Preparation for the Covenant

¹⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes, ¹¹ and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² You are to set boundaries for the people all around: ‘Be very careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch the side of it. Anyone who touches the mountain is certainly to be put to death. ¹³ No hand is to touch that person,^[a] but he is certainly to be stoned or shot;^[b] whether animal or person, he is not to live.’ They are to approach^[c] the mountain only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast.”

¹⁴ When Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He told the people, “Be ready for the third day; don’t go near a woman.”^[d]