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. ² For 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.

³ And ^(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. ⁵ Now ^(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. ⁶ And 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.”

⁷ So Moses came and called for the ^(N)elders of the people, and ^[b]laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸ Then ^(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. ⁹ And 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.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(R)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. ¹¹ And 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. ¹² You 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. ¹³ Not 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.”

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

¹⁶ Then 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. ¹⁷ And ^(W)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(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. ¹⁹ And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, ^(AB)Moses spoke, and ^(AC)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 ^(AD)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. ²² Also let the ^(AE)priests who come near the Lord ^(AF)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(AG)break out against them.”

²³ But 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.’ ”

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^(AI)

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

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

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

²⁰ And Moses said to the people, ^(BN)“Do not fear; ^(BO)for God has come to test you, and ^(BP)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near ^(BQ)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 ^(BR)from heaven. ²³ You shall not make anything to be ^(BS)with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴ An altar of ^(BT)earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, ^(BU)your sheep and your oxen. In every ^(BV)place where I ^[g]record My name I will come to you, and I will ^(BW)bless you. ²⁵ And ^(BX)if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you ^(BY)use your tool on it, you have profaned it. ²⁶ Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your ^(BZ)nakedness may not be exposed on it.’

The Law Concerning Servants^(CA)

21 “Now these are the ^[h]judgments which you shall ^(CB)set before them: ^2 (CC)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 (CD)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 ^(CE)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 ^(CF)sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸ If she ^[i]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. ⁹ And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, ^(CG)and her marriage rights. ¹¹ And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

The Law Concerning Violence

^12 (CH)“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ¹³ However, ^(CI)if he did not lie in wait, but God ^(CJ)delivered him into his hand, then ^(CK)I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

¹⁴ “But if a man acts with ^(CL)premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, ^(CM)you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

^16 (CN)“He who kidnaps a man and ^(CO)sells him, or if he is ^(CP)found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “And ^(CQ)he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, ¹⁹ if he rises again and walks about outside ^(CR)with his staff, then he who struck him shall be ^[j]acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰ “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. ²¹ Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his ^(CS)property.

²² “If men ^[k]fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that ^[l]she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall ^(CT)pay as the judges determine. ²³ But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, ^24 (CU)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶ “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. ²⁷ And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Animal Control Laws

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then ^(CV)the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be ^[m]acquitted. ²⁹ But if the ox ^[n]tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay ^(CW)to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. ³¹ Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. ³² If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master ^(CX)thirty shekels of silver, and the ^(CY)ox shall be stoned.

³³ “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. ³⁶ Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall ^(CZ)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. ² If the thief is found ^(DA)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be ^(DB)no guilt for his bloodshed. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be ^(DC)sold^[o] for his theft. ⁴ If the theft is certainly ^(DD)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall ^(DE)restore double.

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “If a man ^(DF)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, ^(DG)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ^(DH)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

⁹ “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the ^(DI)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰ If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹ then an ^(DJ)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹² But ^(DK)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³ If it is ^(DL)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

¹⁴ “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵ If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

^16 (DM)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(DN)bride-price of virgins.

^18 (DO)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

^19 (DP)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

^20 (DQ)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

^21 (DR)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[p]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

^22 (DS)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(DT)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(DU)hear their cry; ²⁴ and My ^(DV)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(DW)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

^25 (DX)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(DY)interest. ^26 (DZ)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷ For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(EA)gracious.

^28 (EB)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(EC)ruler of your people.

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer ^(ED)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(EE)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (EF)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(EG)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “And you shall be ^(EH)holy men to Me: ^(EI)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(EJ)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(EK)unrighteous witness. ^2 (EL)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(EM)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³ You shall not show partiality to a ^(EN)poor man in his dispute.

^4 (EO)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ^5 (EP)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

^6 (EQ)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ^7 (ER)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(ES)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(ET)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ And ^(EU)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Also ^(EV)you shall not oppress a ^[q]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

^10 (EW)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[r]olive grove. ^12 (EX)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, ^(EY)be circumspect and ^(EZ)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts^(FA)

^14 (FB)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ^15 (FC)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; ^(FD)none shall appear before Me empty); ^16 (FE)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and ^(FF)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

^17 (FG)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[s]God.

^18 (FH)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ^(FI)bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[t]sacrifice remain until morning. ^19 (FJ)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. ^(FK)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Angel and the Promises

^20 (FL)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of Him and obey His voice; ^(FM)do not provoke Him, for He will ^(FN)not pardon your transgressions; for ^(FO)My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then ^(FP)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (FQ)For My Angel will go before you and ^(FR)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will ^[u]cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not ^(FS)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, ^(FT)nor do according to their works; ^(FU)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

²⁵ “So you shall ^(FV)serve the Lord your God, and ^(FW)He will bless your bread and your water. And ^(FX)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ^26 (FY)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will ^(FZ)fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷ “I will send ^(GA)My fear before you, I will ^(GB)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And ^(GC)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ^29 (GD)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹ And ^(GE)I will set your ^[v]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the ^[w]River. For I will ^(GF)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ^32 (GG)You shall make no ^[x]covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, ^(GH)it will surely be a snare to you.”

Israel Affirms the Covenant

24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, ^(GI)Nadab and Abihu, ^(GJ)and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ² And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

³ So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ^[y]judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ^(GK)“All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴ And Moses ^(GL)wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve ^(GM)pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered ^(GN)burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. ⁶ And Moses ^(GO)took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he ^(GP)took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” ⁸ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is ^(GQ)the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

On the Mountain with God

⁹ Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and they ^(GR)saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of ^(GS)sapphire stone, and it was like the ^(GT)very^[z] heavens in its clarity. ¹¹ But on the nobles of the children of Israel He ^(GU)did not ^[aa]lay His hand. So ^(GV)they saw God, and they ^(GW)ate and drank.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(GX)“Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you ^(GY)tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

¹³ So Moses arose with ^(GZ)his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. ¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and ^(HA)Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up into the mountain, and ^(HB)a cloud covered the mountain.

¹⁶ Now ^(HC)the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ The sight of the glory of the Lord was like ^(HD)a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. ¹⁸ So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And ^(HE)Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.