Exodus 19; Exodus 20; Exodus 21

1 Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they reached the Desert of Sinai.

2 When they left Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai and camped in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "Say this to the family of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

4 'Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagle's wings. And I brought you here to me.

5 So now if you obey me and keep my agreement, you will be my own possession, chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine,

6 you will be my kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' You must tell the Israelites these words."

7 So Moses went down and called the older leaders of the people together. He told them all the words the Lord had commanded him to say.

8 All the people answered together, "We will do everything he has said." Then Moses took their answer back to the Lord.

9 And the Lord said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud and speak to you. The people will hear me speaking with you and will always trust you." Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

10 The Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and have them spend today and tomorrow preparing themselves. They must wash their clothes

11 and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day I, the Lord, will come down on Mount Sinai, and all the people will see me.

12 But you must set a limit around the mountain that the people are not to cross. Tell them not to go up on the mountain and not to touch the foot of it. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death

13 with stones or shot with arrows. No one is allowed to touch him. Whether it is a person or an animal, he will not live. But the trumpet will make a long blast, and only then may the people go up on the mountain."

14 After Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he made them prepare themselves for service to God, and they washed their clothes.

15 Then Moses said to the people, "Be ready in three days. Do not have sexual relations during this time."

16 On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain. There was a very loud blast from a trumpet, and all the people in the camp trembled.

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

18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lordcame down on it in fire. The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook wildly.

19 The sound from the trumpet became louder. Then Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him.

20 When the Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai, he 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 that they must not force their way through to see me. If they do, many of them will die.

22 Even the priests, who may come near me, must first prepare themselves. If they don't, I, the Lord, will punish them."

23 Moses told the Lord, "The people cannot come up on Mount Sinai, because you yourself told us, 'Set a limit around the mountain, and set it apart as holy.'"

24 The Lord said to him, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you, but don't allow the priests or the people to force their way through. They must not come up to the Lord, or I will punish them."

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

1 Then God spoke all these words:

2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

3 "You must not have any other gods except me.

4 "You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land.

5 You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

6 But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.

7 "You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly; the Lord will punish anyone who misuses his name.

8 "Remember to keep the Sabbath holy.

9 Work and get everything done during six days each week,

10 but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities.

11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything -- the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you.

13 "You must not murder anyone.

14 "You must not be guilty of adultery.

15 "You must not steal.

16 "You must not tell lies about your neighbor.

17 "You must not want to take your neighbor's house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

18 When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain.

19 Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we will die."

20 Then Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin."

21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was.

22 Then the Lord told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: "You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven.

23 You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me.

24 "Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place that I choose, and I will come and bless you.

25 If you use stones to make an altar for me, don't use stones that you have shaped with tools. When you use any tools on them, you make them unsuitable for use in worship.

26 And you must not go up to my altar on steps, or people will be able to see under your clothes."

1 Then God said to Moses, "These are the laws for living that you will give to the Israelites:

2 "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free, and he will have to pay nothing.

3 If he is not married when he becomes your slave, he must leave without a wife. But if he is married when he becomes your slave, he may take his wife with him.

4 If the slave's master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the woman and her children will belong to the master. When the slave is set free, only he may leave.

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

6 then the slave's master must take him to God. The master is to take him to a door or doorframe and punch a hole through the slave's ear using a sharp tool. Then the slave will serve that master all his life.

7 "If a man sells his daughter as a slave, the rules for setting her free are different from the rules for setting the male slaves free.

8 If the master wanted to marry her but then decided he was not pleased with her, he must let one of her close relatives buy her back. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has treated her unfairly.

9 If the man who bought her promises to let the woman marry his son, he must treat her as a daughter.

10 If the man who bought her marries another woman, he must not keep his first wife from having food or clothing or sexual relations.

11 If he does not give her these three things, she may go free, and she owes him no money.

12 "Anyone who hits a person and kills him must be put to death.

13 But if a person kills someone accidentally, God allowed that to happen, so the person must go to a place I will choose.

14 But if someone plans and murders another person on purpose, put him to death, even if he has run to my altar for safety.

15 "Anyone who hits his father or his mother must be put to death.

16 "Anyone who kidnaps someone and either sells him as a slave or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.

17 "Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.

18 "If two men argue, and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist, the one who is hurt but not killed might have to stay in bed.

19 Later if he is able to get up and walk around outside with his walking stick, the one who hit him is not to be punished. But he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time, and he must support the injured man until he is completely healed.

20 "If a man beats his male or female slave with a stick, and the slave dies on the spot, the owner must be punished.

21 But if the slave gets well after a day or two, the owner will not be punished since the slave belongs to him.

22 "Suppose two men are fighting and hit a pregnant woman, causing the baby to come out. If there is no further injury, the man who caused the accident must pay money -- whatever amount the woman's husband says and the court allows.

23 But if there is further injury, then the punishment that must be paid is life for life,

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

25 burn for burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.

26 "If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye, and the eye is blinded, the man is to free the slave to pay for the eye.

27 If a master knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, the man is to free the slave to pay for the tooth.

28 "If a man's bull kills a man or woman, you must kill that bull by throwing stones at it, and you should not eat the bull. But the owner of the bull is not guilty.

29 However, suppose the bull has hurt people in the past and the owner, though warned, did not keep it in a pen. Then if it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned to death, and the owner must also be put to death.

30 But if the family of the dead person accepts money, the one who owned the bull may buy back his life, but he must pay whatever is demanded.

31 Use this same law if the bull kills a person's son or daughter.

32 If the bull kills a male or female slave, the owner must pay the master the price for a new slave, or twelve ounces of silver, and the bull must also be stoned to death.

33 "If a man takes the cover off a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and another man's ox or donkey comes and falls into it,

34 the owner of the pit must pay the owner of the animal for the loss. The dead animal will belong to the one who pays.

35 "If a man's bull kills another man's bull, they must sell the bull that is alive. Both men will get half of the money and half of the bull that was killed.

36 But if a person's bull has hurt other animals in the past and the owner did not keep it in a pen, that owner must pay bull for bull, and the dead animal is his.