Keluaran 20:18-19

20:18 All the people were seeing ¹  the thundering and the lightning, and heard ²  the sound of the horn, and saw ³  the mountain smoking – and when ⁴  the people saw it they trembled with fear ⁵  and kept their distance. ⁶  20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak ⁷  to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Ulangan 5:24-27

5:24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory ⁸  and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us ⁹  that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 5:25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us! If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die! 5:26 Who is there from the entire human race ¹⁰  who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 5:27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he ¹¹  says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.”

Ulangan 18:16

18:16 This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our ¹²  God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.”

¹ tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).

² tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).

³ tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).

⁴ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.

⁵ tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”

⁶ tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”

⁷ tn The verb is a Piel imperative. In this context it has more of the sense of a request than a command. The independent personal pronoun “you” emphasizes the subject and forms the contrast with God’s speaking.

⁸ tn Heb “his glory and his greatness.”

⁹ tn Heb “this day we have seen.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “who is there of all flesh.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

¹² tn The Hebrew text uses the collective singular in this verse: “my God…lest I die.”