Exodus 9; Exodus 10; Exodus 11; Exodus 12; Exodus 13; Exodus 14; Exodus 15; Exodus 16; Exodus 17; Exodus 18; Exodus 19; Exodus 20; Exodus 21; Exodus 22; Exodus 23; Exodus 24

Exodus 9

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, This is what the LORD, the Hebrews' God, says: Let my people go so that they can worship me.

2 If you refuse to let them go and you continue to hold them back,

3 the LORD will send a very deadly disease on your livestock in the field: on horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and flocks.

4 But the LORD will distinguish Israel's livestock from Egypt's livestock so that not one that belongs to the Israelites will die."

5 The LORD set a time and said, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land."

6 And the next day the LORD did it. All of the Egyptian livestock died, but not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died.

7 Pharaoh asked around and found out that not one of Israel's livestock had died. But Pharaoh was stubborn, and he wouldn't let the people go.

8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace and have Moses throw it up in the air in front of Pharaoh.

9 The ashes will turn to soot over the whole land of Egypt. It will cause skin sores that will break out in blisters on people and animals in the whole land of Egypt."

10 So they took ashes from the furnace, and they stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ash up in the air, and it caused skin sores and blisters to break out on people and animals.

11 The religious experts couldn't stand up to Moses because of the skin sores, because there were skin sores on the religious experts as well as on all the Egyptians.

12 But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn, and Pharaoh wouldn't listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh. Say to him, This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go so that they can worship me.

14 This time I'm going to send all my plagues on you, your officials, and your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in the whole world.

15 By now I could have used my power to strike you and your people with a deadly disease so that you would have disappeared from the earth.

16 But I've left you standing for this reason: in order to show you my power and in order to make my name known in the whole world.

17 You are still abusing your power against my people, and you refuse to let them go.

18 Tomorrow at this time I'll cause the heaviest hail to fall on Egypt that has ever fallen from the day Egypt was founded until now.

19 So bring under shelter your livestock and all that belongs to you that is out in the open. Every person or animal that is out in the open field and isn't brought inside will die when the hail rains down on them."

20 Some of Pharaoh's officials who took the LORD's word seriously rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside for shelter.

21 Others who didn't take the LORD's word to heart left their servants and livestock out in the open field.

22 The LORD said to Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall on the whole land of Egypt, on people and animals and all the grain in the fields in the land of Egypt."

23 Then Moses raised his shepherd's rod toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. The LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

24 The hail and the lightning flashing in the middle of the hail were so severe that there had been nothing like it in the entire land of Egypt since it first became a nation.

25 The hail beat down everything that was in the open field throughout the entire land of Egypt, both people and animals. The hail also beat down all the grain in the fields, and it shattered every tree out in the field.

26 The only place where hail didn't fall was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived.

27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I've sinned. The LORD is right, and I and my people are wrong."

28 "Pray to the LORD! Enough of God's thunder and hail! I'm going to let you go. You don't need to stay here any longer."

29 Moses said to him, "As soon as I've left the city, I'll spread out my hands to the LORD. Then the thunder and the hail will stop and won't return so that you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

30 But I know that you and your officials still don't take the LORD God seriously." (

31 Now the flax and the barley were destroyed, because the barley had ears of grain and the flax had buds.

32 But both durum and spelt wheat weren't ruined, because they hadn't come up.)

33 Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth.

34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. Pharaoh and his officials became stubborn.

35 Because of his stubbornness, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had told Moses.

Exodus 10

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. I've made him and his officials stubborn so that I can show them my signs

2 and so that you can tell your children and grandchildren how I overpowered the Egyptians with the signs I did among them. You will know that I am the LORD."

3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the Hebrews' God, says: How long will you refuse to respect me? Let my people go so that they can worship me.

4 Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, I'm going to bring locusts into your country tomorrow.

5 They will cover the landscape so that you won't be able to see the ground. They will eat the last bit of vegetation that was left after the hail. They will eat all your trees growing in the fields.

6 The locusts will fill your houses and all your officials' houses and all the Egyptians' houses. Your parents and even your grandparents have never seen anything like it during their entire lifetimes in this fertile land." Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

7 Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man trap us in a corner like this? Let the people go so that they can worship the LORD their God. Don't you get it? Egypt is being destroyed!"

8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go! Worship the LORD your God! But who exactly is going with you?"

9 Moses said, "We'll go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we all must observe the LORD's festival."

10 Pharaoh said to them, "Yes, the LORD will be with you, all right, especially if I let your children go with you! Obviously, you are plotting some evil scheme.

11 No way! Only your men can go and worship the LORD, because that's what you asked for." Then Pharaoh had them chased out of his presence.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses: "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that the locusts will swarm over the land of Egypt and eat all of the land's grain and everything that the hail left."

13 So Moses stretched out his shepherd's rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow over the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had carried in the locusts.

14 The locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt and settled on the whole country. Such a huge swarming of locusts had never happened before and would never happen ever again.

15 They covered the whole landscape so that the land turned black with them. They ate all of the land's grain and all of the orchards' fruit that the hail had left. Nothing green was left in any orchard or in any grain field in the whole land of Egypt.

16 Pharaoh called urgently for Moses and Aaron and said, "I've sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

17 Please forgive my sin this time. Pray to the LORD your God just to take this deathly disaster away from me."

18 So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.

19 The LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind that lifted the locusts and drove them into the Reed Sea. Not a single locust was left in the whole country of Egypt.

20 But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wouldn't let the Israelites go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over the land of Egypt, a darkness that you can feel."

22 So Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and an intense darkness fell on the whole land of Egypt for three days.

23 People couldn't see each other, and they couldn't go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites all had light where they lived.

24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go! Worship the LORD! Only your flocks and herds need to stay behind. Even your children can go with you."

25 But Moses said, "You need to let us have sacrifices and entirely burned offerings to present to the LORD our God.

26 So our livestock must go with us. Not one animal can be left behind. We'll need some of them for worshipping the LORD our God. We won't know which to use to worship the LORD until we get there."

27 But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wasn't willing to let them go.

28 Pharaoh said to him, "Get out of here! Make sure you never see my face again, because the next time you see my face you will die."

29 Moses said, "You've said it! I'll never see your face again!"

Exodus 11

1 The LORD said to Moses, "I'll bring one more disaster on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he'll let you go from here. In fact, when he lets you go, he'll eagerly chase you out of here.

2 Tell every man to ask his neighbor and every woman to ask her neighbor for all their silver and gold jewelry."

3 The LORD made sure that the Egyptians were kind to the Hebrew people. In addition, Pharaoh's officials and the Egyptian people even came to honor Moses as a great and important man in the land.

4 Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: At midnight I'll go throughout Egypt.

5 Every oldest child in the land of Egypt will die, from the oldest child of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the oldest child of the servant woman by the millstones, and all the first offspring of the animals.

6 Then a terrible cry of agony will echo through the whole land of Egypt unlike any heard before or that ever will be again.

7 But as for the Israelites, not even a dog will growl at them, at the people, or at their animals. By this, you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

8 Then all your officials will come down to me, bow to me, and say, ‘Get out, you and all your followers!' After that I'll leave." Then Moses, furious, left Pharaoh.

9 The LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh won't listen to you so that I can perform even more amazing acts in the land of Egypt."

10 Now Moses and Aaron did all these amazing acts in front of Pharaoh, but the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn so that he didn't let the Israelites go from his land.

Exodus 12

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

2 “This month will be the first month; it will be the first month of the year for you.

3 Tell the whole Israelite community: On the tenth day of this month they must take a lamb for each household, a lamb per house.

4 If a household is too small for a lamb, it should share one with a neighbor nearby. You should divide the lamb in proportion to the number of people who will be eating it.

5 Your lamb should be a flawless year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 You should keep close watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month. At twilight on that day, the whole assembled Israelite community should slaughter their lambs.

7 They should take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the beam over the door of the houses in which they are eating.

8 That same night they should eat the meat roasted over the fire. They should eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

9 Don't eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over fire with its head, legs, and internal organs.

10 Don't let any of it remain until morning, and burn any of it left over in the morning.

11 This is how you should eat it. You should be dressed, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You should eat the meal in a hurry. It is the Passover of the LORD.

12 I'll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I'll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I'll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

13 The blood will be your sign on the houses where you live. Whenever I see the blood, I'll pass over you. No plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 "This day will be a day of remembering for you. You will observe it as a festival to the LORD. You will observe it in every generation as a regulation for all time.

15 You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses because anyone who eats leavened bread anytime during those seven days will be cut off from Israel.

16 The first day and the seventh day will be a holy occasion for you. No work at all should be done on those days, except for preparing the food that everyone is going to eat. That is the only work you may do.

17 You should observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because on this precise day I brought you out of the land of Egypt in military formation. You should observe this day in every generation as a regulation for all time.

18 In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you should eat unleavened bread.

19 For seven days no yeast should be found in your houses because whoever eats leavened bread will be cut off from the Israelite community, whether the person is an immigrant or a native of the land.

20 You should not eat anything made with yeast in all your settlements. You should eat only unleavened bread."

21 Then Moses called together all of Israel's elders and said to them, "Go pick out one of the flock for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb.

22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood that is in the bowl, and touch the beam above the door and the two doorposts with the blood in the bowl. None of you should go out the door of your house until morning.

23 When the LORD comes by to strike down the Egyptians and sees the blood on the beam above the door and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door. He won't let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you down.

24 You should observe this ritual as a regulation for all time for you and your children.

25 When you enter the land that the LORD has promised to give you, be sure that you observe this ritual.

26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?'

27 you will say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, for the LORD passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. When he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.'" The people then bowed down and worshipped.

28 The Israelites went and did exactly what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron to do.

29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the first offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest child of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the oldest child of the prisoner in jail, and all the first offspring of the animals.

30 When Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the Egyptians got up that night, a terrible cry of agony rang out across Egypt because every house had someone in it who had died.

31 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron that night and said, "Get up! Get away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go! Worship the LORD, as you said!

32 You can even take your flocks and herds, as you asked. Just go! And bring a blessing on me as well!"

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the land because they thought, We'll all be dead.

34 So the people picked up their bread dough before the yeast made it rise, with their bread pans wrapped in their robes on their shoulders.

35 The Israelites did as Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for their silver and gold jewelry as well as their clothing.

36 The LORD made sure that the Egyptians were kind to the people so that they let them have whatever they asked for. And so they robbed the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. They numbered about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

38 A diverse crowd also went up with them along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds.

39 They baked unleavened cakes from the dough they had brought out of Egypt. The dough didn't rise because they were driven out of Egypt and they couldn't wait. In fact, they didn't have time to prepare any food for themselves.

40 The length of time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.

41 At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that precise day, all the LORD's people in military formation left the land of Egypt.

42 For the LORD, that was a night of intent watching, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For all Israelites in every generation, this same night is a time of intent watching to honor the LORD.

43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: This is the regulation for the Passover. No foreigner may eat it.

44 However, any slave who has been bought may eat it after he's been circumcised.

45 No temporary foreign resident or day laborer may eat it.

46 It should be eaten in one house. You shouldn't take any of the meat outside the house, and you shouldn't break the bones.

47 The whole Israelite community should observe it.

48 If an immigrant who lives with you wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, then he and all his males should be circumcised. Then he may join in observing it. He should be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

49 There will be one Instruction for the native and for the immigrant who lives with you.

50 All the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

51 On that precise day, the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.

Exodus 13

1 The LORD said to Moses:

2 Dedicate to me all your oldest children. Each first offspring from any Israelite womb belongs to me, whether human or animal.

3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day which is the day that you came out of Egypt, out of the place you were slaves, because the LORD acted with power to bring you out of there. No leavened bread may be eaten.

4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going to leave.

5 The LORD will bring you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. It is the land that the LORD promised your ancestors to give to you, a land full of milk and honey. You should perform this ritual in this month.

6 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. The seventh day is a festival to the LORD.

7 Only unleavened bread should be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread and no yeast should be seen among you in your whole country.

8 You should explain to your child on that day, ‘It's because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

9 “It will be a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead so that you will often discuss the LORD's Instruction, for the LORD brought you out of Egypt with great power.

10 So you should follow this regulation at its appointed time every year.

11 "When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you as promised to you and your ancestors,

12 you should set aside for the LORD whatever comes out of the womb first. All of the first males born to your animal belong to the LORD.

13 But every first male donkey you should ransom with a sheep. If you don't ransom it, you must break its neck. You should ransom every oldest male among your children.

14 When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?' you should answer, ‘The LORD brought us with great power out of Egypt, out of the place we were slaves.

15 When Pharaoh refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the oldest offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest sons to the oldest male animals. That is why I offer to the LORD as a sacrifice every male that first comes out of the womb. But I ransom my oldest sons.'

16 It will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with great power."

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn't lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shorter route. God thought, If the people have to fight and face war, they will run back to Egypt.

18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the Reed Sea desert. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle.

19 Moses took with him Joseph's bones just as Joseph had made Israel's sons promise when he said to them, "When God takes care of you, you must carry my bones out of here with you."

20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

21 The LORD went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night.

22 The column of cloud during the day and the column of lightning at night never left its place in front of the people.

Exodus 14

1 Then the LORD said to Moses:

2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and set up camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea in front of Baal-zephon. You should set up camp in front of it by the sea.

3 Pharaoh will think to himself, The Israelites are lost and confused in the land. The desert has trapped them.

4 I'll make Pharaoh stubborn, and he'll chase them. I'll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD. And they did exactly that.

5 When Egypt's king was told that the people had run away, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people. They said, "What have we done, letting Israel go free from their slavery to us?"

6 So he sent for his chariot and took his army with him.

7 He took six hundred elite chariots and all of Egypt's other chariots with captains on all of them.

8 The LORD made Pharaoh, Egypt's king, stubborn, and he chased the Israelites, who were leaving confidently.

9 The Egyptians, including all of Pharaoh's horse-drawn chariots, his cavalry, and his army, chased them and caught up with them as they were camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth in front of Baal-zephon.

10 As Pharaoh drew closer, the Israelites looked back and saw the Egyptians marching toward them. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

11 They said to Moses, "Weren't there enough graves in Egypt that you took us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt like this?

12 Didn't we tell you the same thing in Egypt? ‘Leave us alone! Let us work for the Egyptians!' It would have been better for us to work for the Egyptians than to die in the desert."

13 But Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again.

14 The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still."

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to get moving.

16 As for you, lift your shepherd's rod, stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two so that the Israelites can go into the sea on dry ground.

17 But me, I'll make the Egyptians stubborn so that they will go in after them, and I'll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, all his army, his chariots, and his cavalry.

18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry."

19 God's messenger, who had been in front of Israel's camp, moved and went behind them. The column of cloud moved from the front and took its place behind them.

20 It stood between Egypt's camp and Israel's camp. The cloud remained there, and when darkness fell it lit up the night. They didn't come near each other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two.

22 The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

23 The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry.

24 As morning approached, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic.

25 The LORD jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn't turn easily. The Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites, because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!"

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry."

27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh's entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained.

29 The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

30 The LORD rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

31 Israel saw the amazing power of the LORD against the Egyptians. The people were in awe of the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 15

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for an overflowing victory! Horse and rider he threw into the sea!

2 The LORD is my strength and my power; he has become my salvation. This is my God, whom I will praise, the God of my ancestors, whom I will acclaim.

3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he hurled into the sea; his elite captains were sunk in the Reed Sea.

5 The deep sea covered them; they sank into the deep waters like a stone.

6 Your strong hand, LORD, is dominant in power; your strong hand, LORD, shatters the enemy!

7 With your great surge you overthrow your opponents; you send out your hot anger; it burns them up like straw.

8 With the breath of your nostrils the waters swelled up, the floods surged up in a great wave; the deep waters foamed in the depths of the sea.

9 The enemy said, "I'll pursue, I'll overtake, I'll divide the spoils of war. I'll be overfilled with them. I'll draw my sword; my hand will destroy them."

10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered over them. They sank like lead in the towering waters.

11 Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, foremost in holiness, worthy of highest praise, doing awesome deeds?

12 You raised your strong hand; earth swallowed them up.

13 With your great loyalty you led the people you rescued; with your power you guided them to your sanctuary.

14 The peoples heard, they shook in terror; horror grabbed hold of Philistia's inhabitants.

15 Then Edom's tribal chiefs were terrified; panic grabbed hold of Moab's rulers; all of Canaan's inhabitants melted in fear.

16 Terror and fear came over them; because of your great power, they were as still as a stone until your people, LORD, passed by, until the people you made your own passed by.

17 You brought them in and planted them on your own mountain, the place, LORD, that you made your home, the sanctuary, LORD, that your hand created.

18 The LORD will rule forever and always.

19 When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing.

21 Miriam sang the refrain back to them: Sing to the LORD, for an overflowing victory! Horse and rider he threw into the sea!

22 Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water.

23 When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink Marah's water because it was bitter. That's why it was called Marah.

24 The people complained against Moses, "What will we drink?"

25 Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. The LORD made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them.

26 The LORD said, "If you are careful to obey the LORD your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won't bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the LORD who heals you."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Exodus 16

1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.

2 The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert.

3 The Israelites said to them, "Oh, how we wish that the LORD had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you've brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death."

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I'm going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I'll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction.

5 On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days."

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

7 And in the morning you will see the LORD's glorious presence, because your complaints against the LORD have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?"

8 Moses continued, "The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the LORD heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren't against us but against the LORD."

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the LORD, because he's heard your complaints.'"

10 As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 The LORD spoke to Moses,

12 "I've heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"

13 In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp.

14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground.

15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" They didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.'"

17 The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less.

18 But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat.

19 Moses said to them, "Don't keep any of it until morning."

20 But they didn't listen to Moses. Some kept part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and stank. Moses got angry with them.

21 Every morning they gathered it, as much as each person could eat. But when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

22 On the sixth day the people collected twice as much food as usual, two omers per person. All the chiefs of the community came and told Moses.

23 He said to them, "This is what the LORD has said, ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. But you can set aside and keep all the leftovers until the next morning.'"

24 So they set the leftovers aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. They didn't stink or become infested with worms.

25 The next day Moses said, "Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you won't find it out in the field.

26 Six days you will gather it. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing to gather."

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather bread, but they found nothing.

28 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to obey my commandments and instructions?

29 Look! The LORD has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day he gives you enough food for two days. Each of you should stay where you are and not leave your place on the seventh day."

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers.

32 Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future generations so that they can see the food that I used to feed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

33 Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put one full omer of manna in it. Then set it in the LORD's presence, where it should be kept safe for future generations."

34 Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses, and he put it in front of the covenant document for safekeeping.

35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a livable land. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (

36 An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)

Exodus 17

1 The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the LORD commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

2 The people argued with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the LORD?"

3 But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?"

4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me."

5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel's elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd's rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go.

6 I'll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink." Moses did so while Israel's elders watched.

7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites argued with and tested the LORD, asking, "Is the LORD really with us or not?"

8 Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men for us and go fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I'll stand on top of the hill with the shepherd's rod of God in my hand."

10 So Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel would start winning the battle. Whenever Moses lowered his hand, Amalek would start winning.

12 But Moses' hands grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under Moses so he could sit down on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side of him so that his hands remained steady until sunset.

13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a reminder on a scroll and read it to Joshua: I will completely wipe out the memory of Amalek under the sky."

15 Moses built an altar there and called it, "The LORD is my banner."

16 He said, "The power of the LORD's banner! The LORD is at war with Amalek in every generation."

Exodus 18

1 Jethro, Midian's priest and Moses' father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God's people Israel, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 Moses' father-in-law Jethro took with him Zipporah, Moses' wife whom he had sent away,

3 along with her two sons. One was named Gershom because he said, "I have been an immigrant living in a foreign land."

4 The other was named Eliezer because he said, "The God of my ancestors was my helper who rescued me from Pharaoh's sword."

5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought Moses' sons and wife back to him in the desert where he had set up camp at God's mountain.

6 He sent word to Moses: "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you along with your wife and her two sons."

7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other how they were doing, and then they went into the tent.

8 Moses then told his father-in-law everything that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel's behalf, all the difficulty they had on their journey, and how the LORD had rescued them.

9 Jethro was glad about all the good things that the LORD had done for Israel in saving them from the Egyptians' power.

10 Jethro said, "Bless the LORD who rescued you from the Egyptians' power and from Pharaoh's power, who rescued the people from Egypt's oppressive power.

11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods, because of what happened when the Egyptians plotted against them."

12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought an entirely burned offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all of Israel's elders to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law in God's presence.

13 The next day Moses sat as a judge for the people, while the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What's this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people are standing around you from morning until evening?"

15 Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

16 When a conflict arises between them, they come to me and I judge between the two of them. I also teach them God's regulations and instructions."

17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing isn't good.

18 You will end up totally wearing yourself out, both you and these people who are with you. The work is too difficult for you. You can't do it alone.

19 Now listen to me and let me give you some advice. And may God be with you! Your role should be to represent the people before God. You should bring their disputes before God yourself.

20 Explain the regulations and instructions to them. Let them know the way they are supposed to go and the things they are supposed to do.

21 But you should also look among all the people for capable persons who respect God. They should be trustworthy and not corrupt. Set these persons over the people as officers of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

22 Let them sit as judges for the people at all times. They should bring every major dispute to you, but they should decide all of the minor cases themselves. This will be much easier for you, and they will share your load.

23 If you do this and God directs you, then you will be able to endure. And all these people will be able to go back to their homes much happier."

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law's suggestions and did everything that he had said.

25 Moses chose capable persons from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people, as officers over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

26 They acted as judges for the people at all times. They would refer the hard cases to Moses, but all of the minor cases they decided themselves.

27 Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own country.

Exodus 19

1 On exactly the third-month anniversary of the Israelites' leaving the land of Egypt, they came into the Sinai desert.

2 They traveled from Rephidim, came into the Sinai desert, and set up camp there. Israel camped there in front of the mountain

3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him from the mountain, "This is what you should say to Jacob's household and declare to the Israelites:

4 You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles' wings and brought you to me.

5 So now, if you faithfully obey me and stay true to my covenant, you will be my most precious possession out of all the peoples, since the whole earth belongs to me.

6 You will be a kingdom of priests for me and a holy nation. These are the words you should say to the Israelites."

7 So Moses came down, called together the people's elders, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

8 The people all responded with one voice: "Everything that the LORD has said we will do." Moses reported to the LORD what the people said.

9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I'm about to come to you in a thick cloud in order that the people will hear me talking with you so that they will always trust you." Moses told the LORD what the people said,

10 and the LORD said to Moses: "Go to the people and take today and tomorrow to make them holy. Have them wash their clothes.

11 Be ready for the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai for all the people to see.

12 Set up a fence for the people all around and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch any part of it.' Anyone who even touches the mountain must be put to death.

13 No one should touch anyone who has touched it, or they must be either stoned to death or shot with arrows. Whether an animal or a human being, they must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram's horn sounds may they go up on the mountain."

14 So Moses went down the mountain to the people. He made sure the people were holy and that they washed their clothes.

15 He told the men, "Prepare yourselves for three days. Don't go near a woman."

16 When morning dawned on the third day, there was thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast of a horn. All the people in the camp shook with fear.

17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain.

18 Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD had come down on it with lightning. The smoke went up like the smoke of a hot furnace, while the whole mountain shook violently.

19 The blasts of the horn grew louder and louder. Moses would speak, and God would answer him with thunder.

20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. The LORD called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 The LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through to try to see the LORD, or many of them will fall dead.

22 Even the priests who come near to the LORD must keep themselves holy, or the LORD will break loose against them."

23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people aren't allowed to come up on Mount Sinai because you warned us and said, ‘Set up a fence around the mountain to keep it holy.'"

24 The LORD said to him, "Go down, and bring Aaron back up with you. But the priests and the people must not break through and come up to the LORD. Otherwise, the LORD will break loose against them."

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

Exodus 20

1 Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 You must have no other gods before me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

5 Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the LORD your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents' sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.

6 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 Do not use the LORD your God's name as if it were of no significance; the LORD won't forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.

9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks,

10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you.

11 Because the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13 Do not kill.

14 Do not commit adultery.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

17 Do not desire your neighbor's house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance.

19 They said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we'll listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we'll die."

20 Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don't sin."

21 The people stood at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness in which God was present.

22 The LORD said to Moses: "Say this to the Israelites: You saw for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven.

23 Don't make alongside me gods of silver or gold for yourselves.

24 Make for me an altar from fertile soil on which to sacrifice your entirely burned offerings, your well-being sacrifices, your sheep, and your oxen. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I make sure my name is remembered.

25 But if you do make for me an altar from stones, don't build it with chiseled stone since using your chisel on the stone will make it impure.

26 Don't climb onto my altar using steps: then your genitals won't be exposed by doing so."

Exodus 21

1 These are the case laws that you should set before them:

2 When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment.

3 If he came in single, he will leave single. If he came in married, then his wife will leave with him.

4 If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He will leave single.

5 However, if the slave clearly states, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I don't want to go free,"

6 then his master will bring him before God. He will bring him to the door or the doorpost. There his master will pierce his ear with a pointed tool, and he will serve him as his slave for life.

7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shouldn't be set free in the same way as male slaves are set free.

8 If she doesn't please her master who chose her for himself, then her master must let her be bought back by her family. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people since he has treated her unfairly.

9 If he assigns her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter.

10 If he takes another woman for himself, he may not reduce her food, clothing, or marital rights.

11 If he doesn't do these three things for her, she will go free without any payment, for no money.

12 Anyone who hits and kills someone should be put to death.

13 If the killing wasn't on purpose but an accident allowed by God, then I will designate a place to which the killer can run away.

14 But if someone plots and kills another person on purpose, you should remove the killer from my altar and put him to death.

15 Anyone who violently hits their father or mother should be put to death.

16 Anyone who kidnaps a person, whether they have been sold or are still being held, should be put to death.

17 Anyone who curses their father or mother should be put to death.

18 When two people are fighting and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist so that he is in bed for a while but doesn't die—

19 if he recovers and is able to walk around outside with a cane, then the one who hit him shouldn't be punished, except to pay for the loss of time from work and to pay for his full recovery.

20 When a slave owner hits a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner should be punished.

21 But if the slave gets up after a day or two, the slave owner shouldn't be punished because the slave is the owner's property.

22 When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage but no other injury occurs, then the guilty party will be fined what the woman's husband demands, as negotiated with the judges.

23 If there is further injury, then you will give a life for a life,

24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,

25 a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a wound for a wound.

26 When a slave owner hits and blinds the eye of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the eye.

27 If he knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, he should let the slave go free on account of the tooth.

28 When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox should be stoned to death, and the meat of the ox shouldn't be eaten. But the owner of the ox shouldn't be punished.

29 However, if the ox had gored people in the past and its owner had been warned but didn't watch out for it, and the ox ends up killing a man or a woman, then the ox should be stoned to death, and its owner should also be put to death.

30 If the owner has to pay compensation instead, he must pay the agreed amount to save his life.

31 If the ox gores a boy or a girl, this same case law applies to the owner.

32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner will pay thirty silver shekels to the slave's owner, and the ox will be stoned to death.

33 When someone leaves a pit open or digs a pit and doesn't cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into the pit,

34 the owner of the pit must make good on the loss. He should pay money to the ox's owner, but he may keep the dead animal.

35 When someone's ox hurts someone else's ox and it dies, then they should sell the live ox and divide its price. They should also divide the dead animal between them.

36 But if the ox was known for goring in the past and its owner hadn't watched out for it, the owner must make good the loss, an ox for an ox, but may keep the dead animal.

Exodus 22

1 When someone steals an ox or a sheep and then slaughters or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for the one ox or four sheep for the one sheep.

2 If the thief is caught breaking in and is beaten and dies, the one who killed him won't be guilty of bloodshed.

3 However, if this happens in broad daylight, then the one who killed him is guilty of bloodshed. For his part, the thief must make good on what he stole. If he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

4 If an animal (whether ox, donkey, or sheep) is found alive in the thief's possession, he must pay back double.

5 When someone lets an animal loose to eat in another person's field and causes the field or vineyard to be stripped of its crop, the owner must pay them back with the best from his own field or vineyard.

6 When someone starts a fire and it catches in thorns and then spreads to someone else's stacked grain, standing grain, or a whole field, the one who started the fire must fully repay the loss.

7 When someone entrusts money or other items to another person to keep safe and they are stolen from the other person's house and the thief is caught, the thief must pay back double.

8 If the thief isn't caught, the owner of the house should be brought before God to determine whether or not the owner stole the other's property.

9 When any dispute of ownership over an ox, donkey, sheep, piece of clothing, or any other loss arises in which someone claims, "This is mine," the cases of both parties should come before God. The one whom God finds at fault must pay double to the other.

10 When someone gives a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal to another person to keep safe, and the animal dies or is injured or taken and no one saw what happened,

11 the person should swear a solemn pledge before the LORD in the presence of the owner that he didn't touch the other's property. The owner must accept that, and no payment needs to be made.

12 But if the animal was stolen, the person must make full payment to its owner.

13 If the animal was attacked and ripped apart and its torn body is brought as evidence, no payment needs to be made.

14 When someone borrows an animal from another and it is injured or dies while the owner isn't present, full payment must be made.

15 If the owner was present, no payment needs to be made. If the animal was hired, only the fee for hiring the animal is due.

16 When a man seduces a young woman who isn't engaged to be married yet and he sleeps with her, he must marry her and pay the bride-price for her.

17 But if her father absolutely refuses to let them marry, he must still pay the same amount as the bride-price for young women.

18 Don't allow a female sorcerer to live.

19 Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal should be put to death.

20 Anyone who offers sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, should be destroyed.

21 Don't mistreat or oppress an immigrant, because you were once immigrants in the land of Egypt.

22 Don't treat any widow or orphan badly.

23 If you do treat them badly and they cry out to me, you can be sure that I'll hear their cry.

24 I'll be furious, and I'll kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows, and your children will be orphans.

25 If you lend money to my people who are poor among you, don't be a creditor and charge them interest.

26 If you take a piece of clothing from someone as a security deposit, you should return it before the sun goes down.

27 His clothing may well be his only blanket to cover himself. What else will that person have to sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I'll listen, because I'm compassionate.

28 Don't say a curse against God, and don't curse your people's chief.

29 Don't delay offering the produce of your vineyards and winepresses. Give me your oldest son.

30 Do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. They should stay with their mother for seven days. On the eighth day, you should give them to me.

31 You are holy people to me. Don't eat any meat killed by wild animals out in the field. Throw it to the dogs instead.

Exodus 23

1 Don't spread false rumors. Don't plot with evil people to act as a lying witness.

2 Don't take sides with important people to do wrong. When you act as a witness, don't stretch the truth to favor important people.

3 But don't privilege unimportant people in their lawsuits either.

4 When you happen to come upon your enemy's ox or donkey that has wandered off, you should bring it back to them.

5 When you see a donkey that belongs to someone who hates you and it's lying down under its load and you are inclined not to help set it free, you must help set it free.

6 Don't undermine the justice that your poor deserve in their lawsuits.

7 Stay away from making a false charge. Don't put an innocent person who is in the right to death, because I will not consider innocent those who do such evil.

8 Don't take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

9 Don't oppress an immigrant. You know what it's like to be an immigrant, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.

10 For six years you should plant crops on your land and gather in its produce.

11 But in the seventh year you should leave it alone and undisturbed so that the poor among your people may eat. What they leave behind, the wild animals may eat. You should do the same with your vineyard and your olive trees.

12 Do your work in six days. But on the seventh day you should rest so that your ox and donkey may rest, and even the child of your female slave and the immigrant may be refreshed.

13 Be careful to obey everything that I have said to you. Don't call on the names of other gods. Don't even mention them.

14 You should observe a festival for me three times a year.

15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, as I commanded you. Eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because it was in that month that you came out of Egypt. No one should appear before me empty-handed.

16 Observe the Harvest Festival for the early produce of your crops that you planted in the field, and the Gathering Festival at the end of the year, when you gather your crop of fruit from the field.

17 All your males should appear three times a year before the LORD God.

18 Don't offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened. Don't let the fat of my festival offering be left over until the morning.

19 Bring the best of your land's early produce to the LORD your God's temple. Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

20 I'm about to send a messenger in front of you to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place that I've made ready.

21 Pay attention to him and do as he says. Don't rebel against him. He won't forgive the things you do wrong because I am with him.

22 But if you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, then I'll be an enemy to your enemies and fight those fighting you.

23 When my messenger goes in front of you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I wipe them out,

24 don't bow down to their gods, worship them, or do what they do. Instead, you should completely destroy them and smash their sacred stone pillars to bits.

25 If you worship the LORD your God, the LORD will bless your bread and your water. I'll take sickness away from you,

26 and no woman will miscarry or be infertile in your land. I'll let you live a full, long life.

27 My terrifying reputation will precede you, and I'll throw all the people that you meet into a panic. I'll make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28 I'll send insect swarms in front of you and drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.

29 I won't drive them out before you in a single year so the land won't be abandoned and the wild animals won't multiply around you.

30 I'll drive them out before you little by little, until your numbers grow and you eventually possess the land.

31 I'll set your borders from the Reed Sea to the Philistine Sea and from the desert to the River. I'll hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out before you.

32 Don't make any covenants with them or their gods.

33 Don't allow them to live in your land, or else they will lead you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will become a dangerous trap for you.

Exodus 24

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's elders, and worship from a distance.

2 Only Moses may come near to the LORD. The others shouldn't come near, while the people shouldn't come up with him at all."

3 Moses came and told the people all the LORD's words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, "Everything that the LORD has said we will do."

4 Moses then wrote down all the LORD's words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the LORD.

6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar.

7 Then he took the covenant scroll and read it out loud for the people to hear. They responded, "Everything that the LORD has said we will do, and we will obey."

8 Moses then took the blood and threw it over the people. Moses said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD now makes with you on the basis of all these words."

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went up,

10 and they saw Israel's God. Under God's feet there was what looked like a floor of lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzlingly pure like the sky.

11 God didn't harm the Israelite leaders, though they looked at God, and they ate and drank.

12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there. I'll give you the stone tablets with the instructions and the commandments that I've written in order to teach them."

13 So Moses and his assistant Joshua got up, and Moses went up God's mountain.

14 Moses had said to the elders, "Wait for us here until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur will be here with you. Whoever has a legal dispute may go to them."

15 Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

16 The LORD's glorious presence settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from the cloud.

17 To the Israelites, the LORD's glorious presence looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain.

18 Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.