¹⁸ You have not come to a physical mountain,^[a] to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. ¹⁹ For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. ²⁰ They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”^{[b] 21} Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”^[c]