Exodus 22:12–36:38

12 But if indeed it was stolen from him, he will make restitution to its owner. 13 If indeed it was torn to pieces, he will bring it as evidence—the mangled carcass; he will not make restitution.

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

Regulations Regarding Various Offences

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

18 “ ‘You will not let a witch live.

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

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

Regulations Regarding Foreigners and the Poor

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

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

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

Regulations Regarding Tribute and Holiness

28 “ ‘You will not curse God,j and you will not curse a leader among your people.

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

Regulations Regarding Justice

23 “ ‘You will not ⌊spread⌋a a false report. Do not lift your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. 2 You will not ⌊follow⌋b a majorityc for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majorityd to pervert justice. 3 You will not be partial to a powerless persone in his legal dispute.

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

6 “ ‘You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute. 7 You will stay far from a ⌊false charge⌋,g and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, because I will not declare the wicked righteous.h 8 And you will not take a bribe, because the bribe makes the sighted blind and ruins the words of the righteous. 9 And you will not oppress an alien; you yourselves know the feelingsi of the alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Regulations Regarding Work and Festivals

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

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

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

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

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

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

“ ‘You will not boil a young goatm in its mother’s milk.

Reasons for Loyal Obedience

20 “ ‘Look, I am about to send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him. 22 But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amoritesn and the Hittiteso and the Perizzitesp and the Canaanitesq and the Hivitesr and the Jebusites,s I will wipe them out.

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

27 “ ‘I will release my terror before you, and I will throw into confusion all the people against whom you come, and I will ⌊make all your enemies turn their back to you⌋.u 28 And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivites,v the Canaanites,w and the Hittitesx from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become a desolation and ⌊the wild animals⌋y multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you are fruitful and take possession of the land.

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

Confirming the Covenant

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

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

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

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

The Start of Forty Days and Nights on Mount Sinai

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

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

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

Instruction to Collect Materials

25 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the ⌊Israelites⌋,a and let them bring to me a contribution. You will receive my contribution from every man whose heart prompts him. 3 And this is the contribution that you will receive from them—gold and silver and bronze, 4 blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine linen and goat hair, 5 and red-dyed ram skins, and fine …