Exodus 24
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 Moses alone, however, shall approach the Lord, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.”
3 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!” 4 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. 5 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. 6 (H)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 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!” 8 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.”
9 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
- Exodus 24:3 Or judgments
- Exodus 24:4 Lit beneath
- Exodus 24:7 Lit in the ears of the people;
- Exodus 24:8 Lit cut
- Exodus 24:8 Lit on all
- Exodus 24:9 Lit and
- Exodus 24:10 Lit like a pavement
- Exodus 24:10 Lit and as
- Exodus 24:12 Lit be
- Exodus 24:12 Lit and
- Exodus 24:12 Lit commandment
- Exodus 24:13 Lit and
- Exodus 24:13 Or minister
- Exodus 24:14 Lit is a master of matters
- Exodus 24:16 Lit dwelt
- Exodus 24:18 Lit and
Exodus 24
Common English Bible
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. 2 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.”
3 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.” 4 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. 5 He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 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.”
8 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
9 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.
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