Deuteronomy 5:26
in Deuteronomy 5For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
KJV
For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
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This verse in Deuteronomy 5
Commentary
3 notes on this verseIf to hear the voice of God speaking is a cause of death, how will the sight of God not cause death? And why wonder? Even Moses himself says, "I am greatly terrified and trembling." What then? Would you that he who came for our salvation become a minister of destruction because men could not bear him? Or rather that he should temper his grace to our measure?
This site's exposition
And it came to pass, when ye heard
on Deuteronomy 5:23-27
The heads of the tribes and the elders come forward and ask Moses to hear for them, go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say. Exodus 20:18-21 tells the same scene with the people removing and standing afar off; this account names who approached and gives their speech at length, and both stand. What frightened them was that they had heard God and lived, verse 24, and what they fear in verse 25 is hearing him again. Deuteronomy 18:16 quotes the request back in their own words and answers it with the prophet promised at 18:15 and 18:18, which Acts 3:22 and Acts 7:37 apply to Christ.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For who is there of all flesh,....
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | [is] all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָׂ֡ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁמַ֣ע | shama' | he has heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| קוֹל֩ | kol | [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֨ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| חַיִּ֜ים | chaiyim | living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| מְדַבֵּ֧ר | medaber | speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| מִתּוֹךְ־ | mitokh- | from [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָאֵ֛שׁ | haesh | the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| כָּמֹ֖נוּ | kamonu | like us | H3644 → | 143 times |
| וַיֶּֽחִי׃ | vaiyechi | and he has lived | H2421 → | 282 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
כָל־[is] all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
בָּשָׂ֡רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁמַ֣עhe has heard
shama'H8085 →1159 times
קוֹל֩[the] voice of
kolH6963 →506 times
אֱלֹהִ֨יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
חַיִּ֜יםliving
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
מְדַבֵּ֧רspeaking
medaberH1696 →1141 times
מִתּוֹךְ־from [the] middle of
mitokh-H8432 →418 times
הָאֵ֛שׁthe fire
haeshH784 →378 times
כָּמֹ֖נוּlike us
kamonuH3644 →143 times
וַיֶּֽחִי׃and he has lived
vaiyechiH2421 →282 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 3:20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.
it leads to
- Galatians 2:16
know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in…
- Acts 13:39
Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
- Romans 3:28
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
- Galatians 2:19
For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.
- Romans 4:15
because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
- Galatians 2:16
Through
Psalms 84:2My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Psalms 42:1–2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Isaiah 26:9
Through
Daniel 6:26I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will…
it leads to
- Daniel 4:34
But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives…
- Daniel 4:34
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 12.13-14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
