Exodus 19–24

The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai

¹⁹On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ²They journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^{* 3}Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:^{* 4}‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.^{* 5}Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,^{* 6}but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”^*

⁷So Moses went, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸The people all answered as one, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.^{* 9}Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”

The People Consecrated

When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord,^{* 10}the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes^{* 11}and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.^{* 12}You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death.^{* 13}No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;ⁱ whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.” ¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.^{* 17}Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Now all of Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently.^{* 19}As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder.^{* 20}When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will perish.^{* 22}Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”^{* 23}Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.’ ”^{* 24}The Lord said to him, “Go down, then come back up and bring Aaron with you, but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

²⁰Then God spoke all these words,^*

²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;^{* 3}you shall have no other gods before^j me.^*

⁴“You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.^{* 5}You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me^{* 6}but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation^k of those who love me and keep my commandments.^*

⁷“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.^*

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.^{* 9}Six days you shall labor and do all your work.^{* 10}But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.^*

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.^*

¹³“You shall not murder.^l*

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.^*

¹⁵“You shall not steal.^*

¹⁶“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.^*

¹⁷“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^*

¹⁸When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid^m and trembled and stood at a distance^{* 19}and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”^{* 20}Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”^{* 21}Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.^*

The Law concerning the Altar

²²The Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven.^{* 23}You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.^{* 24}You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.^{* 25}But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones, for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it.^{* 26}You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.

The Law concerning Slaves

²¹“These are the ordinances that you shall set before them:^*

²“When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.^{* 3}If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. ⁵But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,’ ⁶then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.^*

⁷“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.^{* 8}If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. ⁹If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{n* 11}And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.

The Law concerning Violence

¹²“Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death.^{* 13}If it was not premeditated but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.^{* 14}But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution.^*

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

¹⁶“Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.^*

¹⁷“Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death.^*

¹⁸“When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed ¹⁹but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time and to arrange for full recovery.

²⁰“When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. ²¹But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment, for the slave is the owner’s property.^*

²²“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. ²³If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,^{* 24}eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,^{* 25}burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶“When a slaveowner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye. ²⁷If the owner knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave shall be let go, a free person, to compensate for the tooth.

Laws concerning Property

²⁸“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable.^{* 29}If the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past and its owner has been warned but did not…