Exodus 18-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 18
1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for Moses said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.' 4And the other was named Eliezer, for he said, 'The God of my father was my help, and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.'
5Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God.
6And he sent word to Moses: 'I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.'
7Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had confronted them on the journey, and how the Lord had rescued them.
9And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done for Israel, in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10So Jethro said, 'Blessed be the Lord who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently against the people.'
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.
14Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, 'What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?'
15Moses said to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.'
17Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, 'The thing that you are doing is not good.
18You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.
19Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,
20then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.
21Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you.
23If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their places in peace.'
24So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said.
25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves.
27Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went his way to his own land.
Chapter 19
1In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. 3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. 5Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.'
7So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him.
8Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do!' And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.' Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
10The Lord also said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments;
11and have them 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.
12But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘ Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death.
13No hand shall touch him, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.'
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.
15He also said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.'
16So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain quaked violently.
19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder.
20Then the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 'Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the Lord to stare, and many of them perish.
22Also have the priests who approach the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.'
23And Moses said to the Lord, 'The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’?'
24Then the Lord said to him, 'Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.'
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Chapter 20
1Then God spoke all these words, saying,
4You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.
5You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9For six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.
11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
18And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance.
19Then they said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak to us, or we will die!'
20However, Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you will not sin.'
21So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, 'This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
23You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.
24You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
25And if you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it.
26And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
2If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you.
3If he comes alone, he shall leave alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him.
4If 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 leave alone.
5But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’
6then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7Now if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do.
8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master 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 unfairness to her.
9And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.
10If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.
11But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go free for nothing, without payment of money.
12He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.
13Yet if he did not lie in wait for him, but God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.
14If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.
18Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
19if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.
20And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall be punished.
21If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for the slave is his property.
22Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.
23But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free on account of the eye.
27And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let the slave go free on account of the tooth.
28Now if an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall certainly be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.
29If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.
30If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.
31Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
32If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33Now if someone opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.
35And if someone’s ox injures another’s ox so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds equally; and they shall also divide the dead ox.
36Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.
2If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.
3If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account— A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
7If someone gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the neighbor’s house, if the thief is caught, then the thief shall pay double.
8If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s property.
9For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10If someone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking,
11an oath before the Lord shall be taken by the two of them that he has not laid a hand on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution.
12But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
13If it is all torn to pieces, have him bring it as evidence; he shall not be compelled to make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.
14And if someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution.
15If its owner is with it, the borrower shall not be compelled to make restitution. If it is hired, it came by its hire.
16If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and sleeps with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
17If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.
21You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22You shall not oppress any widow or orphan.
23If you oppress him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will assuredly hear his cry;
24and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.
26If you ever seize your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,
27for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else is he to sleep in? And it will come about that when he cries out to Me, I will listen to him, for I am gracious.
29You shall not hold back the offering from your entire harvest and your wine. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.
30You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother for seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
Chapter 23
1You shall not give a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked person to be a malicious witness. 2You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to join together with a crowd in order to pervert justice; 3nor shall you show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
4If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him.
5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave it helpless for its owner; you must arrange the load with him.
6You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.
7Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
10Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield,
11but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves.
13Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
14Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. And no one is to appear before Me empty-handed.
16Also you shall keep the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
20Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21Be attentive to him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your rebellion, since My name is in him.
22But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.
24You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their memorial stones in pieces.
25And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.
26There will be no one miscarrying or unable to have children in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from you.
29I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you.
30I will drive them out from you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.
31I will set your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River; for I will hand over the inhabitants of the land to you, and you will drive them out from you.
32You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
33They shall not live in your land, otherwise they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it is certain to be a snare to you.'
Chapter 24
1Then He said to Moses, 'Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2Moses alone, however, shall approach the Lord, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.'
3Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!'
4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it as the people listened; and they said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!'
8So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.'
9Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
11Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12Now the Lord said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the Law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction.'
13So Moses got up along with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14But to the elders he said, 'Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, have him approach them.'
15Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
17And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
18Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
King James Version
2Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them.
9And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
10And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
16And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
22And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.
23And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.
25So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
Chapter 20
1And God spake all these words, saying,
4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
18And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Chapter 21
1Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
7And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
18And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
21Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
30If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
34The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
35And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
36Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.
2If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
7If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
16And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
22Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
29Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
30Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
2Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
9Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
14Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.
18Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
20Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
Chapter 24
1And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 2And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
12And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Christian Standard Bible
2Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’s wife, after he had sent her back,
3along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (because Moses had said, "I have been a resident alien in a foreign land")
4and the other Eliezer (because he had said, "The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword").
5Moses’s father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’s wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.
6He sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been and went into the tent.
8Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the Lord rescued them.
9Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians.
10"Blessed be the Lord," Jethro exclaimed, "who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt!
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel."
13The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.
14When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"
15Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws."
17"What you’re doing is not good," Moses’s father-in-law said to him.
18"You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.
19Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him.
20Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.
21But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
22They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you.
23If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied."
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
26They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai Wilderness. 2They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai Wilderness, and camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
3Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: "This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine,
6and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites."
7After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
8Then all the people responded together, "We will do all that the Lord has spoken." So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.
9The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you." Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord,
10and the Lord told Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death.
13No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain."
14Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15He said to the people, "Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women."
16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.
17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.
20The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.
21The Lord directed Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die.
22Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them."
23Moses responded to the Lord, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it."
24And the Lord replied to him, "Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them."
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Chapter 20
1Then God spoke all these words:
3Do not have other gods besides me.
4Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
5Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ iniquity, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,
7Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.
8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:
9You are to labor six days and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates.
16Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
18All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance.
19"You speak to us, and we will listen," they said to Moses, "but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die."
20Moses responded to the people, "Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin."
21And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.
22Then the Lord told Moses, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
23Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves.
24"Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.
25If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.
26Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.
2"When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything.
3If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with a wife, his wife is to leave with him.
4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.
5"But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’
6his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.
7"When a man sells his daughter as a concubine, she is not to leave as the male slaves do.
8If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her.
9Or if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her according to the customary treatment of daughters.
10If he takes an additional wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.
11And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any payment.
12"Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death.
13But if he did not intend any harm, and yet God allowed it to happen, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.
14If a person schemes and willfully acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death.
18"When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed,
19if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time and provide for his complete recovery.
20"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse, the owner must be punished.
21However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished because he is his owner’s property.
22"When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.
23If there is an injury, then you must give life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.
26"When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye.
27If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.
28"When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent.
29However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death.
30If instead a ransom is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him.
31If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law.
32If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give thirty shekels of silver to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.
33"When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.
35"When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal.
36If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.
Chapter 22
1"When a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must repay five cattle for the ox or four sheep for the sheep. 2If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed. 3But if this happens after sunrise, the householder is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution. If he is unable, he is to be sold because of his theft. 4If what was stolen—whether ox, donkey, or sheep—is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.
7"When a man gives his neighbor valuables or goods to keep, but they are stolen from that person’s house, the thief, if caught, must repay double.
8If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must present himself to the judges to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property.
9In any case of wrongdoing involving an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or anything else lost, and someone claims, ‘That’s mine,’ the case between the two parties is to come before the judges. The one the judges condemn must repay double to his neighbor.
10"When a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to care for, but it dies, is injured, or is stolen, while no one is watching,
11there must be an oath before the Lord between the two of them to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property. Its owner must accept the oath, and the other man does not have to make restitution.
12But if, in fact, the animal was stolen from his custody, he must make restitution to its owner.
13If it was actually torn apart by a wild animal, he is to bring it as evidence; he does not have to make restitution for the torn carcass.
14"When a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not there with it, the man must make full restitution.
15If its owner is there with it, the man does not have to make restitution. If it was rented, the loss is covered by its rental price.
16"If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and he sleeps with her, he must certainly pay the bridal price for her to be his wife.
17If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount in silver equal to the bridal price for virgins.
22"You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
23If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.
24My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
26"If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.
27For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body. What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
29"You must not hold back offerings from your harvest or your vats. Give me the firstborn of your sons.
30Do the same with your cattle and your flock. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to me.
2"You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.
3Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
6"You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.
7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.
8You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.
9You must not oppress a resident alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
10"Sow your land for six years and gather its produce.
11But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
14"Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year.
15Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
17Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.
20"I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.
21Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.
22But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
23For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
24Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.
25Serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.
26No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.
27"I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror and will throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat.
28I will send hornets in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you.
29I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you.
30I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land.
31I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
32You must not make a covenant with them or their gods.
33They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you."
Chapter 24
1Then he said to Moses, "Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. 2Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him."
3Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, "We will do everything that the Lord has commanded."
4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.
5Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
6Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he splattered on the altar.
7He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, "We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded."
9Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders,
10and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.
11God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw him, and they ate and drank.
13So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.
14He told the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them."
15When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it.
16The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud.
17The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.
18Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
New Living Translation
2Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in.
3(Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, 'I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.'
4His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, 'The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.')
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.
6Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, 'I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.'
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the Lord had rescued his people from all their troubles.
9Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10Praise the Lord,' Jethro said, 'for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt!
11I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.'
15Moses replied, 'Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.
16When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.'
17This is not good!' Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
18You’re going to wear yourself out — and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.
19Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.
20Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.
21But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
22They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.
23If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.'
24Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.
25He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
26These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.
Chapter 19
1Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. 2After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.
3Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.
6And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.'
7So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him.
8And all the people responded together, 'We will do everything the Lord has commanded.' So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.' Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10Then the Lord told Moses, 'Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing.
11Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.
12Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.
13No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain. '
14So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.
15He told them, 'Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.'
16On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.
17Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.
19As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.
20The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.
21Then the Lord told Moses, 'Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die.
22Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.'
4You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected — even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
6But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
8Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9You have six days each week for your ordinary work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.
11For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
22And the Lord said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven.
23Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.
24Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me — your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you.
25If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.
26And do not approach my altar by going up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness.
2If you buy a Hebrew slave, he may serve for no more than six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.
3If he was single when he became your slave, he shall leave single. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife must be freed with him.
4If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave and they had sons or daughters, then only the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.
5But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’
6If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.
7When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
8If she does not satisfy her owner, he must allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.
9But if the slave’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave but as a daughter.
10If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy.
11If he fails in any of these three obligations, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
12Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.
13But if it was simply an accident permitted by God, I will appoint a place of refuge where the slayer can run for safety.
14However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.
18Now suppose two men quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, and the injured person does not die but is confined to bed.
19If he is later able to walk outside again, even with a crutch, the assailant will not be punished but must compensate his victim for lost wages and provide for his full recovery.
20If a man beats his male or female slave with a club and the slave dies as a result, the owner must be punished.
21But if the slave recovers within a day or two, then the owner shall not be punished, since the slave is his property.
22Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve.
23But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,
24an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
25a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
26If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
27And if a man knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.
29But suppose the ox had a reputation for goring, and the owner had been informed but failed to keep it under control. If the ox then kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be put to death.
30However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment to compensate for the loss of life. The owner of the ox may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.
31The same regulation applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.
32But if the ox gores a slave, either male or female, the animal’s owner must pay the slave’s owner thirty silver coins, and the ox must be stoned.
33Suppose someone digs or uncovers a pit and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.
34The owner of the pit must pay full compensation to the owner of the animal, but then he gets to keep the dead animal.
35If someone’s ox injures a neighbor’s ox and the injured ox dies, then the two owners must sell the live ox and divide the price equally between them. They must also divide the dead animal.
36But if the ox had a reputation for goring, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, he must pay full compensation — a live ox for the dead one — but he may keep the dead ox.
3But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder. 'A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole. If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft.
4If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.
7Suppose someone leaves money or goods with a neighbor for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house. If the thief is caught, the compensation is double the value of what was stolen.
8But if the thief is not caught, the neighbor must appear before God, who will determine if he stole the property.
10Now suppose someone leaves a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal with a neighbor for safekeeping, but it dies or is injured or is taken away, and no one sees what happened.
11The neighbor must then take an oath in the presence of the Lord. If the Lord confirms that the neighbor did not steal the property, the owner must accept the verdict, and no payment will be required.
12But if the animal was indeed stolen, the guilty person must pay compensation to the owner.
13If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the remains of the carcass must be shown as evidence, and no compensation will be required.
14If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is injured or dies when the owner is absent, the person who borrowed it must pay full compensation.
15But if the owner was present, no compensation is required. And no compensation is required if the animal was rented, for this loss is covered by the rental fee.
16If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sex with her, he must pay the customary bride price and marry her.
17But if her father refuses to let him marry her, the man must still pay him an amount equal to the bride price of a virgin.
22You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.
23If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry.
24My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
25If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.
26If you take your neighbor’s cloak as security for a loan, you must return it before sunset.
27This coat may be the only blanket your neighbor has. How can a person sleep without it? If you do not return it and your neighbor cries out to me for help, then I will hear, for I am merciful.
2You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.
3And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.
4If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner.
5If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
10Plant and harvest your crops for six years,
11but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.
14Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor.
15First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.
16Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. 'Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.
17At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.
20See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you.
21Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion.
22But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.
23For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely.
24You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.
25You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.
26There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.
27I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
28I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.
29But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you.
30I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.
31And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
32Make no treaties with them or their gods.
33They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.'
Chapter 24
1Then the Lord instructed Moses: 'Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.'
4Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
6Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
9Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain.
10There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.
11And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!
12Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.'
13So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God.
15Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it.
16And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud.
17To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire.
18Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
English Standard Version
Chapter 18
1Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses ' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Now Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses ' wife, after he had sent her home, 3along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"), 4and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh"). 5Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6And when he sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her," 7Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel 's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people."
12And Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses ' father-in-law before God.
13The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
14When Moses ' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
16when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws."
17Moses ' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
18You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
19Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,
20and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
21Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
23If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."
24So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
27Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.
Chapter 19
1On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles ' wings and brought you to myself. 5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
7So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
8All the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
9And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord,
10the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
11and 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.
12And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
15And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
16On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
20The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.
22Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them."
23And Moses said to the Lord, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’"
24And the Lord said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them."
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Chapter 20
1And God spoke all these words, saying,
4"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
6but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
8"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
18Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
19and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
20Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin."
21The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
22And the Lord said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.
23You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
24An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.
25If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.
26And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
Chapter 21
1"Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master 's, and he shall go out alone. 5But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.
7"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
8If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.
9If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter.
10If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
11And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
12"Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
13But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
14But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
16"Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
18"When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed,
19then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.
20"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.
21But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22"When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman 's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26"When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye.
27If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.
28"When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.
29But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
31If it gores a man 's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule.
32If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33"When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.
35"When one man 's ox butts another 's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share.
36Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.
Chapter 22
1"If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, 3but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
7"If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man 's house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.
8If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor 's property.
9For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
10"If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it,
11an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor 's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution.
12But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.
13If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.
14"If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution.
15If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.
16"If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.
17If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.
21"You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
22You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
23If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,
24and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25"If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
26If ever you take your neighbor 's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down,
27for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
29"You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.
30You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
Chapter 23
1"You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4"If you meet your enemy 's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.
5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
6"You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.
7Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.
8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
10"For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield,
11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
14"Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed.
16You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.
17Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
20"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
21Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
23"When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,
24you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
25You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
26None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.
29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you.
30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.
31And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."
Chapter 24
1Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him."
3Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do."
4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."
8And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words."
9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,
10and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.
11And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
12The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."
13So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
14And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them."
15Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
18Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
New International Version
2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her
3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land";
4and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God.
6Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10He said, "Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions."
17Moses’ father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.
18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
21But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Chapter 19
1On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:
4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.
8The people all responded together, "We will do everything the Lord has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
10And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
11and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death.
13They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain."
14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."
16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up
21and the Lord said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
22Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them."
Chapter 20
1And God spoke all these words:
4"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
8"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance
19and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:
23Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24" ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
25If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
26And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
2"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.
3If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.
4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5"But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’
6then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do.
8If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
9If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
10If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.
11If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
12"Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.
13However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.
14But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
18"If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed,
19the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
20"Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result,
21but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
22"If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.
23But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26"An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye.
27And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28"If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.
29If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.
30However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.
31This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter.
32If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33"If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35"If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally.
36However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.
3but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. "Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.
4If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.
7"If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.
8But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.
9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to the other.
10"If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,
11the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.
12But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be made to the owner.
13If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.
14"If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution.
15But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.
16"If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
17If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
22"Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.
23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
24My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.
26If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset,
27because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
29"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. "You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
30Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.
2"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
3and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4"If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.
5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6"Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
10"For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,
11but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
20"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
21Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
22If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
23My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
24Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.
25Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,
26and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
27"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.
28I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
29But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.
30Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
31"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you.
32Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
33Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."
Chapter 24
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."
4Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
6Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."
9Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up
10and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.
11But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
13Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.
14He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."
15When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
16and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.
17To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
18Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
New King James Version
Chapter 18
1And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.
8And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.
9Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.
14So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”
15And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
17So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good.
18Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.
19Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.
20And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.
21Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
22And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.
23If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”
24So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.
3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
7So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
10Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
11And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.
15And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
16Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought th e people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.
20Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.
22Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.”
24Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.”
25So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
Chapter 20
1And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord 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 bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
21So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
24An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
25And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
26Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
Chapter 21
1“Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them: 2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
7“And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.
8If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
9And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters.
10If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights.
11And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
13However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
18“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,
19if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
20“And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
21Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.
22“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.
27And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.
28“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted.
29But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.
30If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him.
31Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
32If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master 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, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,
34the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
35“If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide.
36Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.
Chapter 22
1“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 2If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. 3If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.
7“If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.
8If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.
9“For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
10If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it,
11then an oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.
12But if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it.
13If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.
14“And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good.
15If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.
16“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.
17If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.
22“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
23If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
24and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
26If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down.
27For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
29“You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.
30Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
Chapter 23
1“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
4“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.
7Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.
8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
10“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce,
11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
14“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);
16and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
18“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning.
19The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
20“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.
22But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
24You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25“So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
26No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27“I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.
31And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Chapter 24
1Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
9Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.
11But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
13So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”
15Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
16Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
