“So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. The two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.
- KJV So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
- BSB So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands.
- NASB “So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.
- NLT “So while the mountain was blazing with fire I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses turned and came down the burning mountain holding the two tablets of the covenant. He descended to confront Israel's sin with the law in hand.
Overview
Moses descends from the fiery mountain carrying the covenant tablets to a people already in rebellion. The burning mountain signifies God's awesome holiness and presence. The scene sets the stage for the breaking of the tablets, dramatizing how Israel had already broken the covenant and underscoring humanity's need for the grace fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 19:18All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
- Deut 5:23When you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
- Deut 4:11You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
- Exod 32:14–35Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.
- Exod 9:23Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder, hail, and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt.
- Heb 12:18For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 9:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.