The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
Rashi
בעב הענן signifies in the thickness of the cloud, and this is the ערפל, the thick darkness mentioned in Exodus 20:18 “And Moses stepped near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Mekhilta).
וגם בך AND IN THEE ALSO [WILL THEY BELIEVE] — The word “also” implies that they will believe also in the prophets who will come after thee (Mekhilta).
ויגד משה את דברי וגו׳ AND MOSES TOLD THE WORDS OF [THE PEOPLE UNTO THE LORD] on the following day which was the fourth of the month.
את דברי העם וגו׳ THE WORDS OF THE PEOPLE etc. — He said to God: “I have heard from them a reply to this statement — that their desire is to hear the commandments from You and not from me. One who hears from the mouth of a messenger is not the same (in the same position) as one who hears directly from the mouth of the King himself. It is our wish to see our King (cf. Mekhilta).
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.