Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, August 2nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Deuteronomy 4:12

And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire a voice of words, which ye heard: and ye saw no likeness, only ye heard a voice.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   God;   Law;   Obedience;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Church of Israel;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Idol, idolatry;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Building;   Disciple, Discipleship;   Fire;   Teach, Teacher;   Word;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Polytheism;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Idol;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Baptism of Fire;   Deuteronomy, the Book of;   Similitude;   Theophany;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Deuteronomy;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Similitude;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Deuteronomy;   Form;   Ignorance;   Similitude;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Bat Ḳol;   Theology;   Theophany;   Tobiah ben Eliezer;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; only [you heard] a voice.
King James Version
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard a sound of words, but you did not see a form—only a voice.
English Standard Version
Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
New Century Version
The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you did not see him; there was only a voice.
New English Translation
Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything—only a voice was heard.
Amplified Bible
"Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of the words, but you saw no form—there was only a voice.
New American Standard Bible
"Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—there was only a voice.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lorde spake vnto you out of the middes of the fire, and ye heard the voyce of the wordes, but sawe no similitude, saue a voyce.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice.
Contemporary English Version
and the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You could hear him and understand what he was saying, but you couldn't see him.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then Adonai spoke to you out of the fire! You heard the sound of words but saw no shape, there was only a voice.
Darby Translation
And Jehovah spoke to you from the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but ye saw no form; only [ye heard] a voice.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of someone speaking, but you did not see any form. There was only a voice.
George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD spoke to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
Good News Translation
Tell them how the Lord spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all.
Christian Standard Bible®
Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice.
Literal Translation
And Jehovah spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you did not see a form, only a voice.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And ye LORDE spake vnto you out of the myddes of the fyre. The voyce of his wordes ye herde, neuerthelesse ye sawe no ymage, but herde the voyce onely.
American Standard Version
And Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice.
Bible in Basic English
And the voice of the Lord came to you out of the fire: the sound of his words came to your ears but you saw no form; there was nothing but a voice.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lorde spake vnto you out of the middes of the fire, and ye hearde the voyce of the wordes: but sawe no similitude, saue hearde a voyce only.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only a voice.
King James Version (1611)
And the Lord spake vnto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voyce of the words, but saw no similitude, onely ye heard a voyce.
English Revised Version
And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice.
Berean Standard Bible
And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord spak to you fro the myddis of fier; ye herden the vois of hise wordis, and outirli ye sien no fourme.
Young's Literal Translation
`And Jehovah speaketh unto you out of the midst of the fire; a voice of words ye are hearing and a similitude ye are not seeing, only a voice;
Update Bible Version
And Yahweh spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; [you heard] only a voice.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only [ye heard] a voice.
World English Bible
Yahweh spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; only [you heard] a voice.
New King James Version
And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
New Living Translation
And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn't see his form; there was only a voice.
New Life Bible
Then the Lord spoke to you from the center of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no body. There was only a voice.
New Revised Standard
Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then spake Yahweh unto you out of the midst of the fire, - a voice of words, ye were hearing, no form, were ye seeing, there was only a voice.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you saw not any form at all.
Revised Standard Version
Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice.

Contextual Overview

1 And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, all that I teach you this day to do: that ye may live, and be multiplied, and that ye may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you. 2 Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, and ye shall not take from it: keep the commandments of the Lord our God, all that I command you this day. 3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord our God did in the case of Beel-phegor; for every man that went after Beel-phegor, the Lord your God has utterly destroyed him from among you. 4 But ye that kept close to the Lord your God are all alive to-day. 5 Behold, I have shewn you ordinances and judgments as the Lord commanded me, that ye should do so in the land into which ye go to inherit it. 6 And ye shall keep and do them: for this is your wisdom and understanding before all nations, as many as shall hear all these ordinances; and they shall say, Behold, this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what manner of nation is so great, which has God so near to them as the Lord our God is in all things in whatsoever we may call upon him? 8 And what manner of nation is so great, which has righteous ordinances and judgments according to all this law, which I set before you this day? 9 Take heed to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which thine eyes have seen, and let them not depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; and thou shalt teach thy sons and thy sons’ sons, 10 even the things that happened in the day in which ye stood before the Lord our God in Choreb in the day of the assembly; for the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days which they live upon the earth, and they shall teach their sons.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Lord: Deuteronomy 5:4, Deuteronomy 5:22

no similitude: Deuteronomy 4:15, Numbers 12:8, Isaiah 40:18, Colossians 1:15

only ye heard a voice: Heb. save a voice, Deuteronomy 4:33, Deuteronomy 4:36, Exodus 20:22, 1 Kings 19:12, 1 Kings 19:13, Isaiah 30:21, Isaiah 40:3, Isaiah 40:6, Matthew 3:3, Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28-30, 2 Peter 1:17, 2 Peter 1:18

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:9 - that the Exodus 19:18 - mount Sinai Judges 5:5 - that Sinai Job 38:1 - General Psalms 97:2 - Clouds Psalms 147:19 - word Ezekiel 1:4 - a great Ezekiel 10:5 - the voice John 1:18 - seen John 5:37 - Ye have Hebrews 12:19 - and the voice

Cross-References

Genesis 4:3
And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord.
Genesis 4:4
And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,
Genesis 4:14
If thou castest me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from thy presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall slay me.
Genesis 4:17
And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Genesis 4:18
And to Enoch was born Gaidad; and Gaidad begot Maleleel; and Maleleel begot Mathusala; and Mathusala begot Lamech.
Genesis 4:23
And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief.
Genesis 4:24
Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain’s behalf, on Lamech’s it shall be seventy times seven.
Leviticus 26:20
And your strength shall be in vain; and your land shall not yield its seed, and the tree of your field shall not yield its fruit.
Leviticus 26:36
And to those who are left of you I will bring bondage into their heart in the land of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from war, and shall fall when none pursues them.
Psalms 109:10
Let his children wander without a dwelling-place, and beg: let them be cast out of their habitations.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire,.... For the Lord descended on Mount Sinai in a cloud, in fire, and was in the thick darkness, from whence he delivered out the ten commands:

ye heard the voice of the words; distinctly and plainly, not only the sound of them, but the words themselves, and so as to understand what was meant by them;

but saw no similitude; not any likeness of the person speaking, by which they could form any idea of him in their minds, which was purposely done to prevent idolatry:

only ye heard a voice; that was all.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hero worship exhibited itself in the practice of setting up images of human form as household gods (Penates, compare Genesis 31:19; Genesis 35:2), or as local and civic divinities: a practice forbidden by Deuteronomy 4:16. Nature worship in its baser shapes is seen in the Egyptian idolatry of animals and animal figures, and is condemned in Deuteronomy 4:17-18 : while its less ignoble flight, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, is forbidden in Deuteronomy 4:19. The great legislator may be regarded as taking in the passage before us a complete and comprehensive survey of the various forms of idolatrous and corrupt worship practiced by the surrounding Oriental nations, and as particularly and successively forbidding them every one.


 
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