“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
The thick cloud prohibits curious enquiries into secret things and commands awful adoration of what is revealed. God comes down visibly so the people see His glory and are convinced He is among them. This honours Moses especially: when they hear God speak to him and see it with their own eyes, they will believe him forever.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 19:9-15
And he said unto the people, be ready against the third day,.... The third day from thence, the sixth of the month Sivan, against which day they were to prepare themselves, by washing their garments, and all other outward acts of sanctification and purity they were directed to, that they might be ready for the service of that day, to hear and receive the law...
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at [your] wives. (f) But give yourselves to prayer and abstinence, that you may at this time attend only upon the Lord, .