Exodus 19–24

Israel at Sinai

19In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai. ²After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain. ^e

³Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called ^fto 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 Me. ^g5Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, ^hyou will be My own possession ⁱout of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, ⁶and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ ^jThese 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.” ^kSo 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, ^lso that the people will hear when I speak ^mwith you and will always believe you.” Then 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 ⁿ¹¹and 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. ^o12Put 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 will be put to death. ^p13No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows. No animal or man will live. 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 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. ^qIts smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, ^rand the whole mountain shook violently. ^s19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder. ^t

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. ^u22Even the priests who come near the Lord must purify themselves or the Lord will break out in anger against them.” ^v

²³But Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since You warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.” 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.

The Ten Commandments

20Then God spoke all these words:

²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ^w

³Do not have other gods besides Me. ^x

⁴Do not make an idol ^yfor yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. ⁵You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ^zpunishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations ^aof those who hate Me, ⁶but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands. ^b

⁷Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name. ^c

⁸Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: ^d9You are to labor six days and do all your work, ^e10but 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 slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. ^f11For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

¹²Honor your father and your mother ^gso that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³Do not murder. ^h

¹⁴Do not commit adultery. ⁱ

¹⁵Do not steal. ^j

¹⁶Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. ^k

¹⁷Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. ^l

The People’s Reaction

¹⁸All the people witnessed ^mthe thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it ⁿthey trembled and stood at a distance. ^o19“You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.” ^p

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 ^qsin.” ^r21And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. ^s

Moses Receives Additional Laws

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. ^t23You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves. ^uv

²⁴“You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered. ^w25If you make a stone altar for Me, you must not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it. ^x26You must not go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

21“These are the ordinances that you must set before them:

Laws about Slaves

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 ^ywithout paying anything. ^z3If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with ^aa 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,’ ^b6his master is to bring him to the judges ^cand then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master must pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

⁷“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, ^dshe is not to leave as the male slaves do. ^e8If 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. ^f11And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any exchange of money. ^g

Laws about Personal Injury

¹²“Whoever strikes a person so that he dies must be put to death. ^h13But if he didn’t intend any harm, ⁱand yet God caused it to happen by his hand, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee. ^j14If a person schemes and willfully ^kacts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from My altar to be put to death. ^l

¹⁵“Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession. ^m

¹⁷“Whoever curses his father or his mother must be put to death. ⁿ

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 ^oand 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, ^pthe owner must be punished. ^q21However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished ^rbecause he is his owner’s property. ^st

²²“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely ^ubut there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands ^vfrom 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, ^whand 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 ^xgores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, ^yand 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…