When God tells Moses to give this commandment to the people, He commands him to say that anyone who works on the Sabbath shall be “put to death”—using the Hebrew emphatic form môt yûmt (31:14,15). But Moses just says “put to death” (yûmt)—leaving out the emphatic particle môt. That is, Moses softens the wording of the commandment. The convicted person might not feel any different to know that he is just being put to death, and not being put to death! But it is as if Moses cannot bring himself to pronounce the powerful, fearful condemnation.
