Exodus 19:12–22

^12*Mark a boundary round the mountain that the people must not cross, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even get near it. If anyone sets foot on it, he is to be put to death; ^13*he must either be stoned or shot with arrows, without anyone touching him. This applies to both men and animals; they must be put to death. But when the trumpet is blown, then the people are to go up to the mountain.”

¹⁴Then Moses came down the mountain and told the people to get ready for worship. So they washed their clothes, ¹⁵and Moses said to them, “Be ready by the day after tomorrow and don’t have sexual intercourse in the meantime.”

^16*On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud appeared on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled with fear. ^17*Moses led them out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ^18*The whole of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord had come down on it in fire. The smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and all the people trembled violently. ¹⁹The sound of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. ²⁰The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses went up ²¹and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to cross the boundary to come and look at me; if they do, many of them will die. ²²Even the priests who come near me must purify themselves, or I will punish them.”