And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke gives a different picture from that of the thunderstorm in verse 16. The smoke and fire and the quaking are descriptive of an active volcano. Literally the Hebrew says “And Mount Sinai smoked all of it,” so Translator’s Old Testament has “The whole of Mount Sinai was pouring out smoke.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “was all in smoke,” and both Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation have “was covered with smoke.” One may also express it as “Smoke completely covered Mount Sinai.”

Because the LORD descended upon it in fire suggests that Yahweh had been somewhere above the mountain. Some translations add the English pluperfect, “had come down upon it,” which means that the smoke was the result of Yahweh’s presence in the fire. (Similar are Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.) It is also possible to restructure this sentence as follows: “Because Yahweh, surrounded by fire, descended upon it.”

And the smoke of it is literally “and its smoke,” meaning of course the smoke of the mountain. But since this is obvious, the pronoun “its” (of it) is omitted by New Revised Standard Version and others. However, in a number of languages it will be good style to say something like “smoked poured out of the mountain.” Went up like the smoke of a kiln describes the manner in which the smoke rose straight up into the air, as though the mountain were a huge kiln. The word for kiln refers to a “furnace” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) for baking pottery or making lime. (See 9.8.) An alternative model for this sentence is “Smoke poured out of the mountain just like smoke coming out of a furnace.”

And the whole mountain quaked greatly is what the Hebrew says, but Good News Translation follows the Septuagint “and all the people trembled violently.” (Similar are Revised English Bible, New English Bible, and Moffatt.) Good News Translation should have included a footnote here explaining that “people” is the alternative reading. However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project supports the Hebrew with a {B} rating, so the translator is encouraged to follow Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, and most other translations.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Smoke completely covered Mount Sinai, because Yahweh, surrounded by fire, had descended on it. Smoke poured out of the mountain just like smoke comes out of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .