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Exodus 19:17-21:8
New King James Version
Exodus 19:17-21:8
New King James Version
17 And (A)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now (B)Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon (C)it in fire. (D)Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and [a]the (E)whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, (F)Moses spoke, and (G)God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through (H)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the (I)priests who come near the Lord (J)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord (K)break out against them.”
23 But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, (L)‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”
24 Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
The Ten Commandments(M)
20 And God spoke (N)all these words, saying:
2 (O)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, (P)out of the house of [b]bondage.
3 (Q)“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 (R)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 (S)you shall not bow down to them nor [c]serve them. (T)For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, (U)visiting[d] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but (V)showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 (W)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord (X)will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 (Y)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 (Z)Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the (AA)seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, (AB)nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For (AC)in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 (AD)“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be (AE)long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 (AF)“You shall not murder.
14 (AG)“You shall not commit (AH)adultery.
15 (AI)“You shall not steal.
16 (AJ)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 (AK)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (AL)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
18 Now (AM)all the people (AN)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain (AO)smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, (AP)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but (AQ)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, (AR)“Do not fear; (AS)for God has come to test you, and (AT)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near (AU)the thick darkness where God was.
The Law of the Altar
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you (AV)from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be (AW)with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of (AX)earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, (AY)your sheep and your oxen. In every (AZ)place where I [e]record My name I will come to you, and I will (BA)bless you. 25 And (BB)if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you (BC)use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your (BD)nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
The Law Concerning Servants(BE)
21 “Now these are the [f]judgments which you shall (BF)set before them: 2 (BG)If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 (BH)But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to the (BI)judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
7 “And if a man (BJ)sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she [g]does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
Footnotes
- Exodus 19:18 LXX all the people
- Exodus 20:2 slaves
- Exodus 20:5 worship
- Exodus 20:5 punishing
- Exodus 20:24 cause My name to be remembered
- Exodus 21:1 ordinances
- Exodus 21:8 Lit. is evil in the eyes of
Exodus 19:17-21:8
New International Version
Exodus 19:17-21:8
New International Version
17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.(A) 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke,(B) because the Lord descended on it in fire.(C) The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace,(D) and the whole mountain[a] trembled(E) violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice(F) of God answered(G) him.[b]
20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai(H) and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see(I) the Lord and many of them perish.(J) 22 Even the priests, who approach(K) the Lord, must consecrate(L) themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”(M)
23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai,(N) because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits(O) around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
24 The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron(P) up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”(Q)
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
The Ten Commandments(R)
20 And God spoke(S) all these words:(T)
2 “I am the Lord your God,(U) who brought you out(V) of Egypt,(W) out of the land of slavery.(X)
3 “You shall have no other gods before[c] me.(Y)
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image(Z) in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship(AA) them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,(AB) punishing the children for the sin of the parents(AC) to the third and fourth generation(AD) of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand(AE) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(AF)
8 “Remember the Sabbath(AG) day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,(AH) 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath(AI) to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,(AJ) the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested(AK) on the seventh day.(AL) Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother,(AM) so that you may live long(AN) in the land(AO) the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.(AP)
14 “You shall not commit adultery.(AQ)
15 “You shall not steal.(AR)
16 “You shall not give false testimony(AS) against your neighbor.(AT)
17 “You shall not covet(AU) your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet(AV) and saw the mountain in smoke,(AW) they trembled with fear.(AX) They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak(AY) to us or we will die.”(AZ)
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid.(BA) God has come to test(BB) you, so that the fear(BC) of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(BD)
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness(BE) where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:(BF) 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me;(BG) do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.(BH)
24 “‘Make an altar(BI) of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings(BJ) and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name(BK) to be honored, I will come to you and bless(BL) you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool(BM) on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts(BN) may be exposed.’
21 “These are the laws(BO) you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants(BP)(BQ)
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant,(BR) he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free,(BS) without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’(BT) 6 then his master must take him before the judges.[d](BU) He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce(BV) his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.(BW)
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[e] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
Footnotes
- Exodus 19:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint and all the people
- Exodus 19:19 Or and God answered him with thunder
- Exodus 20:3 Or besides
- Exodus 21:6 Or before God
- Exodus 21:8 Or master so that he does not choose her
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.