Exodus 19-21

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Israel at Sinai

19 In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai. ² After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^(A)

³ Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called^(B) to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob, and explain to the Israelites: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me.^{(C) 5} Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant,^(D) you will be My own possession^(E) out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, ⁶ and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’^(F) These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

⁷ After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.”^(G) So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,^(H) so that the people will hear when I speak^(I) with you and will always believe you.” Then Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord. ¹⁰ And the Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes^{(J) 11} and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.^{(K) 12} Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain will be put to death.^{(L) 13} No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows. No animal or man will live. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

¹⁴ Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.”

¹⁶ On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire.^(M) Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace,^(N) and the whole mountain shook violently.^{(O) 19} As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.^(P)

²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. ²¹ The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die.^{(Q) 22} Even the priests who come near the Lord must purify themselves or the Lord will break out in anger against them.”^(R)

²³ But Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since You warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.” ²⁴ And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out in anger against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

The People’s Reaction

¹⁸ All the people witnessed^[a] the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it^[b] they trembled and stood at a distance.^{(AI) 19} “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”^(AJ)

²⁰ Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear Him and will not^[c] sin.”^{(AK) 21} And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.^(AL)

Moses Receives Additional Laws

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.^{(AM) 23} You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves.^[d](AN)

²⁴ “You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered.^{(AO) 25} If you make a stone altar for Me, you must not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.^{(AP) 26} You must not go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

21 “These are the ordinances that you must set before them:

Laws about Slaves

² “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man^[e] without paying anything.^{(AQ) 3} If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with^[f] a wife, his wife is to leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

⁵ “But if the slave declares: ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’^{(AR) 6} his master is to bring him to the judges^[g] and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

⁷ “When a man sells his daughter as a slave,^[h] she is not to leave as the male slaves do.^{(AS) 8} If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her. ⁹ Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{(AT) 11} And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any exchange of money.^[i]

Laws about Personal Injury

¹² “Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.^{(AU) 13} But if he didn’t intend any harm,^[j] and yet God caused it to happen by his hand, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.^{(AV) 14} If a person schemes and willfully^[k] acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from My altar to be put to death.^(AW)

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.^(AX)

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death.^(AY)

¹⁸ “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, ¹⁹ if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time^[l] and provide for his complete recovery.

²⁰ “When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse,^[m] the owner must be punished.^{[n] 21} However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished^[o] because he is his owner’s property.^[p](AZ)

²² “When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely^[q] but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands^(BA) from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. ²³ If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth,^(BB) hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

²⁶ “When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.

²⁸ “When an ox^[r] gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned,^(BC) and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent. ²⁹ However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. ³⁰ If instead a ransom^(BD) is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him. ³¹ If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give 30 shekels^(BE) of silver^[s] to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.

³³ “When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay money to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.

³⁵ “When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal. ³⁶ If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.