Bible in 90 Days
19 The horses, chariot drivers, and chariots of the king of Egypt went into the sea, and the Lord covered them with water from the sea. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land. 20 Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam told them:
“Sing to the Lord,
because he is worthy of great honor;
he has thrown the horse and its rider
into the sea.”
Bitter Water Becomes Good
22 Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea into the Desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert but found no water. 23 Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah.[a]) 24 The people grumbled to Moses and asked, “What will we drink?”
25 So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw the tree into the water, the water became good to drink.
There the Lord gave the people a rule and a law to live by, and there he tested their loyalty to him. 26 He said, “You must obey the Lord your God and do what he says is right. If you obey all his commands and keep his rules, I will not bring on you any of the sicknesses I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then the people traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.
The People Demand Food
16 The whole Israelite community left Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai; they arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. 2 Then the whole Israelite community grumbled to Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 They said to them, “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we had meat to eat and all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert to starve us to death.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I want to see if the people will do what I teach them. 5 On the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather on other days. Then they are to prepare it.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. 7 Tomorrow morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you grumble against him. We are nothing, so you are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” 8 And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me, because we are nothing; you are grumbling against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole community of the Israelites, and say to them, ‘Meet together in the presence of the Lord, because he has heard your grumblings.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the Israelites, they looked toward the desert. There the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel. So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and every morning you will eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost were on the desert ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.
So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 The Lord has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs, about two quarts for every person in your family.’”
17 So the people of Israel did this; some people gathered much, and some gathered little. 18 Then they measured it. The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little. Each person gathered just as much as he needed.
19 Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it to eat the next day.” 20 But some of the people did not listen to Moses and kept part of it to eat the next morning. It became full of worms and began to stink, so Moses was angry with those people.
21 Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed, but when the sun became hot, it melted away.
22 On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food—four quarts for every person. When all the leaders of the community came and told this to Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded, because tomorrow is the Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil today. Save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”
24 So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded, and none of it began to stink or have worms in it. 25 Moses told the people, “Eat the food you gathered yesterday. Today is a Sabbath, the Lord’s day of rest; you will not find any out in the field today. 26 You should gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day there will not be any food on the ground.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? 29 Look, the Lord has made the Sabbath a day of rest for you. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days, but on the seventh day each of you must stay where you are. Do not go anywhere.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the food manna. It was like small white seeds and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Then Moses said, “The Lord said, ‘Save two quarts of this food for your descendants. Then they can see the food I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then place it before the Lord, and save it for your descendants.” 34 So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the jar of manna in front of the Agreement to keep it safe. 35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to the land where they settled—the edge of the land of Canaan. 36 The measure they used for the manna was two quarts, or one-tenth of an ephah.[b]
Water from a Rock
17 The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin and traveled from place to place, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But the people were very thirsty for water, so they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our farm animals with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me to death.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you used to strike the Nile River. Now go! 6 I will stand in front of you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. 7 He named that place Massah,[c] because the Israelites tested the Lord when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah,[d] because they quarreled.
The Amalekites Fight Israel
8 At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the walking stick of God in my hands.”
10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. 12 Later, when Moses’ arms became tired, the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a book so people will remember. And be sure to tell Joshua, because I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”
15 Then Moses built an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner. 16 Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will fight against the Amalekites forever.”
Jethro Visits Moses
18 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything that God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites, and how the Lord had led the Israelites out of Egypt. 2 Now Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to Jethro, his father-in-law, 3 along with his two sons. The first son was named Gershom,[e] because when he was born, Moses said, “I am a stranger in a foreign country.” 4 The other son was named Eliezer,[f] because when he was born, Moses said, “The God of my father is my help. He saved me from the king of Egypt.”
5 So Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife and his two sons and went to Moses. He was camped in the desert near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent a message ahead to Moses that said, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. After the two men asked about each other’s health, they went into Moses’ tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to the king and the Egyptians to help Israel. He told about all the problems they had faced along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9 Jethro was very happy to hear all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he had saved them from the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise the Lord. He has saved you from the Egyptians and their king, and he has saved the people from the power of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know the Lord is greater than all gods, because he did this to those who looked down on Israel.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, gave a whole burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to Moses’ father-in-law to eat the holy meal together before God.
13 The next day Moses solved disagreements among the people, and the people stood around him from morning until night. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is all this you are doing for the people? Why are you the only one to solve disagreements? All the people are standing around you from morning until night!”
15 Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “It is because the people come to me for God’s help in solving their disagreements. 16 When people have a disagreement, they come to me, and I decide who is right. I tell them God’s laws and teachings.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “You are not doing this right. 18 You and the people who come to you will get too tired. This is too much work for you; you can’t do it by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and I will give you some advice. I want God to be with you. You must speak to God for the people and tell him about their disagreements. 20 Warn them about the laws and teachings, and teach them the right way to live and what they should do. 21 But choose some capable men from among the people—men who respect God, who can be trusted, and who will not change their decisions for money. Make these men officers over the people, to rule over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 Let these officers solve the disagreements among the people all the time. They can bring the hard cases to you, but they can decide the simple cases themselves. That will make it easier for you, because they will share the work with you. 23 If you do this as God commands you, then you will be able to do your job, and all the people will go home with their disagreements solved.”
24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all the Israelites and made them leaders over the people; they were officers over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 These officers solved disagreements among the people all the time. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but they decided the simple cases themselves.
27 So Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro went back to his own home.
Israel Camps at Sinai
19 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 elders 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 Lord came 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.
The Ten Commandments
20 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.”
Laws for Living
21 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.
Laws About Injuries
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.
Property Laws
22 “If a man steals a bull or a sheep and kills or sells it, he must pay back five bulls for the one bull he stole and four sheep for the one sheep he stole.
2-4 “The robber who is caught must pay back what he stole. If he owns nothing, he must be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole. If the stolen animal is found alive with the robber, he must give the owner two animals for every animal he stole, whether it was a bull, donkey, or sheep.
“If a thief is killed while breaking into a house at night, the one who killed him is not guilty of murder. But if this happens during the day, he is guilty of murder.
5 “If a man lets his farm animal graze in his field or vineyard, and it wanders into another man’s field or vineyard, the owner of the animal must pay back the loss from the best of his crop.
6 “Suppose a man starts a fire that spreads through the thornbushes to his neighbor’s field. If the fire burns his neighbor’s growing grain or grain that has been stacked, or if it burns his whole field, the person who started the fire must pay for what was burned.
7 “Suppose a man gives his neighbor money or other things to keep for him and those things are stolen from the neighbor’s house. If the thief is caught, he must pay back twice as much as he stole. 8 But if the thief is never found, the owner of the house must make a promise before God that he has not stolen his neighbor’s things.
9 “Suppose two men disagree about who owns something—whether ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or something else that is lost. If each says, ‘This is mine,’ each man must bring his case to God. God’s judges will decide who is guilty, and that person must pay the other man twice as much as the object is worth.
10 “Suppose a man asks his neighbor to keep his donkey, ox, sheep, or some other animal for him, and that animal dies, gets hurt, or is taken away, without anyone seeing what happened. 11 That neighbor must promise before the Lord that he did not harm or kill the other man’s animal, and the owner of the animal must accept his promise made before God. The neighbor does not have to pay the owner for the animal. 12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must pay the owner for it. 13 If wild animals killed it, the neighbor must bring the body as proof, and he will not have to pay for the animal that was killed.
14 “If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it gets hurt or dies while the owner is not there, the one who borrowed it must pay the owner for the animal. 15 But if the owner is with the animal, the one who borrowed it does not have to pay. If the animal was rented, the rental price covers the loss.
Laws and Relationships
16 “Suppose a man finds a woman who is not pledged to be married and has never had sexual relations with a man. If he tricks her into having sexual relations with him, he must give her family the payment to marry her, and she will become his wife. 17 But if her father refuses to allow his daughter to marry him, the man must still give the usual payment for a bride who has never had sexual relations.
18 “Put to death any woman who does evil magic.
19 “Put to death anyone who has sexual relations with an animal.
20 “Destroy completely any person who makes a sacrifice to any god except the Lord.
21 “Do not cheat or hurt a foreigner, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
22 “Do not cheat a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do, and they cry out to me for help, I certainly will hear their cry. 24 And I will be very angry and kill you in war. Then your wives will become widows, and your children will become orphans.
25 “If you lend money to one of my people who is poor, do not treat him as a moneylender would. Charge him nothing for using your money. 26 If your neighbor gives you his coat as a promise for the money he owes you, you must give it back to him by sunset, 27 because it is the only cover to keep his body warm. He has nothing else to sleep in. If he cries out to me for help, I will listen, because I am merciful.
28 “You must not speak against God or curse a leader of your people.
29 “Do not hold back your offering from the first of your harvest and the first wine that you make. Also, you must give me your firstborn sons. 30 You must do the same with your bulls and your sheep. Let the firstborn males stay with their mothers for seven days, and on the eighth day you must give them to me.
31 “You are to be my holy people. You must not eat the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals. Instead, give it to the dogs.
Laws About Fairness
23 “You must not tell lies. If you are a witness in court, don’t help a wicked person by telling lies.
2 “You must not do wrong just because everyone else is doing it. If you are a witness in court, you must not ruin a fair trial. You must not tell lies just because everyone else is. 3 If a poor person is in court, you must not take his side just because he is poor.
4 “If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. 5 If you see that your enemy’s donkey has fallen because its load is too heavy, do not leave it there. You must help your enemy get the donkey back on its feet.
6 “You must not be unfair to a poor person when he is in court. 7 You must not lie when you accuse someone in court. Never allow an innocent or honest person to be put to death as punishment, because I will not treat guilty people as if they were innocent.
8 “You must not accept money from a person who wants you to lie in court, because such money will not let you see what is right. Such money makes good people tell lies.
9 “You must not mistreat a foreigner. You know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Laws for the Sabbath
10 “For six years you are to plant and harvest crops on your land. 11 Then during the seventh year, do not plow or plant your land. If any food grows there, allow the poor people to have it, and let the wild animals eat what is left. You should do the same with your vineyards and your orchards of olive trees.
12 “You should work six days a week, but on the seventh day you must rest. This lets your ox and your donkey rest, and it also lets the slave born in your house and the foreigner be refreshed.
13 “Be sure to do all that I have said to you. You must not even say the names of other gods; those names must not come out of your mouth.
Three Yearly Feasts
14 “Three times each year you must hold a feast to honor me. 15 You must celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the way I commanded you. For seven days you must eat bread that is made without yeast at the set time during the month of Abib, the month when you came out of Egypt. No one is to come to worship me without bringing an offering.
16 “You must celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Offer to God the first things you harvest from the crops you planted in your fields.
“You must celebrate the Feast of Shelters in the fall, when you gather all the crops from your fields.
17 “So three times during every year all your males must come to worship the Lord God.
18 “You must not offer animal blood along with anything that has yeast in it.
“You must not save any of the fat from the sacrifice for the next day.
19 “You must bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the Holy Tent[g] of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
God Will Help Israel
20 “I am sending an angel ahead of you, who will protect you as you travel. He will lead you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to the angel and obey him. Do not turn against him; he will not forgive such turning against him because my power is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to all he says and do everything that I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies. I will fight all who fight against you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will destroy them.
24 “You must not bow down to their gods or worship them. You must not live the way those people live. You must destroy their idols, breaking into pieces the stone pillars they use in worship. 25 If you worship the Lord your God, I will bless your bread and your water. I will take away sickness from you. 26 None of your women will have her baby die before it is born, and all women will have children. I will allow you to live long lives.
27 “I will make your enemies afraid of me. I will confuse any people you fight against, and I will make all your enemies run away from you. 28 I will send terror ahead of you that will force the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not force all those people out in only one year. If I did, the land would become a desert and the wild animals would become too many for you. 30 Instead, I will force those people out slowly, until there are enough of you to take over the land.
31 “I will give you the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give you power over the people who now live in the land, and you will force them out ahead of you. 32 You must not make an agreement with those people or with their gods. 33 You must not let them live in your land, or they will make you sin against me. If you worship their gods, you will be caught in a trap.”
God and Israel Make Their Agreement
24 The Lord told Moses, “You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel must come up to me and worship me from a distance. 2 Then Moses alone must come near me; the others must not come near. The rest of the people must not come up the mountain with Moses.”
3 Moses told the people all the Lord’s words and laws for living. Then all of the people answered out loud together, “We will do all the things the Lord has said.” 4 So Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. And he got up early the next morning and built an altar near the bottom of the mountain. He set up twelve stones, one stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then Moses sent young Israelite men to offer whole burnt offerings and to sacrifice young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses put half of the blood of these animals in bowls, and he sprinkled the other half of the blood on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Agreement and read it so the people could hear him. And they said, “We will do everything that the Lord has said; we will obey.”
8 Then Moses took the blood from the bowls and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood that begins the Agreement, the Agreement which the Lord has made with you about all these words.”
9 Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up the mountain 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was a surface that looked as if it were paved with blue sapphire stones, and it was as clear as the sky! 11 These leaders of the Israelites saw God, but God did not destroy them. Then they ate and drank together.
God Promises Moses the Stone Tablets
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me. Wait there, and I will give you two stone tablets. On these are the teachings and the commands I have written to instruct the people.”
13 So Moses and his helper Joshua set out, and Moses went up to Sinai, the mountain of God. 14 Moses said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone who has a disagreement with others can take it to them.”
Moses Meets with God
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses went into the cloud and went higher up the mountain. He was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Gifts for the Lord
25 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me gifts. Receive for me the gifts each person wants to give. 3 These are the gifts that you should receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; 4 blue, purple, and red thread; fine linen, goat hair, 5 sheepskins that are dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood; 6 olive oil to burn in the lamps; spices for sweet-smelling incense, and the special olive oil poured on a person’s head to make him a priest; 7 onyx stones, and other jewels to be put on the holy vest and the chest covering.
8 “The people must build a holy place for me so that I can live among them. 9 Build this Holy Tent and everything in it by the plan I will show you.
The Ark of the Agreement
10 “Use acacia wood and build an Ark forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Cover the Ark inside and out with pure gold, and put a gold strip all around it. 12 Make four gold rings for the Ark and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 13 Then make poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. 14 Put the poles through the rings on the sides of the Ark, and use these poles to carry it. 15 These poles must always stay in the rings of the Ark. Do not take them out. 16 Then put in the Ark the Agreement which I will make with you.
17 “Then make a lid of pure gold for the Ark; this is the mercy seat. Make it forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Then hammer gold to make two creatures with wings, and put one on each end of the lid. 19 Attach one creature on one end of the lid and the other creature on the other end. Make them to be one piece with the lid at the ends. 20 The creatures’ wings should be spread upward, covering the lid, and the creatures are to face each other across the lid. 21 Put this lid on top of the Ark, and put in the Ark the Agreement which I will make with you. 22 I will meet with you there, above the lid between the two winged creatures on the Ark of the Agreement. There I will give you all my commands for the Israelites.
The Table
23 “Make a table out of acacia wood, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 24 Cover it with pure gold, and put a gold strip around it. 25 Make a frame three inches high that stands up all around the edge, and put a gold strip around it. 26 Then make four gold rings. Attach them to the four corners of the table where the four legs are. 27 Put the rings close to the frame around the top of the table, because they will hold the poles for carrying it. 28 Make the poles out of acacia wood, cover them with gold, and carry the table with these poles. 29 Make the plates and bowls for the table, as well as the jars and cups, out of pure gold. They will be used for pouring out the drink offerings. 30 On this table put the bread that shows you are in my presence so that it is always there in front of me.
The Lampstand
31 “Hammer pure gold to make a lampstand. Its base, stand, flower-like cups, buds, and petals must all be joined together in one piece. 32 The lampstand must have six branches going out from its sides—three on one side and three on the other. 33 Each branch must have three cups shaped like almond flowers on it. Each cup must have a bud and a petal. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand must be the same. 34 And there must be four more cups made like almond flowers on the lampstand itself. These cups must also have buds and petals. 35 Put a bud under each pair of branches that goes out from the lampstand. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand must be the same. 36 The branches, buds, and lampstand must be made of one piece, hammered out of pure gold.
37 “Then make seven small oil lamps and put them on the lampstand so that they give light to the area in front of it. 38 The wick trimmers and trays must be made of pure gold. 39 Use seventy-five pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and everything with it. 40 Be very careful to make them by the plan I showed you on the mountain.
The Holy Tent
26 “Make for the Holy Tent ten curtains of fine linen and blue, purple, and red thread. Have a skilled craftsman sew designs of creatures with wings on the pieces of cloth. 2 Make each curtain the same size—forty-two feet long and six feet wide. 3 Sew five curtains together for one set, and sew the other curtains together for the second set. 4 Make loops of blue cloth on the edge of the end curtain of one set, and do the same for the end curtain of the other set. 5 Make fifty loops on the end curtain of the first set and fifty loops on the end curtain of the second set. These loops must be opposite each other. 6 And make fifty gold hooks to join the two sets of curtains so that the Holy Tent is one piece.
7 “Then make another tent that will cover the Holy Tent, using eleven curtains made from goat hair. 8 All these curtains must be the same size—forty-five feet long and six feet wide. 9 Sew five of the curtains together into one set. Then sew the other six curtains together into the second set. Fold the sixth curtain double over the front of the Tent. 10 Make fifty loops down the edge of the end curtain of one set, and do the same for the end curtain of the other set. 11 Then make fifty bronze hooks and put them in the loops to join the tent together so that the covering is one piece. 12 Let the extra half piece of cloth hang over the back of the Holy Tent. 13 There will be eighteen inches hanging over the sides of the Holy Tent, to protect it. 14 Make a covering for the Holy Tent from sheepskins colored red, and over that make a covering from fine leather.
15 “Use acacia wood to make upright frames for the Holy Tent. 16 Each frame must be fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide, 17 with two pegs side by side. Every frame must be made the same way. 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. 19 Each frame must have two silver bases to go under it, a peg fitting into each base. You must make forty silver bases for the frames. 20 Make twenty more frames for the north side of the Holy Tent 21 and forty silver bases for them—two bases for each frame. 22 You must make six frames for the rear or west end of the Holy Tent 23 and two frames for each corner at the rear. 24 The two frames are to be doubled at the bottom and joined at the top with a metal ring. Both corner frames must be made this way. 25 So there will be a total of eight frames at the rear of the Tent, and there will be sixteen silver bases—two bases under each frame.
26 “Make crossbars of acacia wood to connect the upright frames of the Holy Tent. Make five crossbars to hold the frames together on one side 27 and five to hold the frames together on the other side. Also make five crossbars to hold the frames together on the west end, at the rear. 28 The middle crossbar is to be set halfway up the frames, and it is to run along the entire length of each side and rear. 29 Make gold rings on the sides of the frames to hold the crossbars, and cover the frames and the crossbars with gold. 30 Set up the Holy Tent by the plan shown to you on the mountain.
31 “Make a curtain of fine linen and blue, purple, and red thread, and have a skilled craftsman sew designs of creatures with wings on it. 32 Hang the curtain by gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood that are covered with gold, and set them in four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain from the hooks in the roof, and put the Ark of the Agreement containing the two stone tablets behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 34 Put the lid on the Ark of the Agreement in the Most Holy Place.
35 “Outside the curtain, put the table on the north side of the Holy Tent. Put the lampstand on the south side of the Holy Tent across from the table.
The Entrance of the Holy Tent
36 “Then, for the entrance of the Tent, make a curtain with fine linen and blue, purple, and red thread. Someone who can sew well is to sew designs on it. 37 Make five posts of acacia wood covered with gold. Make gold hooks for them on which to hang the curtain, and make five bronze bases for them.
The Altar for Burnt Offerings
27 “Make an altar of acacia wood, four and one-half feet high. It should be square—seven and one-half feet long and seven and one-half feet wide. 2 Make each of the four corners of the altar stick out like a horn, in such a way that the corners with their horns are all one piece. Then cover the whole altar with bronze.
3 “Use bronze to make all the tools and dishes that will be used on the altar: the pots to remove the ashes, the shovels, the bowls for sprinkling blood, the meat forks, and the pans for carrying the burning wood.
4 “Make a large bronze screen to hold the burning wood, and put a bronze ring at each of the four corners of it. 5 Put the screen inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom.
6 “Make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and cover them with bronze. 7 Put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar to carry it. 8 Make the altar out of boards and leave the inside hollow. Make it as you were shown on the mountain.
The Courtyard of the Holy Tent
9 “Make a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. The south side should have a wall of fine linen curtains one hundred fifty feet long. 10 Hang the curtains with silver hooks and bands on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases. 11 The north side must also be one hundred fifty feet long. Hang its curtains on silver hooks and bands on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases.
12 “The west end of the courtyard must have a wall of curtains seventy-five feet long, with ten posts and ten bases on that wall. 13 The east end of the courtyard must also be seventy-five feet long. 14 On one side of the entry, there is to be a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts on three bases. 15 On the other side of the entry, there is also to be a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts on three bases.
16 “The entry to the courtyard is to be a curtain thirty feet wide, made of fine linen with blue, purple, and red thread. Someone who can sew well is to sew designs on it. It is to be held up by four posts on four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard must have silver bands and hooks and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard must be one hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide, with a wall of curtains around it seven and one-half feet high, made of fine linen. The bases in which the posts are set must be bronze. 19 All the things used in the Holy Tent and all the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and the wall around the courtyard must be made of bronze.
Oil for the Lamp
20 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure olive oil, made from pressed olives, to keep the lamps on the lampstand burning. 21 Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This will be in the Meeting Tent, outside the curtain which is in front of the Ark. The Israelites and their descendants must obey this rule from now on.
Clothes for the Priests
28 “Tell your brother Aaron to come to you, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Separate them from the other Israelites to serve me as priests. 2 Make holy clothes for your brother Aaron to give him honor and beauty. 3 Tell all the skilled craftsmen to whom I have given wisdom to make special clothes for Aaron—clothes to show that he belongs to me so that he may serve me as a priest. 4 These are the clothes they must make: a chest covering, a holy vest, an outer robe, a woven inner robe, a turban, and a cloth belt. The craftsmen must make these holy clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then they may serve me as priests. 5 The craftsmen must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.
The Holy Vest
6 “Use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen to make the holy vest; skilled craftsmen are to make it. 7 At each top corner of this holy vest there will be a pair of shoulder straps tied together over each shoulder.
8 “The craftsmen will very carefully weave a belt on the holy vest that is made with the same materials—gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.
9 “Take two onyx stones and write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on them, 10 six on one stone and six on the other. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. 11 Carve the names of the sons of Israel on these stones in the same way a person carves words and designs on a seal. Put gold around the stones to hold them on the holy vest. 12 Then put the two stones on the two straps of the holy vest as reminders of the twelve sons of Israel. Aaron is to wear their names on his shoulders in the presence of the Lord as reminders of the sons of Israel. 13 Make two gold pieces to hold the stones 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted together like a rope. Attach the chains to the two gold pieces that hold the stones.
The Chest Covering
15 “Make a chest covering to help in making decisions. The craftsmen should make it as they made the holy vest, using gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen. 16 The chest covering must be square—nine inches long and nine inches wide—and folded double to make a pocket. 17 Put four rows of beautiful gems on the chest covering: The first row must have a ruby, topaz, and yellow quartz; 18 the second must have turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 the third must have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 the fourth must have a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Put gold around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering. 21 There must be twelve jewels on the chest covering—one jewel for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Carve the name of one of the twelve tribes on each of the stones as you would carve a seal.
22 “Make chains of pure gold, twisted together like rope, for the chest covering. 23 Make two gold rings and put them on the two upper corners of the chest covering. 24 Attach the two gold chains to the two rings at the upper corners of the chest covering. 25 Attach the other ends of the two chains to the two gold pieces on the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest.
26 “Make two gold rings and put them at the two lower corners of the chest covering, on the inside edge next to the holy vest. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest. Put them close to the seam above the woven belt of the holy vest. 28 Join the rings of the chest covering to the rings of the holy vest with blue ribbon, connecting it to the woven belt so the chest covering will not swing out from the holy vest.
29 “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will wear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart, on the chest covering that helps in making decisions. This will be a continual reminder before the Lord. 30 And put the Urim and Thummim inside the chest covering so that they will be on Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. They will help in making decisions for the Israelites. So Aaron will always carry them with him when he is before the Lord.
31 “Make the outer robe to be worn under the holy vest, using only blue cloth. 32 Make a hole in the center for Aaron’s head, with a woven collar around the hole so it will not tear. 33 Make balls like pomegranates of blue, purple, and red thread, and hang them around the bottom of the outer robe with gold bells between them. 34 All around the bottom of the outer robe there should be a gold bell and a pomegranate ball, a gold bell and a pomegranate ball. 35 Aaron must wear this robe when he serves as priest. The ringing of the bells will be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord so that Aaron will not die.
36 “Make a strip of pure gold and carve these words on it as you would carve a seal: ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 Use blue ribbon to tie it to the turban; put it on the front of the turban. 38 Aaron must wear this on his forehead. In this way, he will be blamed if anything is wrong with the gifts of the Israelites. Aaron must always wear this on his head so the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.
39 “Make the woven inner robe of fine linen, and make the turban of fine linen also. Make the cloth belt with designs sewn on it. 40 Also make woven inner robes, cloth belts, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them honor and beauty. 41 Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, and pour olive oil on their heads to appoint them as priests. Make them belong to me so they may serve me as priests.
42 “Make for them linen underclothes to cover them from the waist to the upper parts of the legs. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear these underclothes when they enter the Meeting Tent and anytime they come near the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they do not wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong, and they will die. This will be a law that will last from now on for Aaron and all his descendants.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.