²³ Then all of your tribal representatives and elders approached me because you were so afraid when you heard His voice coming from the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire. ²⁴ They told me what you were saying: “Today the Eternal our God has displayed His glory and power, and we’ve heard His voice from inside that fire. We see that God can speak to mortals, and they can survive! ²⁵ But if we keep listening to the voice of the Eternal, our True God, that huge fire is going to burn us up, and we’ll die! Why should we let that happen?