited his Creator's favour, there can be no fellowship by covenant till there be first friendship and atonement by sacrifice.

(1.)In preparation therefore for the parties interchangeably putting their seals to this covenant, [1.] Moses builds an altar, to the honour of God, which was principally intended in all the altars that were built, and which was the first thing to be looked at in the covenant they were now to seal. No addition to the perfections of the divine nature can be made by any of God's dealings with the children of men, but in them his perfections are manifested and magnified, and his honour is shown forth; therefore he will not be represented by an altar, to signify that all he expected from them was that they should do him honour, and that, being his people, they should be to him for a name and a praise. [2.] He erects twelve pillars, according to the number of the tribes. These were to represent the people, the other party to the covenant; and we may suppose that they were set up against the altar, and that Moses, as mediator, passed to and fro between them. Probably each tribe set up and knew its own pillar, and their elders stood by it. [3.] He appointed sacrifices to be offered upon the altar (Exo 24:5), burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, which yet were designed to be expiatory. We are not concerned to enquire who these young men were that were employed in offering these sacrifices; for Moses was himself the priest, and what they did was purely as his servants, by his order and appointment. No doubt they were men who by their bodily strength were qualified for the service, and by their station among the people were fittest for the honour.

(2.)Preparation being thus made, the ratifications were very solemnly exchanged. [1.] The blood of the sacrifice which the people offered was (part of it) sprinkled upon the altar (Exo 24:6), which signifies the people's dedicating themselves, their lives, and beings, to God, and to his honour. In the blood (which is the life) of the dead sacrifices all the Israelites were presented unto God as living sacrifices, Rom 12:1. [2.] The blood of the sacrifice which God had owned and accepted was (the remainder of it) sprinkled either upon the people themselves (Exo 24:8) or upon the pillars that represented them, which signified God's graciously conferring his favour upon them and all the fruits of that favour, and his giving them all the gifts they could expect or desire from a God reconciled to them and in covenant with them by sacrifice. This part of the ceremony was thus explained: "Behold the blood of the covenant; see here how God has sealed to you to be a people; his promises to you, and yours to him, are both yea and amen." Thus our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant (of whom Moses was a type), having offered up himself a sacrifice upon the cross, that his blood might be indeed the blood of the covenant, sprinkled it upon the altar in his intercession (Heb 9:12), and sprinkles it upon his church by his word and ordinances and the influences and operations of the Spirit of promise, by whom we are sealed. He himself seemed to allude to this solemnity when, in the institution of the Lord's supper, he said, This cup is the New Testament (or covenant) in my blood. Compare with this, Heb 9:19, Heb 9:20.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–8. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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