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The Covenant Confirmed

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron,(A) Nadab and Abihu,(B) and seventy of the elders(C) of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach(D) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws,(E) they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”(F) Moses then wrote(G) down everything the Lord had said.

He got up early the next morning and built an altar(H) at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars(I) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings(J) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings(K) to the Lord. Moses(L) took half of the blood(M) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed(N) against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant(O) and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”(P)

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people(Q) and said, “This is the blood of the covenant(R) that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders(S) of Israel went up 10 and saw(T) the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli,(U) as bright blue as the sky.(V) 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw(W) God, and they ate and drank.(X)

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone(Y) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

13 Then Moses set out with Joshua(Z) his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain(AA) of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur(AB) are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute(AC) can go to them.”

15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud(AD) covered it, 16 and the glory(AE) of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.(AF) For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.(AG) 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire(AH) on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty(AI) days and forty nights.(AJ)

The Covenant Confirmed

24 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, (A)Nadab, and Abihu, and (B)seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. Moses (C)alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and (D)all the rules.[a] And all the people answered with one voice and said, (E)“All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And (F)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve (G)pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And (H)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, (I)“All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” (J)And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and (K)seventy of the elders of Israel (L)went up, 10 and they (M)saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of (N)sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and (O)ate and drank.

12 The Lord said to Moses, (P)“Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the (Q)tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses rose with his assistant (R)Joshua, and Moses went up (S)into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and (T)Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”

15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and (U)the cloud covered the mountain. 16 (V)The glory of the Lord dwelt 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 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a (W)devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses (X)was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 24:3 Or all the just decrees

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

24 Then He said to Moses, “(A)Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, (B)Nadab and Abihu, and (C)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. Moses alone, however, shall approach the Lord, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.”

Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the [a]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “(D)All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” And (E)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an (F)altar [b]at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, (G)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. (H)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took (I)the Book of the Covenant and read it [c]as the people listened; and they said, “(J)All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” So (K)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold (L)the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has [d]made with you [e]in accordance with all these words.”

Then Moses went up [f]with Aaron, (M)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and (N)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet [g](O)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, [h]as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and (P)they saw God, and they ate and drank.

12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and [i]stay there, and (Q)I will give you the stone tablets [j]with the Law and the [k]commandments which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses got up [l]along with (R)Joshua his [m]servant, and Moses went up to (S)the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said, “(T)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, (U)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever [n]has a legal matter, have him approach them.” 15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and (V)the cloud covered the mountain. 16 (W)The glory of the Lord [o]settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He (X)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 (Y)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a (Z)consuming fire on the mountain top. 18 Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud [p]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for (AA)forty days and forty nights.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 24:3 Or judgments
  2. Exodus 24:4 Lit beneath
  3. Exodus 24:7 Lit in the ears of the people;
  4. Exodus 24:8 Lit cut
  5. Exodus 24:8 Lit on all
  6. Exodus 24:9 Lit and
  7. Exodus 24:10 Lit like a pavement
  8. Exodus 24:10 Lit and as
  9. Exodus 24:12 Lit be
  10. Exodus 24:12 Lit and
  11. Exodus 24:12 Lit commandment
  12. Exodus 24:13 Lit and
  13. Exodus 24:13 Or minister
  14. Exodus 24:14 Lit is a master of matters
  15. Exodus 24:16 Lit dwelt
  16. Exodus 24:18 Lit and

Covenant at Sinai

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and worship from a distance. Only Moses may come near to the Lord. The others shouldn’t come near, while the people shouldn’t come up with him at all.”

Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down all the Lord’s words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the covenant scroll and read it out loud for the people to hear. They responded, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will obey.”

Moses then took the blood and threw it over the people. Moses said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord now makes with you on the basis of all these words.”

Covenant meal with God

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw Israel’s God. Under God’s feet there was what looked like a floor of lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzlingly pure like the sky. 11 God didn’t harm the Israelite leaders, though they looked at God, and they ate and drank.

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there. I’ll give you the stone tablets with the instructions and the commandments that I’ve written in order to teach them.”

13 So Moses and his assistant Joshua got up, and Moses went up God’s mountain. 14 Moses had said to the elders, “Wait for us here until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur will be here with you. Whoever has a legal dispute may go to them.”

15 Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The Lord’s glorious presence settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. 17 To the Israelites, the Lord’s glorious presence looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

The People Agree To Obey God

24 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on this mountain. Bring along Aaron, as well as his two sons Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of Israel's leaders. They must worship me at a distance, but you are to come near. Don't let anyone else come up.”

Moses gave the Lord's instructions to the people, and they all promised, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded!” Then Moses wrote down what the Lord had said.

The next morning Moses got up early. He built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up a large stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. He also sent some young men to burn offerings and to sacrifice bulls as special offerings[a] to the Lord. Moses put half of the blood from the animals into bowls and sprinkled the rest on the altar. Then he read aloud the Lord's commands and promises, and the people shouted, “We will obey the Lord and do everything he has commanded!”

(A) Moses took the blood from the bowls and sprinkled it on the people. Next, he told them, “With this blood the Lord makes his agreement with you.”

Moses and Aaron, together with Nadab and Abihu and the 70 leaders, went up the mountain 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something that looked like a pavement made out of sapphire,[b] and it was as bright as the sky.

11 Even though these leaders of Israel saw God, he did not punish them. So they ate and drank.

Moses on Mount Sinai

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up on the mountain and stay here for a while. I will give you the two flat stones on which I have written the laws that my people must obey.” 13 Moses and Joshua his assistant got ready, then Moses started up the mountain to meet with God.

14 Moses had told the leaders, “Wait here until we come back. Aaron and Hur will be with you, and they can settle any arguments while we are away.”

15 When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it, 16 and the bright glory of the Lord came down and stayed there. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord told Moses to come into the cloud. 17-18 (B) Moses did so and stayed there 40 days and nights. To the people, the Lord's glory looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain.

Footnotes

  1. 24.5 special offerings: Often translated “peace offerings,” which were to make peace between God and his people, who ate certain parts of the sacrificed animal.
  2. 24.10 sapphire: A precious stone, blue in color.