Exodus 19–20

19TH CHAPTER

Israel at Mount Sinai

¹Two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sinai. ²Israel had moved from Rephidim and had come into the desert of Sinai. They had set up camp there in front of the mountain. 

³Then Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you must say to the descendants of Jacob. Tell the Israelites, ⁴‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to my mountain. ⁵If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise,^athen out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine. ⁶You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words you must speak to the Israelites.” 

⁷So Moses went down and called for the leaders of the people. He repeated to them all the words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸All the people answered together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord. 

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am coming to you in a storm cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always believe you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said. 

¹⁰So the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people, and tell them they have two days to get ready. They must set themselves apart as holy. Have them wash their clothes ¹¹and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. ¹²Mark off a boundary around the mountain for the people, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even touch it. Those who touch the mountain must be put to death. ¹³No one should touch them. They must be stoned or shot with arrows. No matter whether it’s an animal or a person, it must not live. The people may go up the mountain ⸤only⸥ when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast.” 

¹⁴After Moses went down the mountain to the people, he had them get ready, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵Then Moses said to the people, “Be ready two days from now. Don’t disqualify yourselves by having sexual intercourse.” 

¹⁶On the morning of the second day, there was thunder and lightning with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn ⸤was heard⸥. All the people in the camp shook with fear. ¹⁷Then Moses led the people out of 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 come down on it in fire. Smoke rose from the mountain like the smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹As the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking, and the voice of God answered him. 

²⁰The Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up. ²¹The Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to force their way through ⸤the boundary⸥ to see the Lord, or many of them will die. ²²Even the priests who are allowed to come near the Lord must set themselves apart as holy, or the Lord will violently kill them.” 

²³Moses said to the Lord, “The people can’t come up Mount Sinai, because you warned us yourself to mark off a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.” 

²⁴The Lord said to him, “Go down, and bring Aaron back with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through the boundary to come up to the Lord, or he will violently kill them.” 

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them. 

20TH CHAPTER

The Ten Commandments—Deuteronomy 5:6–21

¹Then God spoke all these words: 

²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. 

³“Never have any other god. ⁴Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. ⁵Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. ⁶But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments. 

⁷“Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished. 

⁸“Remember the day of rest by observing it as a holy day. ⁹You have six days to do all your work. ¹⁰The seventh day is the day of rest—a holy day dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work ⸤on that day⸥. ¹¹In six days the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn’t work on the seventh day. That’s why the Lord blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy. 

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 

¹³“Never murder. 

¹⁴“Never commit adultery. 

¹⁵“Never steal. 

¹⁶“Never lie when you testify about your neighbor. 

¹⁷“Never desire to take your neighbor’s household away from him. 

“Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.” 

The People’s Reaction

¹⁸All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram’s horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance. ¹⁹Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die!” 

²⁰Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! God has come only to test you, so that you will be in awe of him and won’t sin.” 

²¹The people kept their distance while Moses went closer to the dark cloud where God was. 

General Rules for Worship

²²The Lord said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the Israelites: You’ve seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³Never make any gods of silver or gold for yourselves. Never worship them. 

²⁴“You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵If you build an altar for me made out of stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you will make it unacceptable to me. ²⁶Never use stairs to go up to my altar. Otherwise, people will be able to see under your clothes.”