Chronological
The Israelis Reach Mount Sinai
19 On the third New Moon after the Israelis went out of the land of Egypt, on that very day,[a] they came to the desert of Sinai. 2 They had set out from Rephidim and arrived at the desert of Sinai where they camped in the desert. Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and declare to the sons of Israel, 4 ‘You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 And now if you carefully obey me and keep my covenant, you are to be my special possession out of all the nations,[b] because the whole earth belongs to me, 6 but you are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to me.’ These are the words you are to declare to the Israelis.”
7 When Moses came, he summoned the elders of the people and told them everything that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together: “We’ll do everything that the Lord has said!”
Then Moses reported all the words of the people back to the Lord. 9 The Lord told Moses, “Look, I’m coming to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may listen when I speak with you and always believe you.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Preparation for the Covenant
10 The Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes, 11 and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You are to set boundaries for the people all around: ‘Be very careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch the side of it. Anyone who touches the mountain is certainly to be put to death. 13 No hand is to touch that person,[c] but he is certainly to be stoned or shot;[d] whether animal or person, he is not to live.’ They are to approach[e] the mountain only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast.”
14 When Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 He told the people, “Be ready for the third day; don’t go near a woman.”[f]
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.[g] 20 When the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, he[h] 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.[i] 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.’”[j]
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.
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
| א[k] | 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt— from the house of slavery. 3 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[l] |
| ב | 4 “You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 5 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[m] on children, to the third and fourth generation[n] of those who hate me, 6 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
| ג | 7 “You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[o] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[p] |
| ד | 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness.[q] 9 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[r] 11 because the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. |
| ה | 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 13 “You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 14 “You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 15 “You are not to steal. |
| ט | 16 “You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 17 “You are not to desire[s] your neighbor’s house,[t] nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” |
The People are Terrified in God’s Presence
18 All the people experienced the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And as the people experienced it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They told Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but don’t let God speak with us, or we may die.
20 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Instruction about Idols and Altars
22 The Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelis, ‘You have seen for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23 You are not to make gods of silver alongside me, nor are you to make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I’ll come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for me, you must not build it of cut stones, because if you strike it with your chisel, you will profane it. 26 You are not to ascend to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’”
Laws Concerning Servants
21 “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them.
2 “When you acquire a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh he is to go out a free man without paying anything. 3 If he came in by himself,[u] he is to go out by himself. If he was married, his wife is to go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and children belong to her master, and he is to go out by himself. 5 But if the servant, in fact, says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I won’t go out a free man,’ 6 then his master is to bring him before the judges[v] and he is to bring him to the door or to the doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear with an awl, and he is to serve him permanently.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a servant, she won’t go out as the male servants do.[w] 8 If she’s displeasing to[x] her master who selected her for himself,[y] he must let her be redeemed. He does not have the right to sell her to foreign people, because he has dealt unfairly[z] with her. 9 If he has selected her for his son,[aa] he is to treat her according to the ordinance for daughters. 10 If he takes another woman for himself, he may not withhold from the first[ab] her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 If he does not do these three things for her, she may go out without paying anything at all.”[ac]
Laws Concerning Personal Injury and Homicide
12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies is certainly to be put to death. 13 If he didn’t lie in wait, but God let him fall into his reach,[ad] then I’ll appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 If a man acts deliberately against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him to die even if he’s at[ae] my altar.
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps a person, whether he has sold him or whether the victim[af] is still in his possession, is certainly to be put to death.
17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
18 “If people quarrel and one strikes the other with a rock or his fist, and he does not die but ends up[ag] in bed, 19 and the injured person[ah] then gets up and walks around outside with the help of his staff,[ai] the one who struck him is not liable, except that he is to compensate him for his loss of time[aj] and take care of his complete recovery.
20 “If a man strikes his male or female servant with a stick and he or she dies as a direct result,[ak] the master must be punished.[al] 21 But if the servant[am] survives a day or two, the master[an] is not to be punished because the servant[ao] is his property.
22 “If two men are fighting and they strike a pregnant woman and her children are born prematurely,[ap] but there is no harm, he is certainly to be fined as the husband of the woman demands of him, and he will pay as the court decides.[aq] 23 If there is harm, then you are to require[ar] life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant and destroys it, he is to release him as a free man in exchange for his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male[as] or female servant,[at] he is to release him as a free man in exchange for his tooth.
28 “If an ox gores a man or woman so that they die, the ox is certainly to be stoned and its flesh may not be eaten, but the owner of the ox is free from liability. 29 But if the ox has gored previously, and its owner has been warned about it but didn’t restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, the ox is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 If a fine is imposed on him, he may pay all that was imposed on him as a ransom for his life. 31 This same ordinance applies[au] if it gores a son or daughter.
32 “If the ox gores a male or female servant, the owner is to give 30 shekels[av] of silver to the servant’s[aw] master, and the ox is to be stoned. 33 If a man opens a pit or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it,[ax] 34 the owner of the pit is to make restitution. He is to pay money to its owner, and the dead animal will become his.
35 “If a man’s ox strikes his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the money. They also are to divide the dead animal. 36 But if it was known that the ox had gored previously, and its owner didn’t restrain it, he is certainly to repay ox for ox, and the dead ox is to become his.”
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