Beginning
Israel at Sinai
19 (A)In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of (B)Sinai. 2 Then they set out from (C)Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of (D)the mountain.
3 Now Moses went up to God, and (E)Yahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 4 ‘(F)You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on (G)eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 So now then, (H)if you will indeed listen to My voice and (I)keep My covenant, then you shall be (J)My treasured possession among all the peoples, for (K)all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me (L)a kingdom of priests and (M)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
7 (N)So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words which Yahweh had commanded him. 8 (O)And all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh. 9 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in (P)a thick cloud, so that the (Q)people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.
10 Yahweh also said to Moses, “Go to the people and (R)set them apart as holy today and tomorrow, and let them (S)wash their garments; 11 and let them be ready for the third day, for on (T)the third day Yahweh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘[a]Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; (U)whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but (V)he shall surely be stoned or surely [b]shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to (W)the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart as holy, and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
16 (X)So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were [c]thunder and lightning flashes and a [d]thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the [e]foot of the mountain.
Yahweh Descends on Mount Sinai
18 (Y)Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it (Z)in fire; and its smoke ascended like (AA)the smoke of a furnace, and (AB)the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder; then Moses spoke and (AC)God answered him with [f]thunder. 20 (AD)And Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go down, [g]warn the people, lest (AE)they break through to Yahweh to see, and many of them [h]perish. 22 Also let the (AF)priests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them.” 23 And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You [i]warned us, saying, ‘(AG)Set bounds about the mountain, and set it apart as holy.’” 24 Then Yahweh said to him, “[j]Go down and come up again, (AH)you and Aaron with you; but do not let the (AI)priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
The Commandments of Yahweh
20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “(AJ)I am Yahweh your God, (AK)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [k]slavery.
3 “(AL)You shall have no other (AM)gods [l]before Me.
4 “(AN)You shall not make for yourself [m]an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5 (AO)You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a (AP)jealous God, (AQ)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing lovingkindness to (AR)thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “(AS)You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not [n]leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember (AT)the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 (AU)Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; in it (AV)you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates.
11 (AW)For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “(AX)Honor your father and your mother, that your (AY)days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
13 “(AZ)You shall not murder.
14 “(BA)You shall not commit adultery.
15 “(BB)You shall not steal.
16 “(BC)You shall not bear false witness against your (BD)neighbor.
17 “(BE)You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (BF)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 (BG)And all the people perceived the [o]thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance. 19 (BH)Then they said to Moses, “Speak [p]to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak [q]to us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “(BI)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order (BJ)to test you, and in order that (BK)the fear of Him may [r]be with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near (BL)the dense gloom where God was.
22 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that (BM)I have spoken [s]to you from heaven. 23 (BN)You shall not make other gods besides Me; (BO)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make (BP)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (BQ)burnt offerings and your (BR)peace offerings, (BS)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (BT)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 And if you make an altar of stone for Me, (BU)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that (BV)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Judgments About Slaves
21 “Now these are the (BW)judgments which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy (BX)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 If he comes [t]alone, he shall go out [u]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out [v]alone. 5 But (BY)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to [w]God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “(BZ)And if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [x]go free (CA)as the male slaves [y]do. 8 If she is [z]displeasing in the eyes of her master [aa]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his treachery to her. 9 And if he designates her for his son, he shall do to her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes for himself another woman, he may not reduce her [ab]food, her clothing, or (CB)her conjugal rights. 11 And if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
Judgments About Personal Injuries
12 “(CC)He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 (CD)But [ac]if he did not lie in wait for him, but (CE)God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. 14 (CF)If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him by deceit, you shall take him even from My altar, that he may die.
15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
16 “(CG)He who [ad]kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.
17 “(CH)And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 “And if men contend with each other and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but [ae]remains in bed, 19 if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for [af]his loss of time, and [ag]he shall take care of him until he is completely healed.
20 “And if a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies [ah]at his hand, he shall surely [ai]be punished. 21 But if for a day or two he is able to stand, no punishment shall be taken; (CI)for he is his [aj]property.
22 “And if men struggle with each other and [ak]strike a woman with child so that [al]she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband [am]will set for him, and he shall (CJ)pay [an]as the judges decide. 23 But if there is any further injury, (CK)then you shall pay life for life, 24 (CL)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
26 “And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. 27 And if he [ao]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.
28 “And if an ox gores a man or a woman [ap]to death, (CM)the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. 29 If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it puts a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If a ransom is [aq]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is [ar]demanded of him. 31 Whether it gores a son or [as]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to [at]the same judgment. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, [au]the owner shall give his or her master [av](CN)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it over, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall [aw]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35 “And if one man’s ox [ax]hurts another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally; and also they shall divide the dead ox. 36 Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
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