Deutéronome 5:26

26 Car qui est l'homme, quel qu'il soit, qui ait entendu, comme nous, la voix du Dieu vivant, parlant du milieu du feu, et qui soit demeuré en vie?

Deutéronome 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 5:26

For who [is there] of all flesh
What man was there in any age, that was ever heard of or can be named:

that hath heard the voice of the living God;
who lives in and of himself, and is the author and giver of life to all his creatures, whereby he is distinguished from and is opposed unto the lifeless deities of the Gentiles; and which makes him and his voice heard the more awful and tremendous, and especially as

speaking out of the midst of the fire:
which was the present case:

as we [have], and lived?
of this there never was the like instance; for though some had seen God and lived, as Jacob did, and therefore called the name of the place where he saw him Penuel, ( Genesis 32:30 ) , and Moses had heard the voice of the angel of the Lord out of a bush, which seemed to be burning, and was not consumed, ( Exodus 3:2 Exodus 3:4 ) , yet none ever heard the voice of the Lord out of real fire, and particularly expressing such words as he did, but the Israelites. Zoroastres, the founder of the Magi among the Persians, and of their religion, seems to have had respect to this, and to have applied falsely this to himself, which belonged to Moses and the people of Israel; for it is said ^F11,

``one reason the Persians have fire in so much veneration is, because they say that Zoroastres, being caught up to heaven, did not see God, but heard him speaking with him out of the midst of fire.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Hyde Hist. Relig. Vet. Pers. c. 8. p. 160.

Deutéronome 5:26 In-Context

24 Et vous dîtes: Voici, l'Éternel notre Dieu nous a montré sa gloire et sa grandeur, et nous avons entendu sa voix du milieu du feu; aujourd'hui nous avons vu que Dieu peut parler avec l'homme, et l'homme demeurer en vie.

25 Mais maintenant, pourquoi mourrions-nous? Car ce grand feu nous consumera. Si nous entendons encore la voix de l'Éternel notre Dieu, nous mourrons.

26 Car qui est l'homme, quel qu'il soit, qui ait entendu, comme nous, la voix du Dieu vivant, parlant du milieu du feu, et qui soit demeuré en vie?

27 Approche, toi, et écoute tout ce que dira l'Éternel notre Dieu, puis tu nous rapporteras tout ce que l'Éternel notre Dieu t'aura dit, et nous l'entendrons, et nous le ferons.

28 Et l'Éternel entendit vos paroles pendant que vous me parliez; et l'Éternel me dit: J'ai entendu les discours que ce peuple t'a tenus; ils ont bien dit tout ce qu'ils ont dit.