Exodus 14 · Verse 20

Exodus 14:20

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
Exodus 14:20, King James Version

Exodus 14:20 in other translations

BSBso that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.
WEBIt came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light by night. One didn’t come near the other all night.
ASVand it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all the night.
YLTand cometh in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud and the darkness are, and he enlighteneth the night, and the one hath not drawn near unto the other all the night.
DARBYAnd it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness, and lit up the night; and the one did not come near the other all the night.
BBEAnd it came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel; and there was a dark cloud between them, and they went on through the night; but the one army came no nearer to the other all the night.
WebsterAnd it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

What does Exodus 14:20 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 It was a cloud and darkness to them, etc. - That the Israelites might not be dismayed at the appearance of their enemies, and that these might not be able to discern the object of their pursuit, the pillar of cloud moved from the front to the rear of the Israelitish camp, so as perfectly to separate between them and the Egyptians. It appears also that this cloud had two sides, one dark and the other luminous: the luminous side gave light to the whole camp of Israel during the night of passage; and the dark side, turned towards the pursuing Egyptians, prevented them from receiving any benefit from that light. How easily can God make the same thing an instrument of destruction or salvation, as seems best to his godly wisdom! He alone can work by all agents, and produce any kind of effect even by the same instrument; for all things serve the purposes of his will.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 14:15-20

Moses' silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel's loud outcries of fear. The pillar of cloud and fire came behind them, where they needed a guard, and it was a wall between them and their enemies. The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward the people of the Lord. He, who divided between light and darkness, Ge 1:4…

Read the full comment on Exodus 14:15-20 →

Exodus 14:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּבֹ֞אvai.ya.Vo'and it wentH935
בֵּ֣ין\׀beinbetweenH996
מַחֲנֵ֣הma.cha.Neh[the] camp ofH4264
מִצְרַ֗יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
וּבֵין֙u.Veinand betweenH996
מַחֲנֵ֣הma.cha.Neh[the] camp ofH4264
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וַיְהִ֤יvay.Hiand it wasH1961
הֶֽעָנָן֙he.'a.Nanthe cloudH6051
וְהַחֹ֔שֶׁךְve.ha.Cho.shekhand the darknessH2822
וַיָּ֖אֶרvai.Ya.'erand it lit upH215
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַלָּ֑יְלָהha.La.ye.lahthe nightH3915
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
קָרַ֥בka.Ravit drew nearH7126
זֶ֛הzehthisH2088
אֶל\־'el-toH413
זֶ֖הzehthisH2088
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הַלָּֽיְלָה\׃ha.La.ye.lahthe nightH3915

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 14:20

  • Isaiah 8:14

    And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

    For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

  • Proverbs 4:18-19

    But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

  • Psalms 18:11

    He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ps 18:11; Pr 4:18,19; Isa 8:14; 2Co 2:15,16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 14:19

    And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

  • Exodus 14:20

    And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

  • Exodus 14:21

    And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

Read all of Exodus 14

Exodus 14:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		E iba entre el campo de los Egipcios y el campo de Israel; y era nube y tinieblas para aquéllos, y alumbraba á Israel de noche: y en toda aquella noche nunca llegaron los unos á los otros.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et elle vint entre le camp des Égyptiens et le camp d’Israël; et elle fut pour les uns une nuée et des ténèbres, et pour les autres elle éclairait la nuit; et l’un n’approcha pas de l’autre de toute la nuit.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie kam zwischen das Heer der Ägypter und das Heer Israels, und sie wurde dort Wolke und Finsternis, und erleuchtete hier die Nacht; und so nahte jenes diesem nicht die ganze Nacht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		stetit, inter castra Ægyptiorum et castra Israël: et erat nubes tenebrosa, et illuminans noctem, ita ut ad se invicem toto noctis tempore accedere non valerent.