Deuteronomy 4:12

Deuteronomy 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Deuteronomy 4:12

10Remember when you stood in front of the Lord your God at Sinai. He said to me, ‘Bring all the people here to me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to respect me and obey me. They will do this for as long as they live and they will teach my commands to their children.’ 11At that time, you came and you stood at the edge of the mountain. You saw that the fire on the mountain reached up to the sky. But the sky was full of black clouds and it was dark. Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire. You heard him as he spoke, but you did not see him. You only heard a voice. 13He told you about his covenant and the ten commands that he wrote on two flat pieces of stone. He commanded you to obey them. 14At that time, the Lord commanded me to teach you his rules and his laws. You must obey them in the land that you will now go in to live there.

Deuteronomy 4:12 word by word

וַיְדַבֵּ֧ר יְהוָ֛ה אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָאֵ֑שׁ ק֤וֹל דְּבָרִים֙ אַתֶּ֣ם שֹׁמְעִ֔ים וּתְמוּנָ֛ה אֵינְכֶ֥ם רֹאִ֖ים זוּלָתִ֥י קֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• unto you out of the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• ye heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
• of the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• but sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• no similitudeתְּמוּנָהtemûnâh temûnâh · likenessH8544
• onlyזוּלָהzûlâh · exceptionH2108
• a voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:12

• Deuteronomy 5:4The Lord spoke clearly to you from the middle of the fire on the mountain.
• Deuteronomy 4:15Remember when the Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb from the middle of the fire. You did not see him in any shape. So be very careful about everything that you do.
• Numbers 12:8I speak clearly to him, as I come near to him. I do not say things to him that are hard to understand. He even sees the shape of the Lord. So you should have been afraid to speak against my servant Moses!’
• Isaiah 40:18You cannot find anyone else who is like God. There is no image that you can make to be like him.
• Colossians 1:15We cannot see God. But Jesus Christ shows us completely who God is. Even before God made anything, Jesus was already there as God's Son who rules everything.
• Deuteronomy 4:33Only you, the nation of Israel, have heard the voice of God that spoke to you from the middle of the fire. Only you have heard God speak and you still live!
• Exodus 20:22Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell this to the Israelites: “You yourselves have heard me speak to you from heaven.
• 1 Kings 19:12After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a very quiet voice.
• Isaiah 30:21You will hear his voice behind you. When you turn off the path, to the right or to the left, it will say, ‘This is the right way. Walk in it.’
• Isaiah 40:3Somebody's voice is shouting, ‘Prepare a way in the wilderness for the Lord. Make a straight road in the desert for our God.
• Matthew 3:3God's prophet Isaiah spoke about this man John long ago. He said: ‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness, “The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow. Make the paths straight for him.” ’
• Matthew 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared. It covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy. Listen to him.’
• John 12:28So I will say, “Father, show how great and how good you are.” ’ Then a voice spoke from heaven and said, ‘I have shown how great and how good I am. And I will do it again.’
• 2 Peter 1:17We were with him on the holy mountain when his Father God spoke to him. God gave honour to his Son, Jesus, and he said that Jesus is great. We ourselves heard God's voice speak to Jesus from heaven above where God rules with power. He said: ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy.’

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:12

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Hero 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-40Moses gave a long speech to the Israelites because of their recent failures and what he thought would happen in Canaan.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude--Although articulate sounds were heard emanating from the mount, no form or representation of the Divine Being who spoke was seen to indicate His nature or properties according to the notions of the heathen.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:12

• Afflictions and Adversities
• God
• Law
• Obedience

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken
• Idol
• Criticism
• Deuteronomy
• Form

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings