Deuteronomy 5:23

23 And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the fire, for the mountain burned with fire, that ye came to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders:

Deuteronomy 5:23 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 5:23

And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst
of the darkness
The thick darkness, where God was, and with which the mountain was covered, ( Exodus 20:21 )

for the mountain did burn with fire;
which is a reason both why the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire, the mountain on which he descended burning with it and also for his speaking out of the midst of darkness, because not only a thick cloud covered the mountain, but it was altogether on a smoke, which ascended as the smoke of a furnace, ( Exodus 19:16 Exodus 19:18 )

that ye come near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your
elders;
or wise men, as the Targum of Jonathan; by which it appears, that not only the common people were frightened at what they heard and saw on Mount Sinai, but those of the first rank and eminence among them, who were the most famous for their authority and wisdom.

Deuteronomy 5:23 In-Context

21 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, nor his field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any beast of his, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

22 These words the Lord spoke to all the assembly of you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire— darkness, blackness, storm, a loud voice—and he added no more, and he wrote them on two tables of stone, and he gave them to me.

23 And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the fire, for the mountain burned with fire, that ye came to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders:

24 and ye said, Behold, the Lord our God has shewn us his glory, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: this day we have seen that God shall speak to man, and he shall live.

25 And now let us not die, for this great fire will consume us, if we shall hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, and we shall die.