Deuteronomy 5:25

But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses relays the Israelites' plea to God immediately after they witnessed His glory and heard His voice from the fire. They ask to cease direct divine communication to avoid being consumed.

The words — The Hebrew לָ֣/מָּה נָמ֔וּת (la./mah na.Mut) literally translates to "why should we die?" while תֹֽאכְלֵ֔/נוּ (to.khe.Le./nu) describes the fire's act of consuming them. These terms ground the people's fear in the immediate physical reality of standing before divine presence.

The thread — The people's request to stop hearing God directly recalls their original petition at Horeb in Deuteronomy 18:16 and stands in tension with the enduring manifestation of God in Deuteronomy 33:2. The New Testament later references this boundary in 2 Corinthians 3:7 regarding the fading glory of the old covenant.

Why it lands — The text establishes that unmediated divine presence carries lethal consequences for mortal humanity. It requires the reader to acknowledge the necessity of a mediating structure to survive direct communion with God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְעַתָּה֙ve./'a.Tahand/ therefore לָ֣מָּהLa./mah<to>/ why?נָמ֔וּתna.Mutwill we die כִּ֣יkifor תֹֽאכְלֵ֔נוּto.khe.Le./nuit will consume/ us הָאֵ֥שׁha./'Eshthe/ fire הַגְּדֹלָ֖הha./ge.do.Lah<the>/ great הַזֹּ֑אתha./Zot<the>/ this אִם־'im-if יֹסְפִ֣ים׀yo.se.Fim[are] repeating אֲנַ֗חְנוּ'a.Nach.nuwe לִ֠שְׁמֹעַLi/sh.mo.a'to/ hear אֶת־'et-<obj.>ק֨וֹלKol[the] voice of יְהוָ֧הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ'e.lo.Hei./nuGod/ our ע֖וֹדodagain וָמָֽתְנוּ׃va./Ma.te.nuand/ we will die

King James Version

Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 18:16 This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”
Deuteronomy 33:2 He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
2 Corinthians 3:7 Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,
Galatians 3:10 All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Galatians 3:21 Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”