Then they said to each other, “Let’s make some bricks of clay and bake them in the fire.” Then they used these bricks as stones, and they used tar as mortar.

I am setting this stone up as a memorial stone. It will show that this is a holy place for God, and I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.”

So I am ready to make an agreement with you. We will set up a pile of stones to show that we have an agreement.”

Jacob set up a memorial stone there. He made the rock holy by pouring wine and oil on it. This was a special place because God spoke to Jacob there, and Jacob named the place Bethel.

The Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron to hold the walking stick in his hand over the rivers, canals, lakes, and every place where they store water. When he does this, all the water will turn into blood. All the water, even the water stored in wood and stone jars, will turn into blood.”

But Moses said, “It would not be right to do that. The Egyptians think it is terrible to kill animals as sacrifices for the Lord our God. If we do this here, the Egyptians will see us and throw stones at us and kill us.

But you must tell the people to stay away from the mountain. Make a line and don’t let them cross it. Any person or animal that touches the mountain must be killed with stones or shot with arrows. But don’t let anyone touch them. The people must wait until the trumpet blows. Only then can they go up the mountain.”

But if you use stones to make an altar, then don’t use stones that were cut with an iron tool. If you do that, it will make the altar unacceptable.

“If a man’s bull kills a man or woman, then you should use stones and kill that bull. You should not eat the bull. The owner of the bull is not guilty.

But if the bull had hurt people in the past, and if the owner was warned, then the owner is guilty. That is because he did not keep the bull tied or locked in its place. So if the bull is allowed to be free and kills someone, the owner is guilty. You should kill the bull with stones and also kill the owner.

But if the bull kills a slave, the owner of the animal must pay the master 30 pieces of silver. And the bull must also be killed with stones. This law will be the same for men and women slaves.

“Don’t worship their gods. Don’t ever bow down to those gods. You must never live the way those people live. You must destroy their idols. And you must break the stones that help them remember their gods.

So Moses wrote down all the commands of the Lord. The next morning he got up and built an altar near the bottom of the mountain. And he set up twelve stones—one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Moses Goes to Get God’s Law

The Lord said to Moses, “Come to me on the mountain. I have written my teachings and laws on two stone tablets. These teachings and laws are for the people. I will give these stone tablets to you.”

Also accept onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the ephod and the judgment pouch.

“Take two onyx stones. Write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on these jewels.

Cut the names of the sons of Israel into these stones. Do this the way a worker makes a seal. Put the jewels in gold settings.

Then put these two jewels on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Aaron will wear this special coat when he stands before the Lord. And the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel will be on the ephod. These jewels will cause the Lord to remember the Israelites.

Use fine gold to hold the stones on the ephod.

There will be twelve jewels on the judgment pouch—one stone for each of the sons of Israel. Each stone will be like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes cut into it.

When God finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets of the agreement. God had written on the stones with his finger.

Then Moses went down the mountain. He had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back.

God himself made the stones, and God himself wrote the commandments on them.

When Moses came near the camp, he saw the golden calf and the people dancing. He became very angry, and he threw the stone tablets on the ground. The stones broke into several pieces at the bottom of the mountain.

The New Stone Tablets

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make two more stone tablets like the first two that were broken. I will write the same words on these stones that were written on the first two stones.