The Lord Appears on Mount Sinai

¹⁶ When morning came on the third day, there was thunder and lightning, with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and the very loud sound of a ram’s horn. All the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Moses brought the people from the camp to meet God, and they stood at the base of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord had come down in fire on it. Smoke went up from it like smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹ As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer with thunder.^{[a] 20} When the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, he^[b] summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ The Lord told Moses, “Go down and warn the people so they don’t break through to look at the Lord, and many of them perish.^{[c] 22} Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves. Otherwise, the Lord will attack them.”

²³ Moses told the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai because you warned us: ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’”^[d]

²⁴ The Lord told him, “Go down, and come back up with Aaron, but the priests and the people must not break through to go up to the Lord. Otherwise, he will attack them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.