Deuteronomy 4:11

11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached as high as the very heavens. There were black clouds and deep darkness.

Deuteronomy 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 4:11

And ye came near and stood under the mountain
At the foot of it, in the lower part of the mountain, as the Targum of Jonathan, and agrees with ( Exodus 19:17 )

and the mountain burnt with fire unto the midst of heaven;
the flame and smoke went up into the middle of the air: with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness; which thick darkness was occasioned partly by the smoke, which went up like the smoke of a furnace, and partly by the thick clouds, which were on the mount, and covered the face of the heavens, which were black and tempestuous with them; the Septuagint renders it a "tempest", ( Exodus 19:18 ) ( Hebrews 12:18 ) , which denotes the obscurity of the law, and the terrors it works in the minds of men.

Deuteronomy 4:11 In-Context

9 Don't be careless. Instead, be very careful. Don't forget the things your eyes have seen. As long as you live, don't let them slip from your mind. Teach them to your children and their children after them.

10 Remember the day you stood at Mount Horeb. The LORD your God was there. He said to me, "Bring the people to me to hear my words. I want them to learn to have respect for me as long as they live in the land. I want them to teach my words to their children."

11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached as high as the very heavens. There were black clouds and deep darkness.

12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of his words. But you didn't see any shape or form. You only heard a voice.

13 He announced his covenant to you. That covenant is the Ten Commandments. He commanded you to follow them. Then he wrote them down on two stone tablets.