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Hebrews 12:18
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For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,
For yee are not come vnto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor vnto blacknesse, and darknes, and tempest,
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms.
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
You have not come to a place like Mount Sinai that can be seen and touched. There is no flaming fire or dark cloud or storm
For you have not come to a tangible mountain, to an ignited fire, to darkness, to murk, to a whirlwind,
For ye have not come to [the mount] that might be touched and was all on fire, and to obscurity, and darkness, and tempest,
You have not come to a place that can be seen and touched, like the mountain the people of Israel saw, which was burning with fire and covered with darkness, gloom, and storms.
For you have yet neither come near the roaring fire, nor the darkness nor the storm nor the tempest,
You have not come, as the people of Israel came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm,
For you have not come to something that can be touched, and to a burning fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to a whirlwind,
For you have not drawn near to the mountain being touched, and having been lit with fire, and to gloom, and darkness, and tempest,
For you have not come [as did the Israelites in the wilderness] to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to gloom and darkness and a raging windstorm,
For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind,
For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, tempest,
For you have not come to somethingto a mountain">[fn] that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom,Exodus 19:12,18-19; 20:18; Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:22; Romans 6:14; 8:15; 2 Timothy 1:7;">[xr]
For ye have not drawn nigh to the burning fire, and to that which may be touched, neither to darknesses, to mist, and to tempest,
For ye have not come to the fire that burned, and the tangible [fn] ; nor to the darkness and obscurity and tempest;
For ye are not come vnto the mount that is touched, & vnto burnyng fyre, and vnto storme and darkenesse, and tempestes of weather,
For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, tempest,
For ye are not come to the mountain that could be touched, and the burning fire,
For you have not come to a material object all ablaze with fire, and to gloom and darkness and storm and trumpet-blast and the sound of words--
But ye han not come to the fier able to be touchid, and able to come to, and to the whirlewynd, and myst, and tempest, and soun of trumpe, and vois of wordis;
For you have not come to [a mount] that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
For ye are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and to darkness, and tempest,
For you have not come to something that can be touched, to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind
For you have not come to the mountain that [fn] may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness [fn] and tempest,
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
For you have not come close to a mountain that you can touch. You have not come to worship where there is burning fire and darkness and storm and wind.
You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,
For ye have not approached - unto, a searching and scorching fire, and gloom, and mist, and tempest,
For you are not come to a mountain that might be touched and a burning fire and a whirlwind and darkness and storm,
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,
For ye are not come vnto the mounte that can be touched and vnto burninge fyre nor yet to myst and darcknes and tempest of wedder
For ye came not near to the mount touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
For ye are not come to ye mout that can be touched and burneth with fyre, nether yet to myst and darcknes, and tempest of wedder,
You do not approach to any thing corporeal, to scorching fire, to smoak, darkness, and tempest,
Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—"If an animal touches the Mountain, it's as good as dead"—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.
You haven't come to a mountain full of fire, wind, and brimstone like the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Exodus 19:12-19, Exodus 20:18, Exodus 24:17, Deuteronomy 4:11, Deuteronomy 5:22-26, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:15, 2 Timothy 1:7
Reciprocal: Exodus 19:16 - thunders Exodus 19:24 - but let Leviticus 27:34 - in mount Numbers 4:15 - they shall Deuteronomy 4:10 - the day Deuteronomy 4:36 - General Deuteronomy 5:5 - General Deuteronomy 5:23 - General Deuteronomy 9:15 - the mount Deuteronomy 10:4 - out of the Judges 5:5 - that Sinai 1 Kings 8:12 - the thick 1 Kings 19:11 - and a great 2 Chronicles 6:1 - The Lord Nehemiah 9:13 - spakest Job 3:5 - let a cloud Job 40:6 - out Psalms 50:3 - a fire Psalms 83:15 - General Psalms 144:5 - touch Ezekiel 10:5 - the voice Joel 2:2 - A day of darkness 2 Corinthians 3:9 - the ministration of condemnation Galatians 4:25 - Sinai Revelation 4:5 - proceeded Revelation 8:5 - and there
Cross-References
And the Lorde God saide to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.
Againe he said, What hast thou done? the voyce of thy brothers blood cryeth vnto me from the earth.
Againe Abram went forth going & iourneying toward the South.
Then there came a famine in the land: therefore Abram went downe into Egypt to soiourne there: for there was a great famine in the lande.
And when he drewe neere to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, Beholde nowe, I know that thou art a faire woman to looke vpo:
Then Laban sayde to Iaakob, What hast thou done? thou hast euen stolen away mine heart and caried away my daughters as though they had bene taken captiues with the sworde.
Then Ioseph sayd vnto them, What acte is this, which ye haue done? know ye not that such a man as I, can deuine and prophecie?
Also Moses said vnto Aaron, What did this people vnto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sinne vpon them?
Then Ioshua said vnto Achan, My sonne, I beseech thee, giue glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession vnto him, and shewe me now what thou hast done: hide it not from me.
Then Saul said to Ionathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Ionathan tolde him, & said, I tasted a litle hony with the ende of the rod, that was in mine hand, and loe, I must die.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched,.... The design of the apostle in the following words is, in general, to engage the Hebrews to adhere closely to the Gospel, from the consideration of the superior excellency of it to the law; and in particular, to enforce his former exhortations to cheerfulness under afflictions; to an upright walk in the ways of God; to follow peace with all men, even with the Gentiles, and holiness both of heart and life; and to value the doctrine of the Gospel; and to take heed that none fail of it, or act unbecoming it: and here the apostle observes, what the believing Hebrews were not come to, being delivered from it, namely, the legal dispensation, which was their privilege; the happiness of which as expressed by a detail of particular circumstances, which attended the giving of the law to the Jews: it was given on a "mount which might be touched"; that is, by God, who descended on it, and by, touching it caused it to smoke, quake, and move, Exodus 19:18. Compare with, Psalms 68:8 for it was not to be touched by the Israelites, nor by their cattle,
Exodus 19:12, that is, at the time that the law was given, and Jehovah was upon it, otherwise it might be touched; and the meaning is, that it was an earthly mountain, that might be approached to, and be seen and felt, and not of a spiritual nature, as Sion, or the church of God; and so may be expressive of the carnality of the law, and also of the movableness of it:
and that burned with fire; as Mount Sinai did, Exodus 19:18 Deuteronomy 4:11 which set forth the majesty of God, when upon it, at whose feet went forth burning coals; and also the wrath of God, as an avenging lawgiver and Judge; and the terror of that law, which strikes the minds of the transgressors of it with an expectation of fiery indignation; and so points out the end of such transgressors, which is, to be burnt:
nor unto blackness and darkness; which covered the mount when God was upon it, Exodus 19:16 and which also may express the majesty of God, round about whom are clouds and darkness; and also the horror of the legal dispensation, and the obscurity of it; little being known by the Jews of the spirituality of the law, of the strict justice of God, and of the righteousness which the law requires, and of the end and use of it; and especially of the way of salvation by Christ; and so dark were they at last, as to prefer their own traditions before this law: it is added,
and tempest; there being thunderings and lightnings, which were very terrible, Exodus 19:16 and though there is no express mention made of a tempest by Moses, yet Josephus d speaks not only of very terrible thunderings and lightnings, but of violent storms of wind, which produced exceeding great rains: and the Septuagint on Deuteronomy 4:11 use the same words as the apostle does here, "blackness, darkness, and tempest". This also may denote the majesty of God, who was then present; the terror of that dispensation; the horrible curses of the law; and the great confusion and disquietude raised by it in the conscience of a sinner.
d Antiqu. l. 3. c. 5. sect. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
For ye are not come - To enforce the considerations already urged, the apostle introduces this sublime comparison between the old and new dispensations; Hebrews 12:18-24. The object, in accordance with the principal scope of the Epistle, is, to guard them against apostasy. To do this, he shows that under the new dispensation there was much more to hind them to fidelity, and to make apostasy dangerous, than there was under the old. The main point of the comparison is, that under the Jewish dispensation, everything was adapted to awe the mind, and to restrain by the exhibition of grandeur and of power; but that under the Christian dispensation, while there was as much that was sublime, there was much more that was adapted to win and hold the affections. There were revelations of higher truths. There were more affecting motives to lead to obedience. There was that of which the former was but the type and emblem. There was the clear revelation of the glories of heaven, and of the blessed society there, all adapted to prompt to the earnest desire that they might be our own. The considerations presented in this passage constitute the climax of the argument so beautifully pursued through this Epistle, showing that the Christian system was far superior in every respect to the Jewish. In presenting this closing argument, the apostle first refers to some of the circumstances attending the former dispensation which were designed to keep the people of God from apostasy, and then the considerations of superior weight existing under the Christian economy.
The mount that might be touched - Mount Sinai. The meaning here is, that “that mountain was palpable, material, touchable” - in contradistinction from the Mount Zion to which the church had now come, which is above the reach of the external senses; Hebrews 12:22. The apostle does not mean that it was permitted to the Israelites to touch Mount Sinai - for this was strictly forbidden, Exodus 19:12; but he evidently alludes to that prohibition, and means to say that a command forbidding them to “touch” the mountain, implied that it was a material or palpable object. The sense of the passage is, that every circumstance that occurred there was suited to fill the soul with terror. Everything accompanying the giving of the Law, the setting of bounds around the mountain which they might not pass, and the darkness and tempest on the mountain itself, was adopted to overawe the soul. The phrase “the touchable mountain” - if such a phrase is proper - would express the meaning of the apostle here. The “Mount Zion” to which the church now has come, is of a different character. It is not thus visible and palpable. It is not enveloped in smoke and flame, and the thunders of the Almighty do not roll and re-echo among its lofty peaks as at Horeb; yet it presents “stronger” motives to perseverance in the service of God.
And that burned with fire - Exodus 19:18; compare Deuteronomy 4:11; Deuteronomy 33:2.
Nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest - see Exodus 19:16.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. - 21. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched — I believe the words ψηλαφωμενωορει should be translated to a palpable or material mountain; for that it was not a mountain that on this occasion might be touched, the history, Exodus 19:12; Exodus 19:13, shows; and the apostle himself, in Hebrews 12:20, confirms. It is called here a palpable or material mount, to distinguish it from that spiritual mount Sion, of which the apostle is speaking. Some contend that it should be translated tacto de caelo, thunder-struck; this sense would agree well enough with the scope of the place. The apostle's design is to show that the dispensation of the law engendered terror; that it was most awful and exclusive; that it belonged only to the Jewish people; and that, even to them, it was so terrible that they could not endure that which was commanded, and entreated that God would not communicate with them in his own person, but by the ministry of Moses: and even to Moses, who held the highest intimacy with Jehovah, the revealed glories, the burning fire, the blackness, the darkness, the tempest, the loud-sounding trumpet, and the voice of words, were so terrible that he said, I exceedingly fear and tremble.
These were the things which were exhibited on that material mountain; but the Gospel dispensation is one grand, copious, and interesting display of the infinite love of God. It is all encouragement; breathes nothing but mercy; is not an exclusive system; embraces the whole human race; has Jesus, the sinner's friend, for its mediator; is ratified by his blood; and is suited, most gloriously suited, to all the wants and wishes of every soul of man.
