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God said to Moses, "Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God. Have them scrub their clothes
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so that on the third day they'll be fully prepared, because on the third day God will come down on Mount Sinai and make his presence known to all the people.
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Post boundaries for the people all around, telling them, 'Warning! Don't climb the mountain. Don't even touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain dies - a certain death.
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And no one is to touch that person, he's to be stoned. That's right - stoned. Or shot with arrows, shot to death. Animal or man, whichever - put to death.' "A long blast from the horn will signal that it's safe to climb the mountain."
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Moses went down the mountain to the people and prepared them for the holy meeting. They gave their clothes a good scrubbing.
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Then he addressed the people: "Be ready in three days. Don't sleep with a woman."
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On the third day at daybreak, there were loud claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, a thick cloud covering the mountain, and an ear-piercing trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp shuddered in fear.
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Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God. They stood at attention at the base of the mountain.
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Mount Sinai was all smoke because God had come down on it as fire. Smoke poured from it like smoke from a furnace. The whole mountain shuddered in huge spasms.
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The trumpet blasts grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered in thunder.
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God descended to the peak of Mount Sinai. God called Moses up to the peak and Moses climbed up.
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God said to Moses, "Go down. Warn the people not to break through the barricades to get a look at God lest many of them die.
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And the priests also, warn them to prepare themselves for the holy meeting, lest God break out against them."
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Moses said to God, "But the people can't climb Mount Sinai. You've already warned us well telling us: 'Post boundaries around the mountain. Respect the holy mountain.'"