# voice

## Definition:

The term “voice” refers to audible sound that a person makes when speaking or communicating. In the Bible, the term can be used figuratively to refer to the concepts of sound, communication, and/or obedience.

## Translation Suggestions

* The expression “to hear someone’s voice” can mean either “to hear someone speaking” or “to heed what someone says.”
* The Bible describes God as “speaking” and having a “voice,” even though God doesn’t have a physical body in the same way a human being does.
* The term “voice” sometimes implies the presence of a person, as in this statement: “A voice is heard in the desert saying, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’” This could be translated as “A person is heard calling out in the desert….” (See: [synecdoche](rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche))
* However, sometimes the word “voice” is used for objects that cannot literally speak, such as when David exclaims in the psalms that the heavens have a “voice” that reaches the whole earth. This means that the objects in the sky communicate something to human beings about God the Creator. (See: [metaphor](rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor))

(See also: [call](../kt/call.md), [proclaim](../other/preach.md), [splendor](../other/splendor.md).)

## Bible References:

* [John 5:36-38](rc://en/tn/help/jhn/05/36)
* [Luke 1:42](rc://en/tn/help/luk/01/42)
* [Luke 9:35](rc://en/tn/help/luk/09/35)
* [Matthew 3:17](rc://en/tn/help/mat/03/17)
* [Matthew 12:19](rc://en/tn/help/mat/12/19)

## Word Data:

* Strong’s: H6963, H7032, H7445, H8193, G29060, G54560
