Beginning

Moses Meets God on Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the people of Israel left Egypt, they came to the Sinai Desert on the same day. ² They had left Rephidim and had come to the Sinai Desert. There Israel set up their tents in front of the mountain. ³ And Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now then, if you will obey My voice and keep My agreement, you will belong to Me from among all nations. For all the earth is Mine. ⁶ You will be to Me a nation of religious leaders, a holy nation.’ These are the words you will speak to the people of Israel.”

⁷ So Moses came and called the leaders of the people. He told them all these words which the Lord had told him. ⁸ And all the people answered together and said, “We will do all that the Lord has said!” Then Moses went to tell the Lord what the people had said. ⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “See, I will come to you in a thick cloud. So the people may hear when I speak with you, and may believe you forever.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said. ¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people. Today and tomorrow set them apart to be holy. Have them wash their clothes. ¹¹ And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day people will see the Lord come down on Mount Sinai. ¹² Let the people know the places all around that they must not pass. Tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up on the mountain or touch any place around it. Whoever touches the mountain will be put to death. ¹³ No hand will touch him. But he will be killed with stones or arrows. If he be animal or man, he will not live.’ When a long sound from a horn is heard, they may come up to the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He set the people apart to be holy, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning. A cloud covered the mountain, and a very loud horn sounded. All the people among the tents shook with fear. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people from among the tents to meet God. They stood at the base of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord came down upon it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a stove. And the whole mountain shook. ¹⁹ The sound of the horn became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. ²⁰ Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. ²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and tell the people not to break through to look at the Lord. For then many of them would be destroyed. ²² Have the religious leaders who come near to the Lord set themselves apart to be holy. Or the Lord will go against them.” ²³ Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. For You told us, ‘Set places around the mountain that must not be passed, and set it apart as holy.’” ²⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “Go down, and then come up with Aaron. But do not let the religious leaders and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will go against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

God’s Ten Great Laws

20 Then God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house where you were servants.

³ “Have no gods other than Me.

⁴ “Do not make for yourselves a god to look like anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

⁵ “Do not worship them or work for them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the children, even the great-grandchildren, for the sins of their fathers who hate Me. ⁶ But I show loving-kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Laws.

⁷ “Do not use the name of the Lord your God in a false way. For the Lord will punish the one who uses His name in a false way.

⁸ “Remember the Day of Rest, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you will do all your work. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a Day of Rest to the Lord your God. You, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, or the traveler who stays with you, must not do any work on this day. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them. And He rested on the seventh day. So the Lord gave honor to the Day of Rest and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so your life may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.

¹³ “Do not kill other people.

¹⁴ “Do not do sex sins.

¹⁵ “Do not steal.

¹⁶ “Do not tell a lie about your neighbor.

¹⁷ “Do not have a desire for your neighbor’s house. Do not have a desire for his wife or his male servant, his female servant, or his bull or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ All the people heard and saw the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they shook with fear and stood far away. ¹⁹ They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.” ²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so you may have enough fear of Him to keep you from sinning.” ²¹ The people stood far away, while Moses came near to the cloud where God was.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ Do not make any gods other than Me. Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. ²⁴ Make an altar of earth for Me, and on it give your burnt and peace gifts in worship, your sheep and cattle. In every place where My name is to be remembered, I will come to you and bring good to you. ²⁵ If you make an altar of stone for Me, do not build it of cut stones. For if you use an object to cut it, it will be unclean. ²⁶ And do not go up on steps to My altar, so no part of your body may be seen without being covered.’

Laws about Servants

21 “Now these are the Laws which you are to give them. ² If you buy a Hebrew servant, he will work for six years. In the seventh year he will go free, paying nothing. ³ If he comes alone, he will leave by himself. If he is married, then his wife will leave with him. ⁴ If his owner gives him a wife and she gives birth to his sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her owner, and he will leave by himself. ⁵ But if the servant says, ‘I love my owner, my wife and my children; I do not care to go free,’ ⁶ then his owner will bring him to the judges. And he will bring him to the door or the side of the door. There his owner will make a hole in his ear with a sharp object. And he will serve him all his life.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she is not to go free as the male servants do. ⁸ If she does not please her owner who has taken her for himself, he will take pay for her to be set free. He does not have the right to sell her to a strange people, because he has not been fair to her. ⁹ If he takes her for his son, he will act toward her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he marries again, her food, clothing and marriage rights are to stay the same. ¹¹ And if he will not do these three things for her, then she may go free, without paying any money.

Laws about Fighting and Killing

¹² “Whoever hits a man so that he dies will be put to death. ¹³ But if he did not plan to hurt him, but God allowed it to happen, then I will give you a place where he may run to be safe. ¹⁴ But if a man wants to hurt his neighbor and he plans to kill him, then you take him away from My altar and put him to death.

¹⁵ “Whoever hits his father or his mother will be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever steals a man and sells him, or keeps him for himself, will be put to death. ¹⁷ Whoever curses his father or his mother will be put to death.

¹⁸ “When men argue and one hits the other with a stone or with his hand, and he does not die but has to stay in bed because of it, ¹⁹ then if he gets up and walks around outside using his walking stick, the one who hit him will not be punished. He will only pay for the loss of his time. And he will take care of him until he is healed.

²⁰ “When a man hits his male or female servant with a stick so that he or she dies, he will be punished. ²¹ But if he or she lives a day or two, he will not be punished, for his servant belongs to him.

²² “If men fight with each other and hit a woman who is going to have a child so that she loses her baby but no other hurt comes to her, he must pay whatever the woman’s husband says he must, as agreed upon by the judges. ²³ But if there is other hurt also, then it is life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, cut for cut, sore for sore.

²⁶ “If a man hits the eye of his male or female servant and destroys it, he will let the person go free because of the eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out a tooth of his man or woman servant, he will let the person go free because of the tooth.

Laws about Owning Animals

²⁸ “When a bull kills a man or a woman with its horns, the bull will be killed with stones. And its flesh will not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be punished. ²⁹ But if a bull has tried to kill with its horns before, and the owner has been told but does not keep him shut up, and the bull kills a man or a woman, the bull will be killed with stones and the owner will be put to death. ³⁰ But if he is allowed to pay for his life, then he will pay whatever is asked of him. ³¹ If the bull kills a son or a daughter, it will be punished by the same law. ³² If the bull kills a male or female servant, the bull’s owner will give the servant’s owner thirty pieces of silver. And the bull will be killed with stones.

³³ “When a man leaves a deep hole open, or digs a deep hole and does not cover it, and a bull or donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the hole will pay for the loss. He will give money to the animal’s owner. And the dead animal will become his.

³⁵ “If one man’s bull hurts another’s so that it dies, they will sell the live bull and divide the price so they will each have the same. And they will divide the dead bull. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the bull has tried to kill with its horns in the past, but its owner has not kept it shut up, he will pay bull for bull. And the dead animal will become his.