Jan 14 - Exodus 16-24

¹The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.²In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.³The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.⁵On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,⁷and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"⁸Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."⁹Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"¹⁰While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.¹¹The LORD said to Moses,¹²"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"¹³That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.¹⁴When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'"¹⁷The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.¹⁸And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.¹⁹Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."²⁰However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.²¹Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.²²On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much-two omers for each person-and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.²³He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'"²⁴So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.²⁵"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today.²⁶Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."²⁷Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.²⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?²⁹Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.³¹The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.³²Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.'"³³So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come."³⁴As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept.³⁵The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.³⁶(An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)

Chapter 17

¹The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.²So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"³But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"⁴Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."⁵The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.⁶I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.⁷And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"⁸The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.⁹Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."¹⁰So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.¹²When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up-one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady till sunset.¹³So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."¹⁵Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.¹⁶He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

Chapter 18

¹Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.²After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her³and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land";⁴and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."⁵Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God.⁶Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.⁸Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.⁹Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.¹⁰He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.¹¹Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."¹²Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.¹³The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.¹⁴When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"¹⁵Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will.¹⁶Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."¹⁷Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.¹⁸You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.¹⁹Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him.²⁰Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.²¹But select capable men from all the people-men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.²²Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.²³If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.²⁵He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.²⁶They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.²⁷Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Chapter 19

¹In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt-on the very day-they came to the Desert of Sinai.²After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.³Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:⁴'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.⁵Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,⁶you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.⁸The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.⁹The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes¹¹and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.¹²Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.¹³He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."¹⁴After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.¹⁵Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.¹⁷Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.¹⁸Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,¹⁹and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.²⁰The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up²¹and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish.²²Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them."²³Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.'"²⁴The LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them."²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Chapter 20

¹And God spoke all these words:²"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.³"You shall have no other gods before me.⁴"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,⁶but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.⁷"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.⁸"Remember 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 it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.¹²"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.¹³"You shall not murder.¹⁴"You shall not commit adultery.¹⁵"You shall not steal.¹⁶"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.¹⁷"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance¹⁹and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."²⁰Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."²¹The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.²²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:²³Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.²⁴"'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.²⁵If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.²⁶And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.'

Chapter 21

¹"These are the laws you are to set before them:²"If 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 comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go 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.⁵"But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,'⁶then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.⁷"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.⁸If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.⁹If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.¹⁰If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.¹¹If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.¹²"Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.¹³However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate.¹⁴But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.¹⁵"Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.¹⁶"Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.¹⁷"Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.¹⁸"If men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but is confined to bed,¹⁹the one who struck the blow will not be held responsible if the other gets up and walks around outside with his staff; however, he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed.²⁰"If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished,²¹but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.²²"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows.²³But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.²⁶"If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye.²⁷And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.²⁸"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.²⁹If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death.³⁰However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.³¹This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter.³²If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.³³"If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,³⁴the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.³⁵"If a man's bull injures the bull of another and it dies, they are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally.³⁶However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his.

Chapter 22

¹"If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.²"If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;³but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. "A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.⁴"If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double.⁵"If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.⁶"If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.⁷"If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double.⁸But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man's property.⁹In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.¹⁰"If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,¹¹the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person's property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.¹²But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.¹³If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.¹⁴"If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution.¹⁵But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.¹⁶"If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.¹⁸"Do not allow a sorceress to live.¹⁹"Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.²⁰"Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.²¹"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.²²"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.²³If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.²⁴My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.²⁵"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.²⁶If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,²⁷because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.²⁸"Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.²⁹"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. "You must give me the firstborn of your sons.³⁰Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.³¹"You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Chapter 23

¹"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.²"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,³and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.⁴"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him.⁵If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.⁶"Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.⁷Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.⁸"Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.⁹"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.¹⁰"For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,¹¹but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.¹²"Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.¹³"Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.¹⁴"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.¹⁵"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.¹⁶"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.¹⁷"Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD.¹⁸"Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast. "The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.¹⁹"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.²⁰"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.²¹Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.²²If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.²³My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.²⁴Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.²⁵Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,²⁶and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.²⁷"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.²⁸I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.²⁹But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.³⁰Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.³¹"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.³²Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.³³Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."

Chapter 24

¹Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,²but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."³When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."⁴Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.⁵Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD.⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.⁷Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."⁸Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."⁹Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up¹⁰and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.¹¹But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.¹²The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."¹³Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.¹⁴He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."¹⁵When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,¹⁶and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.¹⁷To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.¹⁸Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.