And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

Moses came, and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.

And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and laid before the mall these words which Jehovah had commanded him.

And Moses cometh, and calleth for the elders of the people, and setteth before them all these words which Jehovah hath commanded him;

And Moses came and sent for the chiefs of the people and put before them all these words which the Lord had given him orders to say.

Moses went, and calling together those greater by birth among the people, he set forth all the words which the Lord had commanded.

Venit itaque Moses, et vocavit seniores populi, et protulit coram ipsis omnes hos sermones quos praeceperat ei Jehova.

The elders of the people - The head of each tribe, and the chief of each family, by whose ministry this gracious purpose of God was speedily communicated to the whole camp.

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people,.... After he had heard the above words from the mouth of God, he came down from the mount into the camp of Israel, and sent for the elders or principal men of the tribes and families of Israel to come to him:
and, being gathered together:
laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him; expressed them in the plainest manner, set them in the clearest light to their minds and consciences; so that they thoroughly understood them, were fully convinced of the propriety of these things God required of them, and their obligation to observe them, and saw plainly the greatness and importance of what he promised unto them.

Moses came and called for the elders of the people--The message was conveyed to the mighty multitude through their elders, who, doubtless, instructed them in the conditions required. Their unanimous acceptance was conveyed through the same channel to Moses, and by him reported to the Lord. Ah! how much self-confidence did their language betray! How little did they know what spirit they were of!

When Moses communicated to the people through their elders this incomparable promise of the Lord, they promised unanimously (יחדּו) to do all that Jehovah said; and when Moses reported to the Lord what the people had answered, He said to Moses, "I will come to thee in the darkness of the cloud, that the people may listen to My speaking to thee (בּ שׁמע, as in Genesis 27:5, etc.), and also believe thee for ever." As God knew the weakness of the sinful nation, and could not, as the Holy One, come into direct intercourse with it on account of its unholiness, but was about to conclude the covenant with it through the mediation of Moses, it was necessary, in order to accomplish the design of God, that the chosen mediator should receive special credentials; and these were to consists in the fact that Jehovah spoke to Moses in the sight and hearing of the people, that is to say, that He solemnly proclaimed the fundamental law of the covenant in the presence of the whole nation (Ex 19:16-20:18), and showed by this fact that Moses was the recipient and mediator of the revelation of God, in order that the people might believe him "for ever," as the law was to possess everlasting validity (Matthew 5:18).

And Moses laid before their faces all these words - He not only explained to them what God had given him in charge, but put it to their choice, whether they would accept these promises upon these terms or no. His laying it to their faces speaks his laying it to their consciences.