Exodus 19-31

EasyEnglish Bible

The Israelites arrive at Sinai mountain

19 ^1-2 After the Israelites left Rephidim, they went into the Sinai desert. The Israelites put up their tents in the desert, at the side of Sinai mountain. That happened on the first day of the third month since they came out of Egypt.

³ Moses went up the mountain to speak with God. The Lord spoke to him from the mountain. He said, ‘This is what you must say to the Israelites, Jacob's descendants: ⁴ “You yourselves have seen what I did against the Egyptians. You know how I took care of you. I carried you carefully, like an eagle carries her babies on her wings. I brought you here to come to me. ⁵ Now you must be careful to obey me and my covenant with you. Then you will belong to me as my special people. The whole earth belongs to me, and I have chosen you from among all the nations. ⁶ You will be my priests who serve in my kingdom. You will be a nation that is special to me.” These are the words that you must speak to the Israelites.’

⁷ So Moses came back down from the mountain. He brought together all the leaders of the Israelites. He told them all the words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ The people all replied together. They said, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has said.’ Then Moses repeated their answer to the Lord.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud. Then the people will hear me when I speak to you. Then they will always believe what you say.’ Moses told the Lord the words that the people had said.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people. Make them ready to meet with me. Today and tomorrow they must wash their clothes. ¹¹ They must be ready on the third day. On that day, I will come down on Sinai mountain, so that all the people see me. ¹² Make a line round the edge of the mountain so that the people do not cross it. Say to them, “Be careful! Do not go up the mountain or even touch the edge of it. If any people or animals touch the mountain, they must die. ¹³ Nobody must go near them. You must throw stones at them to kill them. Or you must shoot arrows at them. You must not let them live, whether they are people or animals.” The people must wait until they hear the sound of a trumpet. When they hear a long noise, then they may go up on the mountain.’

¹⁴ Then Moses came down from the mountain to speak to the people. He told them to make themselves ready for God. So the people washed their clothes. ¹⁵ Then Moses said to them, ‘Prepare yourselves for the third day. While you wait, do not have sex with your wives, or anyone.’

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was there over the mountain. The people heard the noise of a loud trumpet. They were so afraid that their bodies were shaking.

¹⁷ Then Moses led the people away from their tents to meet with God. They went and they stood at the edge of the mountain. ¹⁸ Smoke covered Sinai mountain because the Lord had come down on the mountain, like a fire. The smoke rose up from the mountain, like smoke from a great fire. The whole mountain shook very much. ¹⁹ The noise of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke to God and God answered him with a loud voice.

²⁰ The Lord came down onto the top of Sinai mountain. Then the Lord told Moses that he must come up to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up the mountain. ²¹ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down to the people. Warn them that they must stay away from the mountain. They must not cross the line to try to see me, the Lord. If they do that, many of them will die. ²² Even the priests must make themselves clean before they come near to me. If they do not obey this command, I will punish them. I am the Lord.’

²³ Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up Sinai mountain. You warned us that we must make a line round the edge of the mountain. You said that we must make the mountain a special place.’

²⁴ The Lord replied, ‘Now go back down. Then bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must stay where they are. They must not try to come up here where I am. If they come across the line, I will punish them.’

²⁵ So Moses went down to the people. He told them what the Lord had said.

God's 10 special commands

20 Then God spoke all these words:

² ‘I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt, the country where you were slaves.

³ You must not have any other gods except me.

⁴ You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea. ⁵ You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their children and their grandchildren too. That is how I will punish everyone who turns against me. ⁶ But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.

⁷ You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.

⁸ Remember the Sabbath day. Keep it as a special day for me. ⁹ You have six days every week to do all your work. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. It is special for the Lord your God. You must not do any work on that day. Your son and your daughter must not work on that day. Your servants, male or female, must not work on that day. The foreign person who lives among you and even your animals must not work on that day. ¹¹ In six days, the Lord made the heavens, the earth and the sea. He made everything that is in them. But on the seventh day, the Lord rested. So he blessed the Sabbath day and he made it special.

¹² Always respect your father and your mother. Then you will live for many years in the land that the Lord your God will give to you.

¹³ You must not murder anyone.

¹⁴ You must not have sex with another person's husband or wife.

¹⁵ You must not take another person's things for yourself.

¹⁶ You must not say false things against your neighbour.

¹⁷ You must not want to take your neighbour's house for yourself. You must not want to take his wife, or his servants, male or female. You must not want to take his ox, or his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.’

The people are very afraid

¹⁸ The people heard the loud thunder and they saw the bright lightning. They heard the noise of the trumpet. They saw the smoke on the mountain. They were so afraid that their bodies were shaking. They would not come near. ¹⁹ They said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself. We will listen to you. But do not let God speak to us. If he does, we will die.’

²⁰ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him and to obey him. Then you will not do things that are wrong.’

²¹ So the people stayed away from the mountain. But Moses walked towards the thick, dark cloud, where God was.

Rules about certain things

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell this to the Israelites: “You yourselves have heard me speak to you from heaven. ²³ Do not make any idols to take my place. Do not use silver or gold to make an idol that you will worship.

²⁴ Instead, use earth to make an altar for me. You must offer sacrifices to me on the altar. You may take your sheep, your goats or your cows to make burnt offerings or friendship offerings or other sacrifices to me. Make an altar like this in any place that I choose for you to worship me. In those places, I will come to you and I will bless you. ²⁵ You may also use stones from the ground to make an altar for me. But do not use any tools to cut the stones. If you use a tool on the stones, the altar will not be right for you to worship me there.

²⁶ Do not make an altar which has stairs going up to it. If you do that, someone may see under your clothes when you climb up the stairs. Then you would be ashamed.”

Israelite slaves

21 These are the laws that you must put in front of the Israelites:

² If you buy an Israelite slave, he must work for you for six years. But in the seventh year he will become a free man. He can leave you. He does not have to pay you any money. ³ If he came to you alone, he is free to leave alone. If he came with a wife, she can also leave with him. ⁴ But if the master has given a wife to the slave, she belongs to her master. If she has children, they also belong to her master. The slave must then leave by himself, without his wife and children.

⁵ But perhaps the slave may say, “I love my master, my wife and my children. I will not go away as a free man!” ⁶ Then his master must take the slave to stand in front of the judges.^[a] He must lead the slave to stand beside the door, or the wood that holds the door. Then the master must push the sharp point of a tool through the slave's ear. After that, he will serve his master for all his life.

⁷ Perhaps a man may sell his daughter to someone as a slave. She is not free to leave her master after six years, as the male slaves are. ⁸ Her master has chosen her for himself. If she does not make her master happy, he must let her family buy her back from him. He cannot sell her to a foreign person. He has not done what he promised to her.^{[b] 9} If the master had chosen the girl to marry his son, he must take care of her like his own daughter. ¹⁰ If the master marries another woman as well, he must still take care of the first woman. He must continue to give her food and clothes. He must not refuse to sleep with her. ¹¹ If he does not do these three things, she may leave him. She does not have to pay him any money.

When people attack other people

¹² Perhaps a person may hit another person so that he dies. You must punish the murderer with death. ¹³ But perhaps he had not decided to kill the other person. Perhaps God let it happen. Then the man should run away to a safe place that I will choose for you. ¹⁴ But if he already decided to kill the other person, he is a murderer. You must punish him with death. Even if he runs to my altar as a safe place, take him away from there and kill him.

¹⁵ If someone attacks his father or his mother, you must punish him with death.

¹⁶ If someone catches another person to sell him, you must punish him with death. Kill him even if you find him when he has not yet sold the man that he caught.

¹⁷ If someone curses his father or his mother, you must punish him with death.

¹⁸ Perhaps two men argue and they fight one another. One man might hit the other man with a stone or with his fist. The man that he hit might not die but he might have to stay in bed for some time. ¹⁹ After that, he may get up. He may be able to walk about outside, if he uses a stick. Then the man who hit him is not guilty. But he must pay the man that he has hurt. He must pay him for the time that he has not been able to work. He must also make sure that the man becomes completely well again.

²⁰ Perhaps a master may hit his male slave or his female slave with a stick. If the slave dies because of this, you must punish the master. ²¹ But if the slave is still alive after one or two days, do not punish his master. The master has already lost the slave's work for that time.

²² When two men fight together, perhaps one of them may hit a pregnant woman. As a result of the fight, she may give birth to her child before the right time. If the man has not hurt the woman very much, he must pay money to her husband. He must pay the amount of money that the husband demands. A judge must agree that the money for his punishment is fair. ²³ But if the man has hurt the woman a lot, you must punish him as he deserves. Take a life for a life, ²⁴ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. ²⁵ You must give him a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.^[c]

²⁶ If a master hits the eye of his male slave or his female slave, he might destroy it. Then he must let the slave go away as a free person to pay for the loss of their eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, he must also let the slave go away to pay for the loss of the tooth.

Rules about animals

²⁸ Perhaps a bull may attack someone so that the person dies. Then you must throw stones at the bull to kill it. You must not eat the meat from that bull. But do not punish the owner of the bull. ²⁹ But perhaps that bull has attacked people before. Perhaps someone warned the owner about this, but the man did not keep the bull in a safe place. If that happens, and the bull kills someone, you must kill the bull. You must also punish the bull's owner with death. ³⁰ But if the dead person's family demands money, the man can give them money instead of his life. He must pay them what they ask for. ³¹ This law is the same if the bull attacks someone's son or their daughter. ³² If it attacks a male slave or a female slave, the man must pay 30 silver coins to the slave's master. You must also throw stones at the bull to kill it.

³³ If a man digs a hole in the ground, he must cover it. If he leaves a hole open, a cow or a donkey might fall into it. ³⁴ Then the man who dug the hole must pay for the loss of the animal. He must pay money to the animal's owner, but he may keep the dead animal for himself.

³⁵ If one man's bull attacks another man's bull, it may die. Then they must sell the bull that is still alive. Each man can take half of the money and half of the dead bull as well. ³⁶ But perhaps that bull has attacked other animals before. If its owner knows that and he did not do anything, he must pay for the dead bull. He should have kept his bull in a safe place. So he must pay the owner of the dead bull, but he can keep the dead animal for himself.

Rules about things that belong to people

22 Perhaps someone may take another person's cow or sheep for himself. He may kill it or he may sell it. As punishment, he must pay the owner five cows for each cow that he has taken. He must pay four sheep for each sheep that he has taken.

² Perhaps someone may catch a robber as he goes into another person's house. The owner of the house might knock down the robber so that he dies. If this happens at night, the owner of the house is not guilty of murder. ³ But if the owner of the house kills the robber after sunrise, he is guilty of murder.

Anyone who takes something that belongs to someone else must pay back the owner. If he cannot pay for everything that he has taken, he must become a slave. The owner will receive the money that someone has paid for the slave.

⁴ You may find an animal that someone has taken for himself. If the animal is still alive, the person who took it must pay back to the owner twice its value. He must do this, whether it was a cow, a donkey, or a sheep.

⁵ A man's animals might go into someone else's field or vineyard to eat what is growing there. Then the owner of those animals must pay back the value of what they have eaten. He must give his best grain and his best grapes to pay back the other man.

⁶ Someone might light a fire in his field to burn thorn bushes. But the fire might grow and it might burn the crops in another farmer's field. It may destroy the crops that are growing there or the grain that is ready for harvest. It might even destroy the whole field. Then the person who lit the fire must pay the farmer for the crops that the fire has destroyed.

⁷ Perhaps you may give some of your money or your valuable things to your neighbour. You may ask your neighbour to keep them safe for you. But a robber might take those things from your neighbour's house. If you catch the robber, he must pay back twice the value of the things that he took. ⁸ But if you do not find the robber, you must take your neighbour to stand in front of the judges.^[d] They must decide if your neighbour has taken your things for himself.

⁹ Perhaps two people both say that something belongs to them. They may argue about a cow, a donkey, a sheep, some clothes or anything else that they have lost. Then both of them must go to stand in front of the judges. The judges will decide which of them is guilty. The guilty person must pay back twice the value of the thing to the other person.

¹⁰ Perhaps you may ask your neighbour to keep one of your animals safe for you. It may be a donkey, a cow, a sheep or any other animal that belongs to you. Then the animal may die, or something may hurt it. Or perhaps a robber takes it for himself. If nobody has seen what really happened, you must do this: ¹¹ Your neighbour must make a serious promise to the Lord. He must promise that he did not take your animal for himself, or hurt it. Then you must accept what he has said. Do not ask your neighbour to pay you any money. ¹² But if a robber did take the animal from your neighbour, then your neighbour must pay you for it. ¹³ But perhaps a wild animal attacked it. Then your neighbour must show the pieces of your animal that are left. Then he will not have to pay you for the loss of your animal.

¹⁴ Your neighbour might lend one of his animals to you to do some work. Something bad might happen to the animal while its owner is not with it. It might die, or something might hurt it. Then you must pay your neighbour for the loss of the animal. ¹⁵ But if the owner is with his animal when something bad happens to it, you do not have to pay anything. And if you already paid your neighbour some money to use his animal, that will be enough to pay him for the loss.

Rules about life

¹⁶ Perhaps a man may meet a young girl who has not had sex with any man before. He might deceive her to have sex with her. If she has not yet promised to marry another man, he must marry her. He must give the right gifts to her parents. ¹⁷ Her father might refuse to give her to the man to be his wife. But the man must still give the right gifts for a girl who is not married.^[e]

¹⁸ You must punish with death any woman who is a magician.

¹⁹ You must punish with death anyone who has sex with an animal.

²⁰ You must completely destroy anyone who offers a sacrifice to a false god. You must only offer sacrifices to the Lord.

²¹ Never be cruel to a foreign person or give them trouble. Remember that you yourselves lived in Egypt as foreigners.

²² Never give trouble to any widow or to any children who have no family. ²³ If you are cruel to them, I will hear them when they call out to me for help. ²⁴ I will be very angry with you. I will kill you in war. Your wives will become widows. Your children will no longer have any family.

²⁵ You may lend money to any of my people who need help. But do not ask them to pay back more money than you have lent to them. That is what traders in money do. ²⁶ You may take someone's coat as a guarantee that he will pay you back. But you must always return his coat to him before sunset. ²⁷ He needs his coat to keep him warm at night. It is the only warm thing that he has to sleep in. If you keep his coat, I will hear him when he calls out to me for help. And I will help him, because I am very kind to people.

²⁸ Never insult God. Never curse anyone who is a leader of your people.

²⁹ Do not refuse to offer your grain, your wine or your olive oil to me.

You must give your firstborn sons to me.

³⁰ Do the same thing with your cows and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days. But on the eighth day, you must give them to me.

³¹ You must live as my special people. So do not eat any meat from your animals that wild animals have killed. Instead, you must give it as food to the dogs.

Rules for justice

23 Do not make false reports. Do not tell lies in court to help wicked people.

² Do not join a group of bad people to do evil things. When you speak in court, tell the truth so that the judges will decide what is right. Do not tell lies to agree with what everyone else says. ³ Do not speak on behalf of a poor man only because you like him.

⁴ Perhaps you may find your enemy's cow or his donkey when he has lost it. If so, you must give it back to him. ⁵ Perhaps you may see your enemy's donkey when it is carrying a heavy load. If the donkey has fallen down, do not refuse to give help. Do not leave the donkey there.

⁶ Always do what is right for your poor people when they stand in front of a judge. ⁷ Do not help anyone to use lies to accuse another person. Never punish anyone with death if they are not guilty. I will never say that a wicked person is not guilty.

⁸ Do not accept a bribe. A bribe will hide the truth even from honest people. It can make good people tell lies.

⁹ Do not be cruel to a foreign person who lives among you. You yourselves know what that feels like. Remember that you lived in Egypt as foreigners.

Rules about the Sabbath day and Feasts

¹⁰ You must plant seed in your fields for six years. Then you can bring your crops home at harvest time. ¹¹ But in the seventh year, you must let your fields lie empty. Do not dig them and do not plant anything in them. Then poor people among you can eat the food that they find in your fields. After that, the wild animals can eat any food that still remains. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your fields of olive trees.

¹² Do your work for six days each week, but do not work on the seventh day. Then your oxen and your donkeys will have time to rest. Any slave who was born in your home and any foreigner who works for you may also have time to rest. That will help them to be strong.

¹³ Be careful to obey everything that I have told you. Do not pray to other gods for help. Do not even speak about them.

¹⁴ Three times each year, you must eat a feast to give me honour.

¹⁵ Eat the Feast of Flat Bread every year. For seven days, you must eat bread that you have made without any yeast. I have commanded you to do this. Do it at the right time during the month Abib. It was in that month that you came out of Egypt. Nobody must come to me without an offering.

¹⁶ Eat the Feast of Harvest every year. Offer to me the first crops that you bring from your fields.^[f]

At the end of each year, eat Feast of Final Harvest. Do that when you have finished bringing in all of your crops from the fields.

¹⁷ Three times each year, all your men must come to worship the Almighty Lord.

¹⁸ When you kill an animal to offer it to me as a sacrifice, do not offer it with bread that has yeast in it. Be sure to burn all the fat of the animal on the same day. Do not keep any of it until the next morning.

¹⁹ When you cut the first crops from your fields, bring the best food to the house of the Lord your God.

Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

God's special angel

²⁰ Look! I will send an angel to lead you on your journey. He will keep you safe. He will take you to the place that I have prepared for you. ²¹ Be careful to obey him. Listen to what he says to you. Do not turn against him. If you do that, he will not forgive you. I have given him my authority. ²² So be careful to obey him. Do everything that I tell you. Then I will be the enemy of your enemies. I will fight against anyone who fights against you. ²³ My angel will go in front of you. He will bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. I will destroy them completely. ²⁴ Do not worship their gods. Do not serve them. Do not copy the evil things that these people do. Destroy their idols and break their special stones into pieces.

²⁵ You must serve only me, the Lord your God. Then I will bless your food and your water. I will remove illness from among you. ²⁶ Your women will safely give birth to babies. They will all be able to have children. Everyone will live a long life.

²⁷ I will cause all the nations that you meet to be afraid. All the people who attack you will become confused. I will cause all your enemies to turn round and run away from you. ²⁸ I will send great fear on the people as you move into the land.^[g] That will chase out the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites. ²⁹ But I will not chase out those people in one year. If I did that, the country would become empty of people. Then there would be many wild animals that would cause trouble to you. ³⁰ I will remove the people slowly, one group at a time. As you become strong, you will take the land as your own home.

³¹ I will decide where the borders of your land will be. You will have the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will put the people who live there under your power. As you move into the land, you will chase those people out.

³² Do not make any agreement with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land. They would cause you to do bad things against me. If you serve their gods, you will become like their prisoners.’

God repeats his covenant

24 Then God said to Moses, ‘Come up to me, the Lord. Come with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 of the leaders of Israel. Worship me, but do not come near. ² Only Moses can come near to me, but not the others. The people must not come up the mountain with him.’

³ Moses went and he told the people all the Lord's commands and his teaching. The people answered together, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has told us.’ ⁴ Then Moses wrote down everything that the Lord had said.

Early the next morning, Moses built an altar at the bottom of the mountain. Then he put up 12 stone pillars. Each pillar stood there for one of Israel's 12 tribes. ⁵ Moses sent young Israelite men to burn animals there, as offerings to the Lord. They also killed young bulls as friendship offerings to the Lord.

⁶ Moses took half of the blood of these animals and he put it into some bowls. He splashed the other half of the blood over the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of God's Covenant and he read it to the people. They replied, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has told us. We will obey his commands.’

⁸ Then Moses used the blood in the bowls to splash on the people. He said, ‘This blood shows that you accept the covenant that the Lord has made with you. You agree to obey the rules of his covenant.’

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 Israelite leaders went up the mountain. ¹⁰ They saw the God of Israel there. Under his feet was something like a jewel called sapphire. It was as bright as a clear blue sky. ¹¹ God did not hurt those Israelite leaders. They saw God. They ate a meal and they drank together.

¹² The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here. I will give you the flat stones with my Law on them. I have written on them my Law and my commands, so that you can teach them to the people.’

¹³ So Moses went up the mountain of God. His servant Joshua went with him. ¹⁴ Moses said to the leaders, ‘Wait here for us. We will come back to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If you have any arguments, they can decide who is right.’

¹⁵ When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it. ¹⁶ The Lord's bright glory appeared on Sinai mountain. The cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord called out to Moses from inside the cloud. ¹⁷ The people could see the Lord's bright glory. To them, it looked like a fire that was burning the top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Moses went up the mountain and he went into the cloud. He stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.

The tabernacle

25 The Lord said to Moses: ² ‘Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. Every person who wants to give can make a gift to me. You must receive their gifts. ³ These are the gifts that you must receive from the people as an offering:

⁸ You must tell the Israelites to make a special place to be my home. Then I will live among them. ⁹ I will show you how to make this tabernacle and everything that you will put inside it. But you must make everything in the way that I tell you.

The Covenant Box

¹⁰ The Israelites must use acacia wood to make a big box. It must be 1 metre long, 75 centimetres wide and 75 centimetres high. ¹¹ Cover the wood with gold, both inside and outside. Build up the edges of the box with gold. ¹² Make four gold rings and fix them to the four feet of the box. Fix two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ¹³ Then use acacia wood to make two poles. Cover them with gold too. ¹⁴ Push the poles through the rings on the sides of the box. You will use the poles to carry the box. ¹⁵ The poles must remain along the side of the box, in the rings. Never remove them. ¹⁶ Then put into the box the two flat stones with the words of the covenant on them. I will give those to you.

¹⁷ Use pure gold to make a lid for the box. Make the lid 1 metre long and 75 centimetres wide. ¹⁸ Use gold to make images of two cherubs. Use a hammer to make them the right shape. They will stand at the two ends of the lid. ¹⁹ One cherub will stand at one end of the lid, and one cherub will stand at the other end. The two cherubs and the lid must be one piece of gold. ²⁰ The cherubs must look towards each other and watch over the lid. Their wings must touch each other over the top of the lid. ²¹ Then put the lid on the top of the box. Put the flat stones with the words of the covenant into the box. I will give those to you.

²² I will meet with you there, between the two cherubs that are above the lid. They watch over the Covenant Box. In that place I will give you all my commands for the Israelites.

The table for special bread

²³ Use acacia wood to make a table. It must be one 1 metre long, 50 centimetres wide and 75 centimetres high. ²⁴ Cover the wood with gold. Build up the edges of the table with gold. ²⁵ Also, fix an extra piece of wood around its edge. It must be 7 centimetres wide. Build up the edges of this piece with gold.

²⁶ Make four gold rings for the table. Fix them to the four corners, one beside each leg of the table. ²⁷ The rings must be near to the extra piece of wood. They will hold the poles that you will use to carry the table. ²⁸ Use acacia wood to make the poles. Cover them with gold. Use the poles to carry the table. ²⁹ Use pure gold to make plates, big spoons, jars and bowls. You will use these things to pour out drink offerings. ³⁰ Put the Lord's special bread on this table. The bread must always be there for me.

The lampstand

³¹ Use one piece of pure gold to make a lampstand. Use a hammer to make it the right shape. Use the gold to make its base, its middle pole and the cups to hold the oil. The cups will be like open flowers and closed flowers. ³² Make six branches on the lampstand, three branches on each side of the middle pole. ³³ Put three cups in the shape of almond flowers and their leaves on each branch. Each of the six branches of the lampstand will have three cups like that. ³⁴ On the lampstand itself, put four cups in the shape of almond flowers and their leaves. ³⁵ Put one closed flower under the first pair of branches. Put a second closed flower under the second pair of branches. Put the third closed flower under the third pair of branches. So there will be three closed flowers for the six branches on the lampstand. ³⁶ You must make the flowers and the branches from the same piece of pure gold as the lampstand. Use a hammer to make the gold into the right shape.

³⁷ Then make seven lamps and fix them to the lampstand. Fix them so that they light the space in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ Also use pure gold to make small tools and dishes to take care of the lamps. ³⁹ Use 34 kilograms of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the tools to take care of it.

⁴⁰ Be careful to make all these things like the plan that I have shown you on the mountain.

The tabernacle

26 Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of very good linen. Also use blue, purple and red material. Tell a worker to use special skills to make pictures of cherubs on the curtains. ² All the curtains must be the same size: 12 metres long and 2 metres wide. ³ Join five of the curtains together. Do the same thing with the other five curtains. ⁴ Fix rings of blue material along the edge of the last curtain in each set of five curtains. ⁵ Put 50 rings on the edge of the first set. Put 50 rings on the edge of the other set. Do this so that the rings on one curtain are opposite to the rings on the other curtain. ⁶ Then use 50 small gold hooks to join the curtains together. In this way, a single piece of curtain will make the whole tabernacle.

⁷ Use goats' hair to make 11 curtains. They will cover the tabernacle, like a tent. ⁸ All the curtains must be the same size: 13.5 metres long and 2 metres wide. ⁹ Join five of the curtains together to make one set. Fix the other six curtains together to make a second set. Turn the sixth curtain of this set over itself to cover the entrance of the tent. ¹⁰ Use material to make 50 rings along the edge of the end curtain in each set. ¹¹ Then make 50 bronze hooks. Use them to join the two sets of curtains together so that it makes a single tent. ¹² The curtains for the tent will be longer than the curtains for the tabernacle. The extra half of the curtain for the tent will hang at the back of the tabernacle. ¹³ The curtains of the tent will be half a metre longer on both sides. The extra material will hang over each side of the tabernacle to cover it completely.

¹⁴ Use red leather from sheep's skins to cover the tent. Then use another kind of good leather to cover the red leather.

¹⁵ Use acacia wood to make boards to hold up the tabernacle. ¹⁶ Each board must be 4 metres high and 65 centimetres wide. ¹⁷ Make two wooden pegs on each board, beside each other. Make all the boards of the tabernacle like this. ¹⁸ Make 20 boards for the south side of the tabernacle. ¹⁹ Then use silver to make 40 heavy bases to hold up the boards. Two bases will hold up each board. The pegs on the boards will fit into holes in the bases. ²⁰ Also make 20 boards for the north side of the tabernacle. ²¹ Make 40 silver bases, two bases under each board. ²² Make six boards for the west side, at the back of the tabernacle. ²³ Then make two boards for the corners at the back of the tabernacle. ²⁴ You must fix the two boards together, from the bottom to the top. Use a ring to fix them together at the top. Make both the corners in the same way. ²⁵ So there will be eight boards at the back of the tabernacle and 16 silver bases, two bases under each board.

²⁶ You must also use acacia wood to make bars to fix across the boards. Make five bars for the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁷ five bars for the north side, and five bars for the west side at the back of the tabernacle. ²⁸ The bar that goes across the centre of the boards must reach from one end of the tabernacle to the other end. ²⁹ Use gold to cover the boards and to make rings for the boards. These rings will hold the bars in place across the boards. Also cover the wooden bars with gold.

³⁰ Make the tabernacle the same as the plan that I showed to you on the mountain.

The curtain inside the tabernacle

³¹ Use blue, purple and red material and good linen to make a special curtain. A worker must use special skills to make pictures of cherubs on it. ³² Use gold rings to hang the curtain from four poles of acacia wood. Cover these poles with gold. Then fix them on four silver bases. ³³ Hang the top of the curtain from the rings. Put the Covenant Box behind the curtain, in the Most Holy Place. The curtain will hang between the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place so that they are separate. ³⁴ Put the special lid on the Covenant Box, in the Most Holy Place.^{[i] 35} Put the special table in the Holy Place, outside the curtain. It will be on the north side of the tabernacle. Put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.

³⁶ Make a curtain for the entrance of the tent. Use blue, purple and red material and good linen to make it. A worker must use special skills to make it so that it looks beautiful. ³⁷ Use acacia wood to make five poles. Cover them with gold. Fix gold rings to the poles. Use bronze to make five bases to hold up the poles. Then hang the curtain from the rings on the poles.

The altar for sacrifices

27 Use acacia wood to make an altar. It must be square, 2.2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide. It must be 1.3 metres high. ² Make four horns, one at each corner of the altar. The horns and the altar itself must be one piece of work. Then cover the whole altar with bronze. ³ Make all the tools for the altar with bronze. Make pots to remove the ashes, spades and bowls. Make forks for the meat. Make dishes to carry the fire. ⁴ Use bronze to make a square net and rings at each corner. ⁵ Fix this net inside the altar, in the middle, between the top of the altar and the ground.^{[j] 6} Use acacia wood to make poles for the altar. Cover them with bronze. ⁷ You must put the poles through the rings when you carry the altar. There will be a pole on each of two sides of the altar. ⁸ Use boards to make the altar, so that it is empty inside. You must make it in the way that the Lord showed you on the mountain.

The yard

⁹ Make a yard around the tent of the tabernacle. The south side must be 45 metres long. It will have curtains that are made of good linen. ¹⁰ Make 20 poles and 20 bronze bases to hold the poles. Use silver to make hooks and sticks to hold the curtains. ¹¹ The north side of the yard must also be 45 metres long. It will also have 20 poles with their bronze bases, as well as their silver hooks and sticks.

¹² The west end of the yard must be 23 metres long. Make curtains for it, with ten poles and their bronze bases. ¹³ The entrance to the yard is at its east end. That end must also be 23 metres long. ^14-15 There will be 7 metres of curtain on each side of the entrance. There will be three poles with their bases to hold the curtains on each side.

¹⁶ Make a curtain 9 metres wide for the entrance to the yard. Make it out of blue, purple and red material, as well as good linen. Choose a worker who can use special skills to make the curtain look beautiful. Make four poles and their bases to hold the curtain at the entrance.

¹⁷ All the poles around the yard must have bronze bases. They will also have silver hooks and sticks to hold the curtains. ¹⁸ The yard will be 45 metres long and 23 metres wide. Use good linen to make the curtains. They must be 2¼ metres high on the bronze bases.

¹⁹ Use bronze to make all the tools that you will use in the tabernacle. Also use bronze to make the pegs that fix the tent of the tabernacle to the ground. And make bronze pegs to fix the curtain around the yard to the ground.

Olive oil for the lamps

²⁰ Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from fresh olives. You will use this oil to make the lamps give light all the time. ²¹ Aaron and his sons must make sure that the lamps always give light from evening until morning. The lampstand will be in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that hangs in front of the Covenant Box.^[k] The lamps must always give light there, where the Lord is. This will always be a rule for the Israelites, now and in the future.

Special clothes for the priests

28 Bring your brother Aaron and his sons from among the other Israelites. They will serve me as my priests. That will be Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² Make special clothes for Aaron. They will be beautiful clothes to show that he deserves honour. ³ I have given special skills to some workers so that they know how to make beautiful things. Tell them to make clothes for Aaron. They will show that I have chosen him to serve me as my priest. ⁴ These are the clothes that they must make:

They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and for his sons. Then Aaron and his sons will serve me as my priests. ⁵ The workers who have special skills must use beautiful material that is gold, blue, purple and red, as well as good linen.

The ephod

⁶ Use gold, blue, purple and red material, as well as good linen, to make the ephod. A worker should use special skills to make it so that it looks beautiful. ⁷ Fix pieces of cloth on its two edges. These will go over the priest's shoulders to join the front and the back parts of the ephod. ⁸ Make a beautiful belt to tie around the ephod. The belt and the ephod must be one piece of work. Use the same materials to make both of them: gold, blue, purple and red material, and good linen.

⁹ Take two onyx stones and write on them with a sharp tool. Write the names of the sons of Israel. ¹⁰ Begin with the name of the oldest son and finish with the name of the youngest son. Write six names on one stone and six names on the other stone. ¹¹ A worker who has skill to cut letters into metal must do this work. Then fix the stones into beautiful gold around their edges. ¹² Fix the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod so that they show the names of the 12 sons of Israel. Aaron will carry the names on his shoulders as he serves the Lord. Then the Lord will remember to bless his people. ¹³ Use gold to make beautiful pieces to hold the stones. ¹⁴ And use pure gold to make two thin chains, like strings. Fix these chains to the gold pieces that hold the onyx stones.

The breastpiece

¹⁵ A worker must use special skills to make a breastpiece so that it looks beautiful. The breastpiece will help the priest to know what God is saying. Make it like the ephod. Use gold, blue, purple and red material, and good linen to make it. ¹⁶ Bend a piece of cloth over to make a square pocket, 22 centimetres long and 22 centimetres wide. ¹⁷ Then fix four rows of jewels on it. These are the names of the jewels:

Fix each jewel into beautiful gold around its edges. ²¹ There will be 12 jewels, one jewel for each of Israel's sons. You must carefully write one tribe's name on each jewel with a sharp tool.

²² Use pure gold to make two thin chains like strings. These will fix the breastpiece to the ephod. ²³ Make two gold rings and fix them to the two top corners of the breastpiece. ²⁴ Fix the two gold chains to the two rings on the corners of the breastpiece. ²⁵ Fix the other ends of the two chains to the shoulder pieces of the ephod, in the front. Join them to the gold pieces that hold the onyx stones. ²⁶ Make two gold rings and fix them to the two bottom corners of the breastpiece. Put them on its inside edge, so that they are next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings. Fix them to the bottom edge of the shoulder pieces, on the front of the ephod. Put them just above the ephod's belt. ²⁸ Use a string of blue material to tie the rings on the breastpiece to the rings on the ephod. Fix them together above the ephod's belt. Then the breastpiece and the belt will not become separate.

²⁹ When Aaron goes into the Holy Place, he will wear the breastpiece. So he will carry the names of Israel's sons over his heart. And the Lord will always remember to bless the Israelites. ³⁰ Put the Urim and Thummim in the pocket of the breastpiece. They will also be over Aaron's heart when he goes in there to serve the Lord. The Urim and Thummim will always be there to show Aaron what the Lord is saying about the Israelites. He will carry this help over his heart all the time.

Other clothes for the priests

³¹ Use only blue cloth to make the robe for the ephod.^{[l] 32} Make a hole in the top of the robe, in the middle. Make an edge around this hole, for the priest's head to go through. Make the edge so that it will not tear. ³³ Use blue, purple and red material to make pictures of pomegranates. Also make gold bells. The pomegranates and the bells will go all around the bottom edge of the robe. ³⁴ There will be a bell then a pomegranate, another bell then a pomegranate, all around the edge of the robe.

³⁵ Aaron must wear the robe when he is serving the Lord. The bells will make a noise when he goes into the Holy Place to serve the Lord. They will also make a sound when he comes out. Then he will not die.

³⁶ Use pure gold to make a thin plate and write on it carefully with a sharp tool. Write this sign on it: “Holy to the Lord”. ³⁷ Fix a blue string to the plate and tie it to the front of the linen hat. ³⁸ Aaron will always wear this sign on the front of his head. When the Israelites bring gifts to God, they may be guilty of sins. When Aaron has this sign on his head, he himself will be guilty instead of them. Then the Lord will accept the gifts that his people offer to him.

³⁹ Use good linen to make the long shirt and the hat for the priest. A worker with special skills must make the long belt, so that it looks beautiful.

⁴⁰ Make shirts, belts and hats for Aaron's sons. These clothes must be beautiful to give them honour.

⁴¹ Dress your brother Aaron and his sons with these clothes. Then pour oil on their heads to show that they have my authority. Make them separate from the other Israelites as my holy servants. They will serve me as my priests.

⁴² Use good linen to make trousers that will cover the lower parts of their bodies. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear them when they go into the Tent of Meeting. They must also wear them when they go near to the altar to serve me in the Holy Place. Then they will not be guilty. I will not punish them with death. This will always be a rule for Aaron and his descendants.

Priests are special servants of God

29 When you make the priests God's special servants, do it in this way: Take a young bull and two male sheep. They must not have anything wrong with them. ² Use good flour from wheat to make three kinds of bread, with no yeast in it. Mix olive oil with some of the flour before you cook it. Cook some of the flour without any oil in it. And cook some flour to make biscuits that you then put oil on. ³ Put the bread and the biscuits into a basket. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting with the bull and the two sheep.^[m]

⁴ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Use water to wash them there and make them clean. ⁵ Then take the special clothes. Dress Aaron in the shirt, the robe, the ephod and the breastpiece. Tie the ephod on him with its special belt. ⁶ Put the linen hat on Aaron's head. Fix the special gold sign to the hat. ⁷ Take the special olive oil. Pour it on his head to show that God has chosen him to be his servant.

⁸ Bring Aaron's sons and dress them in their special shirts. ⁹ Put the cloth hats on their heads. Tie the long cloth belts around Aaron and on his sons. These men and their descendants will always be priests. That is a law that continues for ever. That is how you must make Aaron and his sons God's special servants.

¹⁰ Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull's head. ¹¹ Then kill the animal as an offering to the Lord, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Take some of the bull's blood. Use your finger to put some of it on the horns of the altar. Pour the blood that remains on the ground around the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that is round the inside parts of the animal. Take the best part of the liver. Take both the kidneys with the fat that is round them. Burn all these things on the altar. ¹⁴ But burn the rest of the bull's body outside the camp, with its skin and the food in its stomach. It is an offering to make the priests clean from their sins.

¹⁵ Take one of the male sheep. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill the sheep and take its blood to the altar. Throw some of the blood onto every side of the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the sheep into pieces. Wash its inside parts and its legs. Then put them together with its head and the other pieces. ¹⁸ Completely burn the whole sheep on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

¹⁹ Take the second male sheep. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. ²⁰ Kill the sheep. Put some of its blood on Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Do the same thing to each of his sons. Then throw some of the sheep's blood onto every side of the altar. ²¹ Mix together some of the blood on the altar and some of the special oil. Splash this onto Aaron and onto his clothes. Splash it also onto his sons and onto their clothes. Then Aaron and his sons and their clothes will be holy.

²² Take all the fat from this male sheep. Take its fat tail, the fat around its inside parts and the best part of the liver. Take the two kidneys with the fat that is round them. Also take the top part of its right leg. (This is the sheep that makes Aaron and his sons special servants of God.) ²³ Take one piece of each kind of flat bread out of the basket: bread that has no oil in it, bread with oil in it and a biscuit. These are an offering to the Lord. ²⁴ Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then lift these things up to the Lord as an offering to him. ²⁵ Then take them from Aaron and his sons and burn them on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

²⁶ Take the meat from the ribs of the sheep that makes Aaron God's special servant. Lift it up to the Lord as an offering to him. Then you may eat this meat from the sheep. ²⁷ You must keep separate this meat from the sheep's ribs, as well as the top part of its right leg. Those are the pieces that you lifted up to the Lord as an offering to him. Those pieces belong to Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ In the future, when the Israelites bring a peace offering to the Lord, these pieces will belong to Aaron and his descendants. This will always be the regular gift from the Israelites to the priests. That is the law that will continue for ever. It is the gift that the Israelites must bring to the Lord.

²⁹ Aaron's special clothes will belong to his descendants after he dies. When they too become God's special servants as his priests, they will wear them. ³⁰ After Aaron's death, his son who becomes priest will first take seven days to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. The new priest must wear the special clothes in the Holy Place for those seven days.

³¹ Take the male sheep that makes Aaron God's special servant. Cook its meat in a holy place in the yard of the tabernacle. ³² Aaron and his sons must eat this meat and the bread that was in the basket. They must do this at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ That meat was part of the sacrifice which made them clean from their sins. It made them God's special servants as his priests. No other person may eat those things, because they are holy. ³⁴ But if any of the meat from the offerings remains until the morning, you must burn it. Also burn any bread that remains. You must not eat it, because it is holy.

³⁵ Do everything that I have commanded you, to make Aaron and his sons my special servants. Take seven days to do this. ³⁶ Kill a bull each day, as a sacrifice that makes people clean from their sins.

Also make the altar clean and pure. Pour oil over it to make it holy for me. ³⁷ Do this to the altar for seven days to make it pure. Then it will be completely holy. Anything that touches the altar will become holy too. ³⁸ You must offer a regular gift on the altar each day. This offering must be two lambs that are one year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other lamb in the evening. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb, offer two litres of good flour. Mix the flour with one litre of olive oil. Also offer one litre of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ Kill the other lamb in the evening. Offer it with the same gifts of food and drink as in the morning. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

⁴² You and your descendants must continue to make this burnt offering as a regular offering to me, the Lord. Offer it to me at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. I will meet with you there and I will speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet with the Israelites there. My bright glory will make it a holy place.

⁴⁴ In that way I will make the Tent of Meeting and its altar a special, holy place. Aaron and his sons will become my special servants. They will serve me as my priests. ⁴⁵ I will live among the Israelites and I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.

The altar for incense

30 Use acacia wood to make an altar so that you can burn incense on it. ² The altar must be square. Make it 45 centimetres long, 45 centimetres wide and 90 centimetres high. The altar's horns must be part of it, made from one piece of wood. ³ Cover all the altar with gold: its top, its sides and the horns. Build up an edge of gold around the four sides. ⁴ Make two gold rings for the altar. Fix them below the gold edge on two opposite sides. They will hold the poles for you to carry the altar. ⁵ Use acacia wood to make the poles. Cover them with gold.

⁶ Put the altar for incense in the Holy Place in the tabernacle. Put it in front of the curtain that hides the Covenant Box. It will be near the special lid that covers the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet with you.

⁷ Every morning, Aaron must burn sweet incense on this altar. He must do this when he goes in to take care of the lamps. ⁸ He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps in the evening. Incense must burn there as an offering to the Lord every day from now on. ⁹ Only offer proper incense on this altar. Do not offer any burnt offerings or grain offerings on it. And do not pour any drink offerings on it. ¹⁰ Once every year, Aaron must make the altar clean and pure. He must put some of the blood from the sin offering on the horns of the altar. A priest must do this every year from now on. The altar is holy because it belongs to me, the Lord.’

Money for the tabernacle

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² ‘When you count the number of the Israelites, each person must pay the Lord a price for his life. Everyone must do this at the time when you count them. Then no bad illness will happen to them as you count them. ¹³ Each person that you count must give six grams of silver. That is the proper weight that they use in the tabernacle. The silver is an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ You must count every person who is 20 years old or more. Each person must offer his gift to the Lord. ¹⁵ Rich people must not give more than six grams of silver. Poor people must not give less than that. That is the offering that you must each give to the Lord. It is the price that everyone must pay for his life. ¹⁶ Receive these silver coins from the Israelites. Use the money to take care of the Tent of Meeting.^[n] Then the Lord will always remember that you belong to him. You have paid money for your lives.’

The bronze bowl

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ ‘Use bronze to make a large bowl for water. Also use bronze to make a base for it to stand on. Put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Fill it with water.

¹⁹ Aaron and his sons must use the water from the bowl to wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ Every time they go into the Tent of Meeting, they must wash in the same way. Then they will not die. They must also wash before they go to the altar to make a burnt offering to the Lord. ²¹ If they wash their hands and their feet, they will not die as they serve me. This will always be a rule for Aaron and for his descendants, the priests.’

Special oil and incense

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ ‘Mix together these special spices:

²⁵ Mix these spices to make a special oil. A worker should use special skills to make it, so that it has a sweet smell, like perfume. It will be a very special oil to put on things that belong to me.

²⁶ Then pour some of this special oil on these things:

²⁹ You must make all these things special for me. They will be very holy things. Anything that touches them will also become holy.

³⁰ Pour some of the special oil on Aaron's head and on the heads of his sons. Make them special for me. Then they can serve me as my priests. ³¹ Say to the Israelites, “This will always be my special oil for all time. ³² Do not put it on the bodies of anyone, except priests. Do not use spices like this to make oil for yourselves. It is holy and you must always think about it as holy. ³³ Nobody must make a perfume that has a sweet smell like this oil. Nobody must put this oil on any person who is not a priest. Anyone who does not obey this rule will no longer belong to my people.” ’

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Use the same amount of each of these sweet spices to make some incense: gum resin, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.^{[p] 35} Give them to a worker who can use special skills to make the incense. It must have a sweet smell, like a perfume. Add some salt to it so that it is a pure and holy incense. ³⁶ Beat some of the incense to make powder. Put this in front of the Covenant Box, in the Tent of Meeting. That is where I will meet with you. This incense will be a very holy thing for you. ³⁷ Do not make any incense like this for yourselves. You must always think about it as very holy. It belongs to the Lord. ³⁸ If anyone makes any incense like it for his own perfume, he will no longer belong to my people.’

Bezalel and Oholiab

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² ‘Look! I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and the grandson of Hur. He belongs to the tribe of Judah. ³ I have filled him with my Spirit so that he has special skills. He knows how to make many kinds of things. ⁴ He can draw pictures of beautiful things that he wants to make. Then he uses gold, silver or bronze to make them. ⁵ He knows how to cut valuable stones and make them look beautiful. He knows how to cut wood into different shapes. He is very clever at all kinds of work.

⁶ I have also chosen Oholiab to help Bezalel. Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach. He belongs to the tribe of Dan. I have also helped all the workers who have special skills. They will be able to make everything that I have commanded you to make. ⁷ They will make these things:

⁸ Those things include:

The workers must make all these things in the way that I have commanded you.’

The Sabbath day

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ ‘Say to the Israelites, “You must keep my Sabbath days as special days. This will help you and your descendants to remember that you belong to me. You will remember that I, the Lord, have chosen you to be my people.

¹⁴ The Sabbath day must be special for you, because it is a holy day. If anyone does not make the Sabbath a special day, you must punish him with death. If anyone does any work on a Sabbath day, he can no longer belong to my people. ¹⁵ You may work for six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest. It is a holy day that is special to me, the Lord. If anyone does any work on a Sabbath day, you must punish him with death. ¹⁶ The Israelites must always keep the Sabbath as a special day. They must obey the rules for the Sabbath day. Those rules are part of my covenant with my people that continues for ever. ¹⁷ It will always be a sign that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people. You will remember that the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days. Then, on the seventh day, he stopped working and he rested.” ’

¹⁸ The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Sinai mountain. Then he gave Moses the two flat stones with the special commands that God himself had written on them.