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Confirming the Covenant

24 And to Moses he said, “Go up to Yahweh—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel—and you will worship at a distance. And Moses alone[a] will come near to Yahweh, and they will not come near, and the people will not go up with him.”

And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, “All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do.”

And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men from the Israelites,[b] and they offered burnt offerings, and they sacrificed sacrifices as fellowship offerings to Yahweh using bulls. And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen.”[c] And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, “Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel went up. 10 And they saw the God of Israel, and what was under his feet was like sapphire tile work and like the very heavens for clearness. 11 And toward the leaders of the Israelites[d] he did not stretch out his hand, and they beheld God, and they ate, and they drank.

The Start of Forty Days and Nights on Mount Sinai

12 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and be there, and I will give you the tablets of stone and the law and the commandments that I have written to instruct them.” 13 And Moses got up, and Joshua, his assistant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

14 And to the elders he said, “Wait for us here until we return to you. And look, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute[e] will bring it to you.”

15 And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 And the glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and he called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. 17 And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain to the eyes of[f] the Israelites.[g] 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 24:2 Or “by himself”; literally “to the solitude of him”
  2. Exodus 24:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Exodus 24:7 Or “we will attentively do” or “we will obediently do”
  4. Exodus 24:11 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  5. Exodus 24:14 Literally “is owner of words”
  6. Exodus 24:17 Or “in the sight of”
  7. Exodus 24:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

The Covenant Ceremony

24 Then he said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders,(A) and bow in worship at a distance. Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.”(B) And Moses wrote(C) down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he splattered on the altar. He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”

Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”(D)

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, 10 and they saw(E) the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.(F) 11 God did not harm[a] the Israelite nobles; they saw(G) him, and they ate and drank.

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets(H) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.(I) 14 He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” 15 When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud(J) covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud.(K) 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire(L) on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.(M)

Footnotes

  1. 24:11 Lit not stretch out his hand against