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^(A)

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

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

¹⁸ Now ^(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. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, ^(AD)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but ^(AE)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

²⁰ And 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.” ²¹ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)from heaven. ²³ You shall not make anything to be ^(AK)with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴ An 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. ²⁵ And ^(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. ²⁶ Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your ^(AR)nakedness may not be exposed on it.’

The Angel and the Promises

^20 (A)“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; ^(B)do not provoke Him, for He will ^(C)not pardon your transgressions; for ^(D)My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then ^(E)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (F)For My Angel will go before you and ^(G)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will ^[a]cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not ^(H)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, ^(I)nor do according to their works; ^(J)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

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

²⁷ “I will send ^(P)My fear before you, I will ^(Q)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And ^(R)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ^29 (S)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 ^(T)I will set your ^[b]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the ^[c]River. For I will ^(U)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ^32 (V)You shall make no ^[d]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, ^(W)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, ^(A)Nadab and Abihu, ^(B)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 ^[a]judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ^(C)“All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴ And Moses ^(D)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 ^(E)pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered ^(F)burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. ⁶ And Moses ^(G)took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he ^(H)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 ^(I)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 ^(J)saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of ^(K)sapphire stone, and it was like the ^(L)very^[b] heavens in its clarity. ¹¹ But on the nobles of the children of Israel He ^(M)did not ^[c]lay His hand. So ^(N)they saw God, and they ^(O)ate and drank.

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

¹³ So Moses arose with ^(R)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 ^(S)Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up into the mountain, and ^(T)a cloud covered the mountain.

¹⁶ Now ^(U)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 ^(V)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 ^(W)Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.