Exodus 19–21

1In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

2After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:

4‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.

6And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.

9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

11and 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.

12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

14When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

15“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”

16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

19And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

20The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up,

21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.

22Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”

23But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

24And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”

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

1And 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.

3You shall have no other gods before Me.

4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

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

13You shall not murder.

14You shall not commit adultery.

15You shall not steal.

16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.

19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”

20“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”

21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

22Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

24You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

25Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.

26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:

2If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

3If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.

4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

5But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’

6then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.

7And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do.

8If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.

9And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.

10If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.

11If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.

13If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

14But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

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

16Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.

17Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.

18If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,

19then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.

20If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.

21However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.

22If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.

23But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—

24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.

26If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.

27And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.

28If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

29But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.

30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.

31If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.

32If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.

33If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

34the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.

35If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide the dead animal.

36But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.