Deuteronomy 5:28 kjv
And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
Deuteronomy 5:28 nkjv
"Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: 'I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.
Deuteronomy 5:28 niv
The LORD heard you when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.
Deuteronomy 5:28 esv
"And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, 'I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.
Deuteronomy 5:28 nlt
"The LORD heard the request you made to me. And he said, 'I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right.
Deuteronomy 5 28 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Note |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 5:23-27 | "And when you heard the voice... you came near... and said, ‘Behold, the LORD... if we hear... we shall die. You go near...'" | Immediate context of people's fear and request. |
| Deut 18:15-18 | "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you... just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb... and the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well.'" | Prophecy of Christ, the ultimate Mediator, fulfilling their request. |
| Exod 20:18-21 | "Now when all the people saw the thunder... they trembled and stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us...'" | Parallel account of Israel's fear at Sinai. |
| Exod 33:11 | "Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." | Moses' unique mediatorial relationship with God. |
| Heb 12:18-24 | "For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched... but you have come to Mount Zion... to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant..." | Contrast between fearful Sinai and gracious Zion under Christ's mediation. |
| 1 Tim 2:5 | "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." | Christ's sole and perfect mediatorial role. |
| Acts 3:22-23 | "Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me... It shall be that every soul who does not listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from the people.'" | Apostolic declaration of Christ as the Prophet. |
| Acts 7:37 | "This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.'" | Stephen's affirmation of the Prophet like Moses. |
| Ps 111:10 | "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who practice it have good understanding." | Connection between fear of the Lord and wisdom, as seen in their request. |
| Prov 1:7 | "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." | Emphasizes reverence leading to understanding. |
| Jer 7:23 | "But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'" | God's desire for obedience to His voice, which begins with proper hearing. |
| James 1:22 | "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." | The importance of acting on what is heard; here, their request was an act of humility. |
| John 1:18 | "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known." | Jesus reveals the invisible God, akin to Moses mediating the Law. |
| John 14:6 | "Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" | Christ as the ultimate and necessary way to God. |
| Rom 8:34 | "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." | Christ's ongoing mediatorial intercession. |
| Heb 7:25 | "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." | Christ's permanent and effective mediatorial priesthood. |
| Deut 6:24 | "And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are today." | Fear of God for their good, which prompts their wise request. |
| Matt 7:24-25 | "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." | Wise action following hearing, illustrating the principle. |
| Luke 11:28 | "But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" | Blessedness of not just hearing, but acting rightly on God's word. |
| Isa 55:3 | "Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant..." | Emphasizes the life-giving nature of hearing God's voice and coming to Him. |
| Num 14:11 | "And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?'" | Contrast to later instances where Israel failed to believe/fear God properly. |
| Deut 4:33 | "Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of fire, as you have heard, and still live?" | Reinforces the unique and terrifying nature of their experience. |
| Gen 3:10 | "He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.'" | Humanity's natural, fallen fear of God's direct presence, contrasting with a right response. |
Deuteronomy 5 verses
Deuteronomy 5 28 Meaning
Deuteronomy 5:28 reveals God's favorable and affirming response to the Israelites' plea at Mount Horeb. After hearing God speak the Ten Commandments directly, the people were overwhelmed by His majestic and fearsome presence. They requested Moses to act as a mediator, delivering God's words to them instead. God acknowledged their fear and reverent request as good, wise, and appropriate, confirming that they had "well said all that they have spoken." This moment highlights a right posture of the heart before a holy God.
Deuteronomy 5 28 Context
Deuteronomy 5:28 is nestled within Moses' restatement of the Ten Commandments to the new generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab, prior to entering the Promised Land. This chapter specifically recounts the event at Mount Horeb (Sinai) where God directly spoke the commandments. The terrifying manifestation of God's presence—thunder, lightning, fire, and a thick cloud—overwhelmed the people (Deut 5:22-27). Their fear prompted them to ask Moses to be their intermediary, receiving God's words and speaking them to the people, lest they die from direct exposure to God's holiness. Verse 28 is God's response to this specific request, affirming their words as well-said and their fear as appropriate.
Deuteronomy 5 28 Word analysis
- And the LORD: W'YHWH (וַיהוָה). "YHWH" (often rendered LORD in English Bibles) is the sacred covenant name of God, emphasizing His personal, relational, and unchanging character. Here, it signifies the direct engagement of the Almighty God with His people.
- heard: shamáʿ (שָׁמַע). This verb means not just to perceive sound but to listen, understand, pay attention, and often implies heeding or responding positively. God's hearing is active and receptive to their genuine plea.
- the voice: qôl (קוֹל). Refers to sound, utterance, or speech. It points to the audible and impactful nature of the Israelites' spoken request.
- of your words: divrêkhem (דִּבְרֵיכֶם). From dāḇār (דָּבָר), which means "word," "thing," "matter," or "affair." It emphasizes the specific statements and requests made by the people.
- when you spoke to me: Direct communication from the people to God (through Moses as their spokesman in a sense, as they relayed their fears and request to Moses).
- and the LORD said to me: God's response communicated to Moses, emphasizing Moses' role as a mediator even in receiving this affirmation.
- ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you: Reiteration for emphasis, confirming God's direct awareness of their plea communicated to Moses. God validates Moses' representation of the people's fears.
- They have well said: Hēṭîḇû daber (הֵיטִיבוּ דָּבֵר). This is a crucial phrase. Hēṭîḇû (from yaṭab) means "they have done well," "they have done good," "they have done rightly." Daber (from dabar) is "to speak." So, literally, "they have done well in speaking" or "they have spoken well/rightly." This signifies God's complete approval of their fear, their humility, and their wise request for a mediator. It's a divine commendation of their appropriate response to His manifest presence.
- all that they have spoken: Confirms that God approved of the entirety of their plea, which was for mediation (Deut 5:25-27) rather than direct address, acknowledging their human frailty in the face of divine power.
- "the LORD heard... when you spoke to me": This phrase highlights God's attentiveness and direct knowledge of the Israelites' petition. It underlines His personal engagement with His covenant people.
- "I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you": God explicitly confirms hearing the people's plea, emphasizing His comprehensive understanding of their collective sentiment, delivered through their representatives to Moses. This is God affirming Moses' mediation.
- "They have well said all that they have spoken": This powerful divine endorsement validates their entire proposition. It signifies that their request, born out of reverent fear and humility, was a perfectly appropriate and wise response to encountering a holy God directly. This approval sets the stage for God promising a future prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-18) who would serve as the ultimate Mediator.
Deuteronomy 5 28 Bonus section
The commendation "they have well said all that they have spoken" (Deut 5:28) does not equate to a blanket endorsement of Israel's future faithfulness or their overall spiritual state. It specifically approves their response at that critical moment of hearing the Ten Commandments directly. This makes the later history of Israel's rebellion, unbelief, and turning to idolatry even more poignant, as they largely failed to sustain the "well-said" fear of the Lord demonstrated at Horeb. It underscores that an initial moment of reverence needs to translate into consistent obedience and sustained trust, a trajectory Israel struggled with. This verse serves as a historical marker for God's approval of humanity seeking a go-between, ultimately fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Deuteronomy 5 28 Commentary
Deuteronomy 5:28 stands as a profound moment of divine affirmation. God Himself commends Israel's words and their reaction at Sinai, declaring their request for mediation "well said." This is significant because it's not a mere observation, but God's endorsement of their appropriate reverential fear (yir’ah) in the face of His overwhelming holiness. Their fear was not an unbelieving terror, but a wise and humble acknowledgment of their creaturely limits and God's immense power, prompting a desire for a way to receive God's word without being consumed by His glory. This verse lays the groundwork for the promise of the "Prophet like Moses" (Deut 18:15-18), directly connecting it to this moment when Israel desired a mediator. Christ ultimately fulfills this need, perfectly mediating between God and humanity. The verse therefore teaches us the importance of recognizing God's awe-inspiring holiness and humbly approaching Him, often through the appointed means He provides.