Exodus 19:10–22

¹⁰Yahweh also said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^aset them apart as holy today and tomorrow, and let them ^bwash their garments;

¹¹and let them be ready for the third day, for on ^athe third day Yahweh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹²“And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘¹Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; ^awhoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

¹³‘No hand shall touch him, but ^ahe shall surely be stoned or surely ¹shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to ^bthe mountain.”

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart as holy, and they washed their garments.

¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

^16aSo it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were ¹thunder and lightning flashes and a ²thick cloud upon 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 ¹foot of the mountain.

Yahweh Descends on Mount Sinai

^18aNow Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it ^bin fire; and its smoke ascended like ^cthe smoke of a furnace, and ^dthe whole mountain trembled violently.

¹⁹And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder; then Moses spoke and ^aGod answered him with ¹thunder.

^20aAnd Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go down, ¹warn the people, lest ^athey break through to Yahweh to see, and many of them ²perish.

²²“Also let the ^apriests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them.”