KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Deuteronomy 4:12 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “And the Lord” | יְהוָ֛ה | (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God | Lord |
| “spake” | וַיְדַבֵּ֧ר | Perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue | spake |
| “unto” | אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם | Near, with or among; often in general, to | unto |
| “you out of the midst” | מִתּ֣וֹךְ | A bisection, i.e., (by implication) the center | out midst |
| “of the fire:” | הָאֵ֑שׁ | Fire (literally or figuratively) | fire |
| “ye” | אַתֶּ֣ם | Thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you | ye |
| “heard” | שֹֽׁמְעִ֔ים | To hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.) | heard |
| “the voice” | ק֤וֹל | A voice or sound | voice |
| “of the words,” | דְּבָרִים֙ | A word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause | words |
| “but saw” | רֹאִ֖ים | To see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative) | saw |
| “no” | אֵֽינְכֶ֥ם | A nonentity; generally used as a negative particle | no |
| “similitude;” | וּתְמוּנָ֛ה | Something portioned (i.e., fashioned) out, as a shape, i.e., (indefinitely) phantom, or (specifically) embodiment, or (figuratively) manifestation (of favor) | similitude |
| “only” | זֽוּלָתִ֥י | Probably scattering, i.e., removal; used adverbially, except | only |
| “ye heard” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “a voice.” | קֽוֹל׃ | A voice or sound | voice |
See Deuteronomy 4:12 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
| Very High |
Verse Search Popularity Levels What do people search for?Use the scale on the left to tell how often the verses below are googled compared to each other. |
|
| High | ||
| Medium | ||
| Low | ||
| Very Low |
10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.