Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, April 19th, 2026
the Third Sunday after Easter
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

Deuteronomy 4:12

and YHWH speaks to you out of the midst of the fire; you are hearing a voice of words, but you are seeing no likeness, only 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.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.
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, O Israel, listen to the statutes and to the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so that you live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which YHWH God of your fathers is giving to you. 2You do not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor diminish from it, to keep the commands of your God YHWH which I am commanding you. 3Your eyes are seeing that which YHWH has done in Ba‘al-Peor, for every man who has gone after Ba‘al-Peor, your God YHWH has destroyed him from your midst; 4and you who are cleaving to your God YHWH [are] alive today—all of you. 5See, I have taught you statutes and judgments, as my God YHWH has commanded me, to do so in the midst of the land to where you are going in to possess it; 6and you have kept and done [them] (for it [is] your wisdom and your understanding) before the eyes of the peoples who hear all these statutes, and they have said, Surely a people wise and understanding [is] this great nation. 7For which [is] the great nation that has God [so] near to it, as our God YHWH, in all we have called to Him? 8And which [is] the great nation which has righteous statutes and judgments according to all this law which I am setting before you today? 9Only, take heed to yourself, and watch your soul exceedingly, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from your heart all [the] days of your life; and you have made them known to your sons and to your sons' sons. 10[Never forget] the day when you have stood before your God YHWH in Horeb, in YHWH's saying to me, Assemble the people to Me, and I cause them to hear My words, so that they learn to fear Me all the days that they are alive on the ground, and they 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 comes to pass at the end of days that Cain brings from the fruit of the ground a present to YHWH;
Genesis 4:4
and Abel, he has brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, and from their fat ones; and YHWH looks to Abel and to his present,
Genesis 4:14
behold, You have driven me today from off the face of the ground, and from Your face I am hid; and I have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth, and it has been—everyone finding me will slay me."
Genesis 4:17
and Cain knows his wife, and she conceives, and bears Enoch; and he is building a city, and he calls the name of the city, according to the name of his son—Enoch.
Genesis 4:18
And born to Enoch is Irad; and Irad has begotten Mehujael; and Mehujael has begotten Methusael; and Methusael has begotten Lamech.
Genesis 4:23
And Lamech says to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, give ear [to] my saying: For I have slain a man for my wound, || Even a young man for my hurt;
Genesis 4:24
For sevenfold is required for Cain, || And for Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
Leviticus 26:20
and your strength has been consumed in vain, and your land does not give her produce, and the tree of the land does not give its fruit.
Leviticus 26:36
And those who are left of you—I have also brought a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a leaf driven away has pursued them, and they have fled [as in] flight from a sword—and they have fallen, and there is none pursuing.
Psalms 109:10
And his sons wander continually, || Indeed, they have begged, || And have sought out of their dry places.

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.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile