When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
- KJV The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
- BSB The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
- NKJV Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
- NASB So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him!”
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
The crowd hears the voice but mistakes it for thunder or an angel. Spiritual dullness obscures the divine word.
Overview
The bystanders perceive the heavenly voice only as thunder or angelic speech, missing its meaning. Their confusion illustrates how spiritual realities can be heard yet not understood without faith. The verse highlights the gap between mere hearing and true perception of God's revelation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 37:2–5Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth.
- Rev 6:1I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!”
- Rev 14:2I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps.
- Exod 19:16On the third day, when it was morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.
- Ezek 10:5The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
- Job 40:9Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
- Exod 20:18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.
- Rev 11:19God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
- Acts 23:8–9For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these.
- Rev 18:1–2After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory.
- Rev 8:5The angel took the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it on the earth. There followed thunders, sounds, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 12:29 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.