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.

And you came to the foot of the mount, which burned even unto heaven: and there was darkness, and a cloud and obscurity in it.

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and obscurity.

and ye draw near and stand under the mountain, and the mountain is burning with fire unto the heart of the heavens, darkness, cloud, yea, thick darkness:

And you came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the middle of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

And you came near, waiting at the foot of the mountain; and flames of fire went up from the mountain to the heart of heaven, with dark clouds, and all was black as night.

And you approached the base of the mountain, which was burning even toward heaven. And there was a darkness upon it, and a cloud, and a mist.

Itaque accessistis, et stetistis sub monte: (mons autem ille ardebat igni usque ad medium coeli, tenebrae, nubes, et caligo.)

And ye came near, and stood. This explanatory narrative is intended to prove the same thing, viz., that Moses was only the ambassador and minister of God, because the mountain burned in the sight of all the people, that God might be manifested, speaking from the midst of the fire. His statement that they only heard the voice, but saw no similitude, may be understood as a kind of admission, (concessionis.) Thus the two clauses would be read adversatively, "Although no similitude appeared, yet a voice penetrated even to your ears." But I conceive that this was expressly stated more clearly to shew that it was the voice of God, and not proceeding from a human being; for no man could have so concealed himself by artifice as to prevent himself from being seen to speak, whereas they beheld the voice come out of the fire without any external instrumentality.

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain (i) burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
(i) The law was given with fearful miracles, to declare both that God was the author of it, and also that no flesh was able to abide the rigour of the same.

And ye came near and stood under the mountain,.... At the foot of it, in the lower part of the mountain, as the Targum of Jonathan, and agrees with Exodus 19:17.
and the mountain burnt with fire unto the midst of heaven; the flame and smoke went up into the middle of the air: with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness; which thick darkness was occasioned partly by the smoke, which went up like the smoke of a furnace, and partly by the thick clouds, which were on the mount, and covered the face of the heavens, which were black and tempestuous with them; the Septuagint renders it a "tempest", Exodus 19:18, which denotes the obscurity of the law, and the terrors it works in the minds of men.

The midst of heaven - Flaming up into the air, which is often called heaven.