²⁴ They said, ‘The Lord our God has shown us how great and how powerful he is. We have heard his voice from the middle of the fire. We have learned this: People can continue to live, even after God has spoken to them. ²⁵ But now we think that this great fire will kill us. We do not want to die! If we continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God, we will surely die. ²⁶ The God who lives for ever has spoken to us from the middle of the fire. Has anyone ever heard him speak like that and then continued to live?