Exodus 19:18

God's holiness God's power and sovereignty

¹⁶ And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

¹⁷ And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

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.

¹⁹ And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

²⁰ And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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.
KJV: 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.
WEB: All of Mount Sinai smoked, because the LORD descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
ASV: And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
DARBY: And the whole of mount Sinai smoked, because Jehovah descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace; and the whole mountain shook greatly.
BLB: And Mount Sinai smoked—all of it—because YHWH descended on it in the fire. And its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and all the mountain trembled greatly.

ÅB: Og hele Sinai berg sto i røyk, fordi Herren var steget ned på det i ild, og røyken av det steg opp som røyken av en ovn, og hele fjellet skalv.
OTB: Sinai-fjellet var dekket av røyk fordi Herren steg ned på det i ild. Røyken steg som røyken fra en ovn, og hele fjellet ristet voldsomt.
B1930: Og hele Sinai berg stod i røk, fordi Herren var steget ned på det i ild, og røken av det steg op som røken av en ovn, og hele fjellet skalv.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Judges 5:5
The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
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Psalms 144:5
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Read in context
Revelation 15:8
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
Read in context
Exodus 3:2
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Read in context
Genesis 19:28
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
Read in context
Psalms 68:7–8
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
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Jeremiah 4:24
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Read in context
Psalms 104:32
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
Read in context