Bible in 90 Days

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Miriam’s victory song

²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang the refrain back to them:

Turning bitter water sweet

²² Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea^[a] and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink Marah’s water because it was bitter. That’s why it was called Marah.^{[b] 24} The people complained against Moses, “What will we drink?” ²⁵ Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

The Lord made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them. ²⁶ The Lord said, “If you are careful to obey the Lord your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won’t bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Wilderness food: manna and quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month^[c] after they had left the land of Egypt. ² The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you will see the Lord’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the Lord have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?” ⁸ Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the Lord heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the Lord, because he’s heard your complaints.’” ¹⁰ As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What^[d] is it?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer^[e] per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’” ¹⁷ The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they didn’t listen to Moses. Some kept part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and stank. Moses got angry with them. ²¹ Every morning they gathered it, as much as each person could eat. But when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

²² On the sixth day the people collected twice as much food as usual, two omers per person. All the chiefs of the community came and told Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. But you can set aside and keep all the leftovers until the next morning.’” ²⁴ So they set the leftovers aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. They didn’t stink or become infested with worms. ²⁵ The next day Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find it out in the field. ²⁶ Six days you will gather it. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing to gather.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather bread, but they found nothing. ²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to obey my commandments and instructions? ²⁹ Look! The Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day he gives you enough food for two days. Each of you should stay where you are and not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future generations so that they can see the food that I used to feed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put one full omer of manna in it. Then set it in the Lord’s presence, where it should be kept safe for future generations.” ³⁴ Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses, and he put it in front of the covenant document for safekeeping. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a livable land. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (³⁶ An omer^[f] is one-tenth of an ephah.)

Water from a rock

17 The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the Lord commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² The people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd’s rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go. ⁶ I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.” Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched. ⁷ He called the place Massah^[g] and Meribah,^[h] because the Israelites argued with and tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord really with us or not?”

Israel defeats Amalek

⁸ Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I’ll stand on top of the hill with the shepherd’s rod of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel would start winning the battle. Whenever Moses lowered his hand, Amalek would start winning. ¹² But Moses’ hands grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under Moses so he could sit down on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side of him so that his hands remained steady until sunset. ¹³ So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a reminder on a scroll and read it to Joshua: I will completely wipe out the memory of Amalek under the sky.”

¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and called it, “The Lord is my banner.” ¹⁶ He said, “The power of the Lord’s banner!^[i] The Lord is at war with Amalek in every generation.”

Sharing the burden of leadership

18 Jethro, Midian’s priest and Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Moses’ father-in-law Jethro took with him Zipporah, Moses’ wife whom he had sent away, ³ along with her two sons. One was named Gershom because he said, “I have been an immigrant^[j] living in a foreign land.” ⁴ The other was named Eliezer^[k] because he said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper who rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword.” ⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses’ sons and wife back to him in the desert where he had set up camp at God’s mountain. ⁶ He sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you along with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other how they were doing, and then they went into the tent. ⁸ Moses then told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf, all the difficulty they had on their journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. ⁹ Jethro was glad about all the good things that the Lord had done for Israel in saving them from the Egyptians’ power.

¹⁰ Jethro said, “Bless the Lord who rescued you from the Egyptians’ power and from Pharaoh’s power, who rescued the people from Egypt’s oppressive power. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, because of what happened when the Egyptians plotted against them.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought an entirely burned offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all of Israel’s elders to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.

¹³ The next day Moses sat as a judge for the people, while the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people are standing around you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶ When a conflict arises between them, they come to me and I judge between the two of them. I also teach them God’s regulations and instructions.”

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing isn’t good. ¹⁸ You will end up totally wearing yourself out, both you and these people who are with you. The work is too difficult for you. You can’t do it alone. ¹⁹ Now listen to me and let me give you some advice. And may God be with you! Your role should be to represent the people before God. You should bring their disputes before God yourself. ²⁰ Explain the regulations and instructions to them. Let them know the way they are supposed to go and the things they are supposed to do. ²¹ But you should also look among all the people for capable persons who respect God. They should be trustworthy and not corrupt. Set these persons over the people as officers of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²² Let them sit as judges for the people at all times. They should bring every major dispute to you, but they should decide all of the minor cases themselves. This will be much easier for you, and they will share your load. ²³ If you do this and God directs you, then you will be able to endure. And all these people will be able to go back to their homes much happier.”

²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law’s suggestions and did everything that he had said. ²⁵ Moses chose capable persons from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people, as officers over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶ They acted as judges for the people at all times. They would refer the hard cases to Moses, but all of the minor cases they decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own country.

Arrival at Mount Sinai

19 On exactly the third-month anniversary of the Israelites’ leaving the land of Egypt, they came into the Sinai desert. ² They traveled from Rephidim, came into the Sinai desert, and set up camp there. Israel camped there in front of the mountain ³ while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you should say to Jacob’s household and declare to the Israelites: ⁴ You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. ⁵ So now, if you faithfully obey me and stay true to my covenant, you will be my most precious possession out of all the peoples, since the whole earth belongs to me. ⁶ You will be a kingdom of priests for me and a holy nation. These are the words you should say to the Israelites.”

⁷ So Moses came down, called together the people’s elders, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ The people all responded with one voice: “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” Moses reported to the Lord what the people said.

Preparing for a divine encounter

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m about to come to you in a thick cloud in order that the people will hear me talking with you so that they will always trust you.”

Moses told the Lord what the people said, ¹⁰ and the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and take today and tomorrow to make them holy. Have them wash their clothes. ¹¹ Be ready for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai for all the people to see. ¹² Set up a fence for the people all around and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch any part of it.’ Anyone who even touches the mountain must be put to death. ¹³ No one should touch anyone who has touched it, or they must be either stoned to death or shot with arrows. Whether an animal or a human being, they must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounds may they go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses went down the mountain to the people. He made sure the people were holy and that they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He told the men, “Prepare yourselves for three days. Don’t go near a woman.”

¹⁶ When morning dawned on the third day, there was thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast of a horn. All the people in the camp shook with fear. ¹⁷ Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord had come down on it with lightning. The smoke went up like the smoke of a hot furnace, while the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹ The blasts of the horn grew louder and louder. Moses would speak, and God would answer him with thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to try to see the Lord, or many of them will fall dead. ²² Even the priests who come near to the Lord must keep themselves holy, or the Lord will break loose against them.”

²³ Moses said to the Lord, “The people aren’t allowed to come up on Mount Sinai because you warned us and said, ‘Set up a fence around the mountain to keep it holy.’”

²⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go down, and bring Aaron back up with you. But the priests and the people must not break through and come up to the Lord. Otherwise, the Lord will break loose against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

¹⁸ When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance. ¹⁹ They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die.”

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don’t sin.” ²¹ The people stood at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness in which God was present.

Instructions about worship

²² The Lord said to Moses: “Say this to the Israelites: You saw for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven. ²³ Don’t make alongside me gods of silver or gold for yourselves. ²⁴ Make for me an altar from fertile soil on which to sacrifice your entirely burned offerings, your well-being sacrifices, your sheep, and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I make sure my name is remembered. ²⁵ But if you do make for me an altar from stones, don’t build it with chiseled stone since using your chisel on the stone will make it impure. ²⁶ Don’t climb onto my altar using steps: then your genitals won’t be exposed by doing so.”

Instructions about slaves

21 These are the case laws that you should set before them:

² When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment. ³ If he came in single, he will leave single. If he came in married, then his wife will leave with him. ⁴ If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He will leave single. ⁵ However, if the slave clearly states, “I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I don’t want to go free,” ⁶ then his master will bring him before God. He will bring him to the door or the doorpost. There his master will pierce his ear with a pointed tool, and he will serve him as his slave for life.

⁷ When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shouldn’t be set free in the same way as male slaves are set free. ⁸ If she doesn’t please her master who chose her for himself, then her master must let her be bought back by her family. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people since he has treated her unfairly. ⁹ If he assigns her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another woman for himself, he may not reduce her food, clothing, or marital rights. ¹¹ If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she will go free without any payment, for no money.

Instructions about human violence

¹² Anyone who hits and kills someone should be put to death. ¹³ If the killing wasn’t on purpose but an accident allowed by God, then I will designate a place to which the killer can run away. ¹⁴ But if someone plots and kills another person on purpose, you should remove the killer from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵ Anyone who violently hits their father or mother should be put to death.

¹⁶ Anyone who kidnaps a person, whether they have been sold or are still being held, should be put to death.

¹⁷ Anyone who curses their father or mother should be put to death.

¹⁸ When two people are fighting and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist so that he is in bed for a while but doesn’t die— ¹⁹ if he recovers and is able to walk around outside with a cane, then the one who hit him shouldn’t be punished, except to pay for the loss of time from work and to pay for his full recovery.

²⁰ When a slave owner hits a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner should be punished. ²¹ But if the slave gets up after a day or two, the slave owner shouldn’t be punished because the slave is the owner’s property.

²² When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage but no other injury occurs, then the guilty party will be fined what the woman’s husband demands, as negotiated with the judges. ²³ If there is further injury, then you will give a life for a life, ²⁴ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵ a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.

²⁶ When a slave owner hits and blinds the eye of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the tooth.

Instructions about animals and property

²⁸ When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox should be stoned to death, and the meat of the ox shouldn’t be eaten. But the owner of the ox shouldn’t be punished. ²⁹ However, if the ox had gored people in the past and its owner had been warned but didn’t watch out for it, and the ox ends up killing a man or a woman, then the ox should be stoned to death, and its owner should also be put to death. ³⁰ If the owner has to pay compensation instead, he must pay the agreed amount to save his life. ³¹ If the ox gores a boy or a girl, this same case law applies to the owner. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner will pay thirty silver shekels to the slave’s owner, and the ox will be stoned to death.

³³ When someone leaves a pit open or digs a pit and doesn’t cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into the pit, ³⁴ the owner of the pit must make good on the loss. He should pay money to the ox’s owner, but he may keep the dead animal.

³⁵ When someone’s ox hurts someone else’s ox and it dies, then they should sell the live ox and divide its price. They should also divide the dead animal between them. ³⁶ But if the ox was known for goring in the past and its owner hadn’t watched out for it, the owner must make good the loss, an ox for an ox, but may keep the dead animal.

22 ^[o] When someone steals an ox or a sheep and then slaughters or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for the one ox or four sheep for the one sheep.

^2 [p] If the thief is caught breaking in and is beaten and dies, the one who killed him won’t be guilty of bloodshed. ³ However, if this happens in broad daylight, then the one who killed him is guilty of bloodshed. For his part, the thief must make good on what he stole. If he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. ⁴ If an animal (whether ox, donkey, or sheep) is found alive in the thief’s possession, he must pay back double.

⁵ When someone lets an animal loose to eat in another person’s field and causes the field or vineyard to be stripped of its crop, the owner must pay them back with the best from his own field or vineyard.

⁶ When someone starts a fire and it catches in thorns and then spreads to someone else’s stacked grain, standing grain, or a whole field, the one who started the fire must fully repay the loss.

⁷ When someone entrusts money or other items to another person to keep safe and they are stolen from the other person’s house and the thief is caught, the thief must pay back double. ⁸ If the thief isn’t caught, the owner of the house should be brought before God to determine whether or not the owner stole the other’s property.

⁹ When any dispute of ownership over an ox, donkey, sheep, piece of clothing, or any other loss arises in which someone claims, “This is mine,” the cases of both parties should come before God. The one whom God finds at fault must pay double to the other.

¹⁰ When someone gives a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal to another person to keep safe, and the animal dies or is injured or taken and no one saw what happened, ¹¹ the person should swear a solemn pledge before the Lord in the presence of the owner that he didn’t touch the other’s property. The owner must accept that, and no payment needs to be made. ¹² But if the animal was stolen, the person must make full payment to its owner. ¹³ If the animal was attacked and ripped apart and its torn body is brought as evidence, no payment needs to be made.

¹⁴ When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies while the owner isn’t present, full payment must be made. ¹⁵ If the owner was present, no payment needs to be made. If the animal was hired, only the fee for hiring the animal is due.

Instructions about social and religious matters

¹⁶ When a man seduces a young woman who isn’t engaged to be married yet and he sleeps with her, he must marry her and pay the bride-price for her. ¹⁷ But if her father absolutely refuses to let them marry, he must still pay the same amount as the bride-price for young women.

¹⁸ Don’t allow a female sorcerer to live.

¹⁹ Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal should be put to death.

²⁰ Anyone who offers sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, should be destroyed.

²¹ Don’t mistreat or oppress an immigrant, because you were once immigrants in the land of Egypt. ²² Don’t treat any widow or orphan badly. ²³ If you do treat them badly and they cry out to me, you can be sure that I’ll hear their cry. ²⁴ I’ll be furious, and I’ll kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows, and your children will be orphans.

²⁵ If you lend money to my people who are poor among you, don’t be a creditor and charge them interest. ²⁶ If you take a piece of clothing from someone as a security deposit, you should return it before the sun goes down. ²⁷ His clothing may well be his only blanket to cover himself. What else will that person have to sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I’ll listen, because I’m compassionate.

²⁸ Don’t say a curse against God, and don’t curse your people’s chief.

²⁹ Don’t delay offering the produce of your vineyards and winepresses. Give me your oldest son. ³⁰ Do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. They should stay with their mother for seven days. On the eighth day, you should give them to me.

³¹ You are holy people to me. Don’t eat any meat killed by wild animals out in the field. Throw it to the dogs instead.

23 Don’t spread false rumors. Don’t plot with evil people to act as a lying witness. ² Don’t take sides with important people to do wrong. When you act as a witness, don’t stretch the truth to favor important people. ³ But don’t privilege unimportant people in their lawsuits either.

⁴ When you happen to come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered off, you should bring it back to them.

⁵ When you see a donkey that belongs to someone who hates you and it’s lying down under its load and you are inclined not to help set it free, you must help set it free.

⁶ Don’t undermine the justice that your poor deserve in their lawsuits. ⁷ Stay away from making a false charge. Don’t put an innocent person who is in the right to death, because I will not consider innocent those who do such evil. ⁸ Don’t take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

⁹ Don’t oppress an immigrant. You know what it’s like to be an immigrant, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.

Sabbaths and festivals

¹⁰ For six years you should plant crops on your land and gather in its produce. ¹¹ But in the seventh year you should leave it alone and undisturbed so that the poor among your people may eat. What they leave behind, the wild animals may eat. You should do the same with your vineyard and your olive trees.

¹² Do your work in six days. But on the seventh day you should rest so that your ox and donkey may rest, and even the child of your female slave and the immigrant may be refreshed.

¹³ Be careful to obey everything that I have said to you. Don’t call on the names of other gods. Don’t even mention them.

¹⁴ You should observe a festival for me three times a year. ¹⁵ Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, as I commanded you. Eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,^[q] because it was in that month that you came out of Egypt.

No one should appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Observe the Harvest Festival for the early produce of your crops that you planted in the field, and the Gathering Festival at the end of the year, when you gather your crop of fruit from the field. ¹⁷ All your males should appear three times a year before the Lord God.

¹⁸ Don’t offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened. Don’t let the fat of my festival offering be left over until the morning.

¹⁹ Bring the best of your land’s early produce to the Lord your God’s temple.

Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

God’s promise: messenger and land

²⁰ I’m about to send a messenger in front of you to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place that I’ve made ready. ²¹ Pay attention to him and do as he says. Don’t rebel against him. He won’t forgive the things you do wrong because I^[r] am with him. ²² But if you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, then I’ll be an enemy to your enemies and fight those fighting you.

²³ When my messenger goes in front of you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I wipe them out, ²⁴ don’t bow down to their gods, worship them, or do what they do. Instead, you should completely destroy them and smash their sacred stone pillars to bits. ²⁵ If you worship the Lord your God, the Lord will bless your bread and your water. I’ll take sickness away from you, ²⁶ and no woman will miscarry or be infertile in your land. I’ll let you live a full, long life. ²⁷ My terrifying reputation will precede you, and I’ll throw all the people that you meet into a panic. I’ll make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ I’ll send insect swarms in front of you and drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. ²⁹ I won’t drive them out before you in a single year so the land won’t be abandoned and the wild animals won’t multiply around you. ³⁰ I’ll drive them out before you little by little, until your numbers grow and you eventually possess the land. ³¹ I’ll set your borders from the Reed Sea^[s] to the Philistine Sea and from the desert to the River. I’ll hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out before you. ³² Don’t make any covenants with them or their gods. ³³ Don’t allow them to live in your land, or else they will lead you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will become a dangerous trap for you.

Covenant at Sinai

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and worship from a distance. ² Only Moses may come near to the Lord. The others shouldn’t come near, while the people shouldn’t come up with him at all.”

³ Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴ Moses then wrote down all the Lord’s words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar. ⁷ Then he took the covenant scroll and read it out loud for the people to hear. They responded, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will obey.”

⁸ Moses then took the blood and threw it over the people. Moses said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord now makes with you on the basis of all these words.”

Covenant meal with God

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went up, ¹⁰ and they saw Israel’s God. Under God’s feet there was what looked like a floor of lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzlingly pure like the sky. ¹¹ God didn’t harm the Israelite leaders, though they looked at God, and they ate and drank.

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there. I’ll give you the stone tablets with the instructions and the commandments that I’ve written in order to teach them.”

¹³ So Moses and his assistant Joshua got up, and Moses went up God’s mountain. ¹⁴ Moses had said to the elders, “Wait for us here until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur will be here with you. Whoever has a legal dispute may go to them.”

¹⁵ Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The Lord’s glorious presence settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁷ To the Israelites, the Lord’s glorious presence looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Gifts offered for the dwelling

25 The Lord said to Moses: ² Tell the Israelites to collect gift offerings for me. Receive my gift offerings from everyone who freely wants to give. ³ These are the gift offerings that you should receive from them: gold, silver, and copper; ⁴ blue, purple, and deep red yarns; fine linen; goats’ hair; ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red; beaded leather;^[t] acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; ⁷ gemstones; and gems for setting in the priest’s vest^[u] and chest piece. ⁸ They should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them. ⁹ You should follow the blueprints that I will show you for the dwelling and for all its equipment.

Instructions for building the chest containing the covenant

¹⁰ Have them make an acacia-wood chest. It should be forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹ Cover it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold molding all around it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold. ¹⁴ Then put the poles into the rings on the chest’s sides and use them to carry the chest. ¹⁵ The poles should stay in the chest’s rings. They shouldn’t be taken out of them. ¹⁶ Put the covenant document that I will give you into the chest.

¹⁷ Then make a cover of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ¹⁸ Make two winged heavenly creatures of hammered gold, one for each end of the cover. ¹⁹ Put one winged heavenly creature at one end and one winged heavenly creature at the other. Place the winged heavenly creatures at the cover’s two ends. ²⁰ The heavenly creatures should have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. The winged heavenly creatures should face each other toward the cover’s center. ²¹ Put the gold cover on top of the chest and put the covenant document that I will give you inside the chest. ²² There I will meet with you. From there above the cover, from between the two winged heavenly creatures that are on top of the chest containing the covenant, I will deliver to you all that I command you concerning the Israelites.

Instructions for the table

²³ Make an acacia-wood table, three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ²⁴ Cover it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. ²⁵ Make a frame around it that is four inches wide and a gold molding around the frame. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for the table. Fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ The rings that house the poles used for carrying the table should be close to the frame. ²⁸ Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The table should be carried with these poles. ²⁹ Make its plates, dishes, jars, and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them of pure gold. ³⁰ Set the bread of the presence on the table so it is always in front of me.

Instructions for the lampstand

³¹ Make a lampstand of pure hammered gold. The lampstand’s base, branches, cups, flowers, and petals should all be attached to it. ³² It should have six branches growing out from its sides, three branches on one side of the lampstand and three branches on the other side of the lampstand. ³³ One branch will have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals, and the next branch will also have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁴ In addition, on the lampstand itself there will be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its flower and petals. ³⁵ There will be a flower attached under the first pair of branches, a flower attached under the next pair of branches, and a flower attached under the last pair of branches. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁶ Their flowers and their branches will be permanently attached to it. The whole lampstand should be one piece of pure hammered gold. ³⁷ Make its seven lamps and set up its lamps so that they direct their light in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ You should also make its tongs and fire pans out of pure gold. ³⁹ All these items should be made from pure gold weighing one kikkar. ⁴⁰ See to it that you make them according to the blueprint for them that you were shown on the mountain.

Instructions for building the dwelling

26 Make the dwelling with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and deep red yarns. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into their design. ² Each curtain should be forty-two feet long and each curtain six feet wide. All the curtains should be the same size. ³ Five curtains will be joined to each other as one set, while the other five curtains will be joined together as a second set. ⁴ Make loops of blue thread on the edge of the outer curtain in the first set. Do the same on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set. ⁵ Make fifty loops on the one curtain in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops should be opposite each other. ⁶ Then make fifty gold clasps. Join the curtains to each other with the clasps so that the dwelling becomes one whole structure.

⁷ You should also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the dwelling. Make eleven curtains. ⁸ Each curtain should be forty-five feet long and each curtain six feet wide. The eleven curtains should all be the same size. ⁹ Join five of the curtains together, and join the six other curtains together. Double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ Make fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in one set and fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set.

¹¹ Make fifty copper clasps. Put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it becomes one whole structure. ¹² The extra cloth that is left over from the tent curtains, that is, the half curtain that remains, should hang over the back of the dwelling. ¹³ Eighteen inches on one side and eighteen inches on the other side of the leftover length of the tent’s curtains will hang over the two sides of the dwelling to cover it. ¹⁴ Then for the tent, make a covering of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of beaded leather.^[v]

¹⁵ Make acacia-wood boards to stand upright as a frame for the dwelling. ¹⁶ Each board will be fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide. ¹⁷ Put two pegs on each board for joining them to each other. Do this for all the dwelling’s boards. ¹⁸ Make twenty boards for the dwelling’s southern side. ¹⁹ Then make forty silver bases to go under the twenty boards. There will be two bases under the first board for its two pegs, two bases under the next board for its two pegs, and so on. ²⁰ For the dwelling’s other side on the north, make twenty boards ²¹ and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on. ²² For the back of the dwelling on the west, make six boards. ²³ Make two additional boards for the dwelling’s rear corners. ²⁴ They should be spread out at the bottom but joined together at the top with one ring. In this way, these two boards will form the two corners. ²⁵ And so there will be eight boards with their sixteen silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on.

²⁶ You should also make acacia-wood bars: five for the boards on one side of the dwelling, ²⁷ five bars for the boards on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the boards on the back wall of the dwelling on the west. ²⁸ The middle bar, halfway up the boards, should run from one end to the other. ²⁹ Cover the boards with gold. Make gold rings to house the bars. Cover the bars with gold. ³⁰ Then set up the dwelling according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹ Make a veil of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into its design. ³² Hang it on four acacia-wood posts covered in gold. They should have gold hooks and stand on four silver bases. ³³ Hang the veil under the clasps, and put the chest containing the covenant there behind the veil. The veil will separate for you the holy from the holiest space. ³⁴ Place the gold cover on the chest containing the covenant in the holiest space. ³⁵ Place the table outside the veil, and set the lampstand opposite the table by the south wall of the dwelling. Place the table by the north wall.

³⁶ Make a screen for the tent’s entrance of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. ³⁷ Make five acacia-wood posts for the screen. Cover the posts with gold. Their hooks should be gold. Cast five copper bases for the posts.

Instructions for the altar

27 Make an acacia-wood altar. The altar should be square, seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. It should be four and a half feet high. ² Make horns for the altar and attach them to it, one horn on each of its four corners. Cover it with copper. ³ Make pails for removing its ashes and its shovels, bowls, meat forks, and trays. Make all its equipment out of copper. ⁴ Make for the altar a grate made of copper mesh. Make four copper rings for each of the four corners of the mesh. ⁵ Slide the mesh underneath the bottom edge of the altar and then extend the mesh halfway up to the middle of the altar. ⁶ Make acacia-wood poles for the altar and cover them with copper. ⁷ Put the poles through the rings so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. ⁸ Make the altar with planks but hollow inside. All these should be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

Instructions for the dwelling’s courtyard

⁹ You should also set up the dwelling’s courtyard. The courtyard’s south side should have drapes of fine twisted linen stretching one hundred fifty feet on that side, ¹⁰ with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. ¹¹ Likewise along the north side the drapes should stretch one hundred fifty feet, with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. ¹² The courtyard’s width on the west side should consist of seventy-five feet of drapes with their ten posts and their ten bases. ¹³ The courtyard’s width on the front, facing east, should be seventy-five feet. ¹⁴ There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on one side with three posts and three bases for them. ¹⁵ There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on the other side with three posts and three bases for them. ¹⁶ For the gate into the courtyard there will be a screen thirty feet long, made of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. It will have four posts with their four bases. ¹⁷ All the posts around the courtyard will have silver bands, silver hooks, and copper bases. ¹⁸ The courtyard will be one hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide. Its walls’ height will be seven and a half feet of fine twisted linen and its copper bases. ¹⁹ All the dwelling’s equipment for any use and all its tent pegs and all the courtyard’s tent pegs will be made of copper.

Olive oil for the lampstand

²⁰ You must require the Israelites to bring you pure oil of crushed olives for the light so that the lamp may be set up to burn continually. ²¹ In the meeting tent, outside the veil that hangs in front of the covenant document, Aaron and his sons will tend the lamp from evening to morning in the Lord’s presence. It will be a permanent regulation for the Israelites in every generation.

Instructions for the priests’ clothing

28 Summon to you your brother Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and Ithamar. ² Make holy clothing that will give honor and dignity to your brother Aaron. ³ Tell all who are skilled, to whom I have given special abilities, to make clothing for Aaron for his dedication to serve me as a priest. ⁴ These are the articles of clothing that they should make: a chest pendant, a vest, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. When they make this holy clothing for your brother Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests, ⁵ they should use gold, blue, purple, and deep red yarns and fine linen.

Priest’s ornamental vest

⁶ They should make the vest of gold, of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen with embroidered designs. ⁷ The vest will have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that they may be joined together. ⁸ The vest’s belt should be attached to it and made in the same way of gold, of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and fine twisted linen. ⁹ Take two gemstones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons, ¹⁰ six names on one stone and the other six names on the other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ Like a gem cutter who engraves official seals, you will engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons. Mount them in gold settings. ¹² Attach the two stones to the vest’s shoulder pieces as stones of reminder for the Israelites. Aaron will carry into the Lord’s presence their names on his two shoulders as a reminder. ¹³ Then make gold settings ¹⁴ along with two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords. Attach the corded chains to the gold settings.

Priest’s chest pendant used for making decisions

¹⁵ Make an embroidered chest pendant used for making decisions. Make it in the style of the vest, using gold, blue and purple and deep red yarns, and fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ It will be square and doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide. ¹⁷ Set in it four rows of gemstone settings. The first row will be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald stones. ¹⁸ The second row will be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone. ¹⁹ The third row will be a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row will be a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Their settings will be made of decorative gold. ²¹ There will be twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of Israel’s sons. They will be engraved like official seals, each with its name for the twelve tribes.

²² Make chains of pure gold twisted like cords for the chest pendant. ²³ Make two gold rings for the chest pendant and attach the two rings to the two edges of the chest pendant. ²⁴ Attach the two gold cords to the two rings at the edges of the chest pendant. ²⁵ Then fasten the two ends of the cords to the two settings, which you should attach to the vest’s two front shoulder pieces. ²⁶ Make two gold rings and attach them to the two ends of the chest pendant on its inside edge facing the vest. ²⁷ Make two gold rings and fasten them on the front of the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the vest, at its seam just above the vest’s belt. ²⁸ The chest pendant should be held in place by a blue cord binding its rings to the vest’s rings so that the chest pendant rests on the vest’s belt and won’t come loose from the vest. ²⁹ In this way, Aaron will carry the names of Israel’s sons on the chest pendant for making decisions over his heart when he goes into the sanctuary as a reminder before the Lord at all times. ³⁰ Put into the chest pendant used for making decisions the Urim and the Thummim, so they will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will carry the means to make decisions for the Israelites over his heart when in the Lord’s presence at all times.

Instructions for other priestly clothing

³¹ You will make the robe for the vest all of blue. ³² The opening for the head should be in the middle of it. The opening should be reinforced by a woven binding, a strong border so that it doesn’t tear. ³³ On its lower hem add pomegranates made of blue, purple, and deep red yarns all around the lower hem, with gold bells between the pomegranates all around it. ³⁴ A gold bell and a pomegranate should alternate all around the lower hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron will wear the robe when he ministers as a priest. Its sound will be heard when he goes into the sanctuary in the Lord’s presence and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

³⁶ Make a flower ornament of pure gold and engrave on it like an official seal: “Holy to the Lord.” ³⁷ You should fasten it on the turban with a blue cord. It should be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron will take on himself any guilt connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites give as their sacred donations. It will always be on his forehead so that the people may be remembered favorably in the Lord’s presence.

³⁹ Weave the tunic out of fine linen. Make the turban out of fine linen. Make a sash decorated with needlework. ⁴⁰ For Aaron’s sons, you should also make tunics, sashes, and turbans to mark their honor and dignity. ⁴¹ Put these garments on your brother Aaron and on his sons with him. Anoint them with oil, ordain them, and make them holy to serve me as priests. ⁴² You should also make linen undergarments for them to cover their naked skin from their hips to their thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons should wear this clothing when they go into the meeting tent or when they approach the altar to minister as priests in the sanctuary. Otherwise, they will bring guilt on themselves and die. This will be a permanent regulation for him and for his descendants after him.