Exodus 19

New King James Version

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, ^(A)they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ²For they had departed from ^(B)Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before ^(C)the mountain.

³And ^(D)Moses went up to God, and the Lord ^(E)called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ⁴^(F)‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(G)I ^[a]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵Now ^(H)therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and ^(I)keep My covenant, then ^(J)you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is ^(K)Mine. ⁶And you shall be to Me a ^(L)kingdom of priests and a ^(M)holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

⁷So Moses came and called for the ^(N)elders of the people, and ^[b]laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸Then ^(O)all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you ^(P)in the thick cloud, ^(Q)that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(R)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. ¹¹And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. ^(S)Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; ^(T)do not come near your wives.”

¹⁶Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were ^(U)thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp ^(V)trembled. ¹⁷And ^(W)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now ^(X)Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon ^(Y)it in fire. ^(Z)Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and ^[c]the ^(AA)whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, ^(AB)Moses spoke, and ^(AC)God answered him by voice. ²⁰Then 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.

²¹And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through ^(AD)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. ²²Also let the ^(AE)priests who come near the Lord ^(AF)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(AG)break out against them.”

²³But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ^(AH)‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

²⁴Then 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.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Footnotes

Exodus 19:4 sustained
Exodus 19:7 set
Exodus 19:18 LXX all the people

Exodus 20

New King James Version

The Ten Commandments^(A)

20 And God spoke ^(B)all these words, saying:

²^(C)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ^(D)out of the house of ^[a]bondage.

³^(E)“You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴^(F)“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^(G)you shall not bow down to them nor ^[b]serve them. ^(H)For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ^(I)visiting^[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶but ^(J)showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷^(K)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord ^(L)will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

⁸^(M)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹^(N)Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the ^(O)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, ^(P)nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹For ^(Q)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^(R)“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be ^(S)long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³^(T)“You shall not murder.

¹⁴^(U)“You shall not commit ^(V)adultery.

¹⁵^(W)“You shall not steal.

¹⁶^(X)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷^(Y)“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; ^(Z)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

¹⁸Now ^(AA)all the people ^(AB)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain ^(AC)smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹Then they said to Moses, ^(AD)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but ^(AE)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

²⁰And Moses said to the people, ^(AF)“Do not fear; ^(AG)for God has come to test you, and ^(AH)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near ^(AI)the thick darkness where God was.

The Law of the Altar

²²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you ^(AJ)from heaven. ²³You shall not make anything to be ^(AK)with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴An altar of ^(AL)earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, ^(AM)your sheep and your oxen. In every ^(AN)place where I ^[d]record My name I will come to you, and I will ^(AO)bless you. ²⁵And ^(AP)if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you ^(AQ)use your tool on it, you have profaned it. ²⁶Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your ^(AR)nakedness may not be exposed on it.’