Hebrews 12:18
New International Version
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;

New Living Translation
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.

English Standard Version
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest

Berean Standard Bible
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;

Berean Literal Bible
For you have not come to that being touched and having been kindled with fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to storm,

King James Bible
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

New King James Version
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

New American Standard Bible
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

NASB 1995
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

NASB 1977
For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

Legacy Standard Bible
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

Amplified Bible
For you have not come [as did the Israelites in the wilderness] to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to gloom and darkness and a raging windstorm,

Christian Standard Bible
For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,

American Standard Version
For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For you have not approached the fire that burned and was tangible, neither to the darkness and dark fog and the tempest,

Contemporary English Version
You have not come to a place like Mount Sinai that can be seen and touched. There is no flaming fire or dark cloud or storm

Douay-Rheims Bible
For you are not come to a mountain that might be touched, and a burning fire, and a whirlwind, and darkness, and storm,

English Revised Version
For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You have not come to something that you can feel, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom, to a storm,

Good News Translation
You have not come, as the people of Israel came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm,

International Standard Version
You have not come to something that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom,

Literal Standard Version
For you did not come near to the mountain touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and storm,

Majority Standard Bible
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to blackness, darkness, and storm;

New American Bible
You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm

NET Bible
For you have not come to something that can be touched, to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind

New Revised Standard Version
You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,

New Heart English Bible
For you have not come to something that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and darkness, gloom, and storm,

Webster's Bible Translation
For ye are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and to darkness, and tempest,

Weymouth New Testament
For you have not come to a material object all ablaze with fire, and to gloom and darkness and storm and trumpet-blast and the sound of words--

World English Bible
For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,

Young's Literal Translation
For ye came not near to the mount touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
An Unshakable Kingdom
17For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears. 18For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken.…

Cross References
Exodus 19:12
And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 19:16
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram's horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Exodus 19:18
Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

Exodus 20:18
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram's horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.

Deuteronomy 4:11
You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

Deuteronomy 5:5
At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said:

Deuteronomy 5:22
The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.


Treasury of Scripture

For you are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Exodus 19:12-19
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: …

Exodus 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Exodus 24:17
And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

Jump to Previous
Ablaze Black Blackness Blazing Burned Burning Cloud Dark Darkness Fire Gloom Material Mount Mountain Object Scorched Smoke Sound Storm Tempest Touched Trumpet-Blast Violent Whirlwind Wind Words
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Ablaze Black Blackness Blazing Burned Burning Cloud Dark Darkness Fire Gloom Material Mount Mountain Object Scorched Smoke Sound Storm Tempest Touched Trumpet-Blast Violent Whirlwind Wind Words
Hebrews 12
1. An exhortation to constant faith, patience, and godliness by Christ's example
22. A commendation of the new covenant.














(18-29) The exhortation to faithfulness is most impressively enforced by means of a comparison between the earlier revelation and that which is given in Christ.

The mount that might be touched.--It appears certain that the word "mount" has no place in the true Greek text. Had this word been in the sentence as originally written, its absence from all our more ancient authorities would be inexplicable; whilst, on the other hand, the contrast with Hebrews 12:22, and the recollection of Deuteronomy 4:11, from which the last words in this verse are taken, would very naturally lead a transcriber to supply this word, which he might suppose to have accidentally dropped out of the text. If, however, the writer did not make use of the word here, though the contrast of Hebrews 12:22 was already before his mind, it seems certain that the word was not in his thought; and hence we have no right to introduce it in the explanation of the verse. The true translation, in all probability, is as follows: For ye are not come unto a material (literally, a palpable) and kindled fire, and unto gloom and darkness and tempest. The object of the writer is to set forth the terrors which accompanied the giving of the Law,--that which the awe-stricken people saw and heard. Not the mount, but the terrible fire was that which met their gaze. Thus again and again in Deuteronomy we find reference to the voice and the fire alone (Deuteronomy 4:33; Deuteronomy 4:36; Deuteronomy 5:4; Deuteronomy 5:25-26; Deuteronomy 18:16). Shortly before "the day of the assembly" in Horeb Israel had been led by "a pillar of fire" (Exodus 13:21); in Hebrews 12:29 of this chapter the figure of "a consuming fire" is applied to God Himself. To avoid such associations as these, and vividly to represent what then was shown to the Israelites, he speaks of "a material and kindled fire." The metaphor in "palpable" as applied to fire is hardly more remarkable than that involved in "a darkness which may be felt" (Exodus 10:21, where the word used in the LXX. is almost the same as that which we have here). . . .

Verses 18-29. - There follows now, both for encouragement and for warning, a grand contrast between the Mosaic and Christian dispensations, founded on the phenomena that accompanied the giving of the Law. To Mount Sinai, with its repelling terrors, is opposed an ideal picture of Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem, expressive of the communion of saints in Christ. And then at ver. 25 (as previously in Hebrews 10.) the tone of encouragement changes again to one of warning, the very excess of privilege being made the measure of the guilt of slighting it. Verse 18. - For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned, with fire, and unto blackness and darkness and tempest. The allusion is to the Israelites approaching Mount Sinai when the Law was given (see Deuteronomy 4:11, whence still more than from Exodus 19. the whole description is taken, "And ye came near [προσήλθετε, the same word as is used supra, Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 7:25], and stood under the mountain"). Though the word "mount" in the Received Text has the support of no ancient authority, it must be understood, whether or not originally written. For it comes after προσήλθετε in the passage of Deuteronomy which is evidently referred to, the following words, "blackness, darkness, tempest" (σκότος γνόφος θύελλα), being also found there. And otherwise we should have to translate, "a touched [i.e. palpable] and kindled fire;" but "touched" (φηλαφωμένῳ) is not suitable to fire; and we should also lose the evidently intended contrast between the two mountains of Sinai and Zion, which appears in ver. 22. Neither may we trans- late, as some would do, "a mountain that might be touched, and kindled fire;" for the original passage in Deuteronomy has "and the mountain burned with fire (καὶ τὸ ὄρος ἐκαίετο πυρὶ)." The participle φηλαφωμένῳ (literally, that was touched), rather than ψηφαλητῷ, may be used here, although on the occasion referred to all were forbidden to touch the mountain, by way of bringing more distinctly into view the actual Sinai, which was touched at other times, and which Moses both touched and ascended. If so, the main purpose of the word is to contrast the local and palpable mountain of the Law with the ideal Mount Zion which is afterwards spoken cf. Or, the verb ψηλαλάω may here carry with it its common sense of groping after, as in the dark (cf. Deuteronomy 28:29, Καὶ ἔση ψηλαφῶν μεσημβρίας ὡσεὶ ψηλαφήσαι ὁ τυφλὸς ἐν τῷ σκότει), with reference to the cloudy darkness about Sinai, and in contrast with the clear unclouded vision of Zion.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
For
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

you have not come to
προσεληλύθατε (proselēlythate)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4334: From pros and erchomai; to approach, i.e. come near, visit, or worship, assent to.

[ a mountain that ] can be touched
ψηλαφωμένῳ (psēlaphōmenō)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5584: From the base of psallo; to manipulate, i.e. Verify by contact; figuratively, to search for.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

that is burning
κεκαυμένῳ (kekaumenō)
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2545: To ignite, light, burn, lit. and met; I consume with fire. Apparently a primary verb; to set on fire, i.e. Kindle or consume.

with fire;
πυρὶ (pyri)
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4442: Fire; the heat of the sun, lightning; fig: strife, trials; the eternal fire. A primary word; 'fire'.

to darkness,
γνόφῳ (gnophō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1105: Darkness, gloom; a thick cloud. Akin to nephos; gloom.

gloom,
ζόφῳ (zophō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2217: Darkness, murkiness, gloom. Akin to the base of nephos; gloom.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

storm;
θυέλλῃ (thyellē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2366: A storm, tempest, whirlwind. From thuo a storm.


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NT Letters: Hebrews 12:18 For you have not come to (Heb. He. Hb)
Hebrews 12:17
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