Exodus 19-24

Lexham English Bible

Preparation for Receiving the Covenant at Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the Israelites^[a] went out from the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the Sinai desert. ² They set out from Rephidim, and they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

³ And Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you will say to the house of Jacob and you will tell the Israelites,^{[b] 4} ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and I brought you to me. ⁵ And now if you will carefully listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be a treasured possession for me out of all the peoples, for all the earth is mine,^{[c] 6} but you, you will belong to me as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”^[d]

⁷ And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and he placed before them all these words that Yahweh had commanded him. ⁸ And all the people together answered and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh. ⁹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, I am going to come to you in a thick cloud^[e] in order that the people will hear when I speak with you and will also trust in you forever.” And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

¹⁰ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes, ¹¹ and they must be prepared for the third day, because on the third day, Yahweh will go down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. ¹² And you must set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Guard yourselves against^[f] going up to the mountain and touching its edge. Anyone touching the mountain will certainly be put to death. ¹³ Not a hand will touch it, because he will certainly be stoned or certainly be shot; whether an animal or a man, he will not live.’ At the blowing of the ram’s horn they may go up to the mountain.”

¹⁴ And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day.^[g] Do not go near to a woman.”

¹⁶ And^[h] on the third day, when it was morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain and a very loud ram’s horn sound, and all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ And Moses brought the people out from the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ And Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke because Yahweh went down on it in the fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And the sound of the ram’s horn became louder and louder,^[i] and Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice.

²⁰ And Yahweh went 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 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to see and many from them fall. ²² And even the priests who come near Yahweh must consecrate themselves, lest Yahweh break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people are not able to go up to Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And Yahweh said to him, “Go, go down, and come up, you and Aaron with you and the priests, but the people must not break through to go up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ And Moses went down to the people, and he told them.^[j]

Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.

³ “There shall be for you no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth. ⁵ You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations^[k] of those hating me, ⁶ and showing loyal love to thousands of generations^[l] of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God,^[m] because Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.^[n]

⁸ “Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it. ⁹ Six days you will work, and you will do all your work. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work—you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who is in your gates— ¹¹ because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹⁸ And all the people were seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. ¹⁹ And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” ²⁰ And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.” ²¹ And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.

Instructions for Building Altars

²² And Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you will say to the Israelites,^[o] ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. ²³ You will not make alongside me gods of silver, and gods of gold you will not make for yourselves. ²⁴ An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered,^[p] I will come to you, and I will bless you. ²⁵ And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them as hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. ²⁶ You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.’

Regulations Regarding Hebrew Slaves

21 “And these are the regulations that you will set before them.

² ‘If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing.^{[q] 3} If he comes in single, he will go out single. If he is the husband of a wife, his wife will go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the slave will go out single. ⁵ But if the slave explicitly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” ⁶ his master will present him to God^[r] and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

⁷ “‘And if a man sells his daughter as a slave woman, she will not go out as male slaves go out. ⁸ If she does not please her master^[s] who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her. ⁹ And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes for himself another, he will not reduce her food, her clothing, or her right of cohabitation. ¹¹ And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver^[t] paid for her.

Regulations Regarding Murder, Manslaughter, and Various Injuries

¹² “‘Whoever strikes someone^[u] and he dies will surely be put to death. ¹³ But if he did not lie in wait and it was an accident,^[v] I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴ But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery,^[w] you will take him from my altar to die. ¹⁵ And whoever strikes^[x] his father or his mother will surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “‘And whoever kidnaps someone^[y] and sells him, or he is found in his possession,^[z] he will surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “‘And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “‘And if men quarrel and a man strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist and he does not die, but he is confined to bed,^{[aa] 19} if he stands and walks about in the outside on his staff, the striker will be unpunished; he will only pay for his inactivity^[ab] toward his full recovery.”^{[ac] 20} And if a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with the rod and he dies under his hand, he will surely be avenged. ²¹ Yet if he survives a day or two days, he will not be avenged, because he is his money.^[ad]

²² “‘And if men fight and they injure a pregnant woman, and her children go out and there is not serious injury, he will surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands concerning him and as the judges determine.^{[ae] 23} And if there is serious injury, you will give life in place of life, ²⁴ eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, ²⁵ burn in place of burn, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.

²⁶ “‘And if a man strikes the eye of his male slave or the eye of his female slave and destroys it, he shall release him as free in place of his eye. ²⁷ And if he causes the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave to fall out, he will release him as free in place of his tooth.

²⁸ “‘And if an ox gores a man or a woman and he dies, the ox will surely be stoned, and its meat will not be eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent. ²⁹ But if it was a goring ox before^[af] and its owner was warned and did not restrain it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox will be stoned, and the owner also will be put to death. ³⁰ If a ransom is set on him, he will pay the redemption money for his life according to all that is set on him. ³¹ If it gores a son or it gores a daughter, according to this regulation it shall be done to him. ³² If the ox gores a male slave or a female slave, he will give thirty shekels of silver to his master, and the ox will be stoned.

³³ “‘If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and he does not cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit will pay restitution; he will pay silver to its owner, but the dead animal will be for him.^{[ag] 35} And if a man’s ox injures the ox of his neighbor and it dies, they will sell the living ox and divide the money,^[ah] and they will also divide the dead one. ³⁶ Or if it was known that it was a goring ox before^[ai] and its owner did not restrain it, he will surely make restitution, an ox in place of the ox, and the dead one will be for him.

Regulations Regarding Theft, Borrowing, and Accidental Damage or Loss

22 ^[aj] “‘If a man steals an ox or small livestock and slaughters it or sells it, he will make restitution with five cattle in place of the ox and with four sheep or goats in place of the small livestock. ² “‘If a thief is found in the act of breaking in and he is struck and he dies, there is not bloodguilt for him. ³ (If the sun has risen over him, there is bloodguilt for him. He will make full restitution. If he does not have enough,^[ak] he will be sold for his theft. ⁴ If indeed the stolen item is found in his possession^[al] alive, from ox to donkey to small livestock, he will make double restitution.

⁵ “‘If a man grazes his livestock in a field or a vineyard and he releases his livestock and it grazes in the field of another, he will make restitution from the best of his field and the best of his vineyard.

⁶ “‘If a fire is started and finds thorn bushes and a stack of sheaves or the standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire will surely make restitution.

⁷ “‘If a man gives to his neighbor money or objects to watch over and it is stolen from the house of the man, if the thief is found, he will make double restitution. ⁸ If the thief is not found, the owner of the house will be brought to the sanctuary^[am] to learn whether or not he reached out his hand to his neighbor’s possession. ⁹ Concerning every account of transgression—concerning an ox, concerning a donkey, concerning small livestock, concerning clothing, concerning all lost property—where someone says, “This belongs to me,” the matter of the two of them will come to God;^[an] whomever God declares guilty will make double restitution to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “‘If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or small livestock or any beast to watch over and it dies or is injured or is captured when there is no one who sees, ¹¹ the oath of Yahweh will be between the two of them concerning whether or not he has reached out his hand to his neighbor’s possession, and its owner will accept this, and he will not make restitution. ¹² But if indeed it was stolen from him, he will make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If indeed it was torn to pieces, he will bring it as evidence—the mangled carcass; he will not make restitution.

¹⁴ “‘If a man borrows from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he will make restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner was with it, he will not make restitution; if it was hired, it came with its hiring fee.

Regulations Regarding Various Offences

¹⁶ “‘If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and he lies with her, he surely will give her bride price to have her as his wife.^{[ao] 17} If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he will weigh out money according to the bride price for the virgin.

¹⁸ “‘You will not let a witch live.

¹⁹ “‘Anyone lying with an animal will surely be put to death.

²⁰ “‘Whoever sacrifices to the gods—not to Yahweh, to him alone—will be destroyed.

Regulations Regarding Foreigners and the Poor

²¹ “‘You will not mistreat an alien, and you will not oppress him, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

²² “‘You will not afflict any widow or orphan. ²³ If you indeed afflict him, yes, if he cries out at all to me, I will certainly hear his cry of distress. ²⁴ And I will become angry,^[ap] and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans.

²⁵ “‘If you lend money to my people, to the needy with you, you will not be to him as a creditor; you will not charge him interest.^{[aq] 26} If indeed you require the cloak of your neighbor as a pledge, you will return it to him at sundown, ²⁷ because it is his only garment; it is his cloak for his skin. In what will he sleep? And^[ar] when he cries out to me, I will hear, because I am gracious.

Regulations Regarding Tribute and Holiness

²⁸ “‘You will not curse God,^[as] and you will not curse a leader among your people.

²⁹ “‘You will not delay the fullness of your harvest and the juice from your press; you will give me the firstborn of your sons. ³⁰ You will do likewise for your ox and for your sheep and goats; seven days it will be with its mother; on the eighth, you will give it to me. ³¹ And you will be men of holiness for me; and you will not eat meat from a carcass mangled in the field; you will throw it to the dog.

Regulations Regarding Justice

23 “‘You will not spread^[at] a false report. Do not lift your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. ² You will not follow^[au] a majority^[av] for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority^[aw] to pervert justice. ³ You will not be partial to a powerless person^[ax] in his legal dispute.

⁴ “‘If you come upon the ox of your enemy or his donkey going astray, you will certainly bring it back to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey of your enemy lying down under its burden, you will refrain from abandoning him. You will surely arrange^[ay] it with him.

⁶ “‘You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute. ⁷ You will stay far from a false charge,^[az] and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, because I will not declare the wicked righteous.^{[ba] 8} And you will not take a bribe, because the bribe makes the sighted blind and ruins the words of the righteous. ⁹ And you will not oppress an alien; you yourselves know the feelings^[bb] of the alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Regulations Regarding Work and Festivals

¹⁰ “‘And six years you will sow your land and gather its yield. ¹¹ But the seventh you will let it rest and leave it fallow, and the poor of your people will eat, and their remainder the animals^[bc] of the field will eat. You will do likewise for your vineyard and for your olive trees.

¹² “‘Six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you will stop so that your ox and your donkey will rest and the son of your slave woman and the alien will be refreshed.

¹³ “‘And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not profess^[bd] the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.

¹⁴ “‘Three times in the year you will hold a festival for me. ¹⁵ You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at the appointed time, the month of Abib, because in it you came out from Egypt, and no one will^[be] appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶ And you will keep the Feast of Harvest, with the firstfruits of your work, what you sow in the field. And you will keep the Feast of Harvest Gathering when the year goes out, when you gather your work from the field. ¹⁷ Three times in the year all your men will appear before the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁸ “‘You will not sacrifice the blood of my sacrifice together with food with yeast, and you will not leave the fat of my feast overnight until morning.

¹⁹ “‘The best of the firstfruits of your land you will bring to the house of Yahweh your God.

“‘You will not boil a young goat^[bf] in its mother’s milk.

Reasons for Loyal Obedience

²⁰ “‘Look, I am about to send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. ²¹ Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him. ²² But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. ²³ When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites^[bg] and the Hittites^[bh] and the Perizzites^[bi] and the Canaanites^[bj] and the Hivites^[bk] and the Jebusites,^[bl] I will wipe them out.

²⁴ “‘You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars. ²⁵ And you will serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from among you. ²⁶ There will be no one suffering miscarriage or infertile in your land. I will make full the number of your days.^[bm]

²⁷ “‘I will release my terror before you, and I will throw into confusion all the people against whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their back to you.^{[bn] 28} And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivites,^[bo] the Canaanites,^[bp] and the Hittites^[bq] from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become a desolation and the wild animals^[br] multiply against you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you are fruitful and take possession of the land.

³¹ “‘And I will set your boundary from the Red Sea^[bs] and up to the sea of the Philistines and from the desert up to the river,^[bt] because I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out from before you. ³² You will not make a covenant with them and with their gods. ³³ They will not live in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me when you serve their gods, for it will be a snare to you.’”

Confirming the Covenant

24 And to Moses he said, “Go up to Yahweh—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel—and you will worship at a distance. ² And Moses alone^[bu] will come near to Yahweh, and they will not come near, and the people will not go up with him.”

³ And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, “All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do.”

⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ And he sent young men from the Israelites,^[bv] and they offered burnt offerings, and they sacrificed sacrifices as fellowship offerings to Yahweh using bulls. ⁶ And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen.”^{[bw] 8} And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, “Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel went up. ¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel, and what was under his feet was like sapphire tile work and like the very heavens for clearness. ¹¹ And toward the leaders of the Israelites^[bx] he did not stretch out his hand, and they beheld God, and they ate, and they drank.

The Start of Forty Days and Nights on Mount Sinai

¹² And Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and be there, and I will give you the tablets of stone and the law and the commandments that I have written to instruct them.” ¹³ And Moses got up, and Joshua, his assistant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

¹⁴ And to the elders he said, “Wait for us here until we return to you. And look, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute^[by] will bring it to you.”

¹⁵ And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ And the glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and he called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain to the eyes of^[bz] the Israelites.^{[ca] 18} And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.