All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
Parallel Translations
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All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
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And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
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Now mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Exodus 19:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 5:5 The mountains quaked Yahweh’s presence, even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Exodus 3:2 Yahweh’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
- Psalms 144:5 Part your heavens, Yahweh, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
- Revelation 15:8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. No one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels would be finished.
- Genesis 19:28 He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
- Psalms 68:7-8 God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness... The earth trembled. The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai— at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
- Jeremiah 4:24 I saw the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
- Exodus 24:17 The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:2 He said, “Yahweh came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
- Psalms 104:32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
- Genesis 15:17 It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
- Deuteronomy 5:22 Yahweh spoke these words to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice. He added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets, and gave them to me.
- 1 Kings 19:11-12 He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and Yahweh’s glory filled the house. The priests could not enter into Yahweh’s house, because Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house. All the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and Yahweh’s glory was on the house. They bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshiped, and gave thanks to Yahweh, saying, “For he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.”
- Isaiah 6:4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
- Hebrews 12:26 whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”
- Exodus 19:13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.”
- Exodus 20:18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.
- Deuteronomy 4:11-12 You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. Yahweh spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice.
- Psalms 77:18 The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.
- Psalms 114:7 Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
- Nahum 1:5-6 The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
- Zechariah 14:5 You shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.
- Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8 punishing those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus,
- Hebrews 12:18 For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
- 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain God used these fearful signs, that his law should…
God used these fearful signs, that his law should be had in greater reverence, and his majesty the more feared.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a…
Exo 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
Ver. 18. The Lord descended upon it in fire.] This fire wherein the law was given, is still in it, and will never out. {Deu 33:2}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Lord descended in fire for further terror to…
The Lord descended in fire for further terror to obstinate sinners. Hence this law is called a
fiery law, Deu 33:2.
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The whole mount quaked greatly, by an earthquake, as appears from Psa 60:2; 104:32.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,.... Not…
And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,.... Not from nature, as volcanos, but for a reason after given; it seemed to be one large body of smoke, nothing else to be seen but smoke; an emblem of the darkness of the legal dispensation, which was full of obscure types and figures, of dark shadows and smoky sacrifices, to which the clear day, of the Gospel dispensation is opposed, see Co2 3:12.
because the Lord descended upon it in fire; in flaming fire, as the Targums, which set the mountain on fire, and caused this prodigious smoke; for if he, who is a consuming fire, but toucheth the hills and mountains, they smoke, Psa 104:32.
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and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace such an one as that which Abraham in vision saw, Gen 15:17.
and the whole mount quaked greatly; to which circumstance Deborah refers in her song, when she speaks of mountains melting and flowing from before the presence of the God of Israel, and particularly of Sinai, Jdg 5:4, and the psalmist, who makes mention of the earth shaking, and the heavens dropping, and of Sinai being moved at his presence, Psa 68:8, it is probable there was an earthquake at this time, which sometimes attends thunders and lightnings, see Rev 16:18.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 19:18. The whole mount quaked greatly — There…
Exo 19:18. The whole mount quaked greatly — There cannot be a more grand, awful, and majestic description than this of the descent of Jehovah upon mount Sinai. We can scarcely read it without trembling; and all the tremendous majesty of God appears before our eyes. The psalmist seems to have conceived a most high idea of God from it: — “O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” Psa 68:7-8.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain A furnace - The word in the original is…
A furnace - The word in the original is Egyptian, and occurs only in the Pentateuch.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Terrible, by the display of so many instruments of…
Terrible, by the display of so many instruments of God’s power; lightning, fire, a thick cloud, and various peals of thunder, and the sound of a trumpet; besides rain, and the company of millions of angels, Psalm lxvii. 9, 18. How different was the appearance of Sion, when Jesus proclaimed his gospel! (Hebrews xii. 18.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. on smoke] For the archaism, see Wright’s Bible…
18. on smoke] For the archaism, see Wright’s Bible Word-Book, s.v. On; and cf. Hamlet v. 1. 211 ‘on a roar,’ 2Sa_9:3 ‘lame on his feet,’ Psa_78:14 (P. B. V.) ‘on an heap,’ Psa_79:1 ‘on heaps.’
the smoke of a kiln] as Exo_9:8, Gen_19:28 (‘the steam of a kiln’).
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quaked] The word rendered ‘trembled’ in v. 16 end. LXX. and 9 Heb. MSS. have people for mount (as v. 16b); and it is true (Di.) that ḥârçd is not used elsewhere of the merely physical movement of inanimate objects.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke.—Heb., smoked,…
(18) Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke.—Heb., smoked, all of it. Some understand by this, “dense clouds, having the appearance of smoke.” But if “the mountain burned with fire,” as asserted (Deu_4:11), the smoke would be real.
The whole mount quaked greatly.—Comp. Psa_68:8, “The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God.” The expression is more suitable to an earthquake than to the vibration sometimes produced by very violent thunder.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke. Literally, smoked,…
Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke. Literally, smoked, all of it. Kalisch suggests that "the dense clouds from which the thunders broke forth had the appearance of smoke." But the reason assigned the Lord descended on it in fire," seems to imply real smoke; and. the same re-suits from the comparison of it to "the smoke of a furnace." The whole mount quaked greatly. Scarcely "through the vehemence of the thunder" (Kalisch), for thunder does not shake the earth, though it shakes the air but rather by an actual earthquake. Compare Mat_27:51-54; Act_4:31 Act_16:26.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.