Bible in 90 Days

¹⁹ When the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back upon them, while the children of Israel walked through the midst of the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the other women came out after her playing their tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam led them in the refrain:

The Journey through the Wilderness^[a]

²² The Waters of Marah and Elim. Moses led the children of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they traveled toward the Desert of Shur. They walked three days into the desert and they did not find water. ²³ They arrived at Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah for they were bitter. That is why the place was called Marah.^{[b] 24} So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What will we drink?” ²⁵ He called upon the Lord, who showed him a tree. When he cast it into the water, it became sweet.

The Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them there and put them to the test. ²⁶ He said, “If you listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and you do what is right in his sight, if you listen to his ordinances and observe all of his laws, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they arrived at Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. Here they camped near the waters.

Chapter 16^[c]

Manna and Quail. ¹ The entire community of the children of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is found between Elim and the Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt. ² In the desert the entire community of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. ³ The children of Israel said to them, “Would that the hand of the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt where we were seated by our pots filled with meat and where we had more than enough bread to eat. Instead you brought us out into this desert to slay the whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread down from the heavens for you. The people should go out each day to collect the amount they need for that day so that I might test them to see whether they follow my law or not. ⁵ But on the sixth day, when they are gathering what they will bring home, they are to collect double what they collect on the other days.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron said this to the children of Israel: “This evening you will know that the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and tomorrow morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for he has heard your murmuring against him. For what are we, that you murmur against us?” ⁸ Moses also said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread to fill you in the morning, it will be because the Lord has heard the murmuring that you utter against him. What are we, after all? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Aaron, “Give this command to the whole community of Israel: ‘Draw near to the presence of the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.’ ” ¹⁰ While Aaron spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, they turned toward the desert and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the clouds.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Say this to them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. You will know that I am the Lord, your God.’ ”

¹³ In the evening quail rose up and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew on the ground around the camp. ¹⁴ The layer of dew evaporated, and on the surface of the desert there was something small and flaky, as small as hoarfrost on the ground. ¹⁵ The children of Israel saw it and said to one another, “What is it?”^[d] because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given us as food.

¹⁶ “This is what the Lord commands: ‘Collect as much as each person can eat, an omer^[e] per person. Let every person take as much as needed for the people living with him, for as many as there are in his tent.’ ”

¹⁷ This is what the children of Israel did. Some collected quite a bit and others much less. ¹⁸ They measured it with the omer. Those who had collected more did not have too much, while those who collected less did not have too little. They had collected just as much as each person could eat.

¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “Nothing should be left till the morning.” ²⁰ However, some did not obey Moses and saved a bit of it until the morning, but it grew rancid and had worms. Moses was angry with them.

²¹ They therefore collected it each morning, as much as each one would eat. When the sun warmed up, it melted away.

²² On the sixth day, they collected double the amount of bread, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the community came to tell Moses, ^23 [f]and he said to them, “This is what the Lord ordered: ‘Tomorrow is the Sabbath, a day of rest consecrated to the Lord. Bake what you have to bake, and boil what you have to boil. All that is left over should be stored until the morning.’ ” ²⁴ They preserved it until the morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not go rancid, nor did they find worms in it.

²⁵ Moses said, “Eat it today, because it is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord. Today you will not find it in the fields. ²⁶ Six days you will collect it, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be none on that day.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to collect it, but they did not find any. ²⁸ Therefore, the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to obey my commands and my laws? ²⁹ See that the Lord had given you the Sabbath. This is why he has given you two days worth of bread on the sixth day. Let every person stay where he is. No one is to go out on the seventh day to the place where they find it.”

³⁰ The people, therefore, rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The children of Israel called it manna. It was like coriander seed and was white. It tasted like wafers made from honey. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has ordered: ‘Fill an omer and conserve it for your descendants so that they can see the bread that I gave you to eat in the desert, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”

³³ Moses, therefore, said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna in it. Place it before the Lord and preserve it for your descendants.” ³⁴ Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses to do, he placed it in front of the Testimony,^[g] to preserve it. ³⁵ The children of Israel ate manna for forty years, until they arrived in an inhabited land. They ate the manna, therefore, until they arrived at the borders of Canaan. ³⁶ [The omer is one-tenth of an ephah.]

Chapter 17

Water from the Rock.^{[h] 1} The entire community of Israel pulled up their camp in the Desert of Sin and, as the Lord commanded, they moved by stages to their camp in Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. ² The people protested against Moses, saying, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why are you protesting against me? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”

³ The people suffered from thirst because there was no water, so they murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die of thirst along with our children and our animals?” ⁴ Moses called upon the help of the Lord saying, “What will I do for this people? Only a little more and they will stone me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Walk in front of the people and bring some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff with which you struck the Nile in your hand and go! ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock, and water will come out for the people to drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ They called this place Massah^[i] and Meribah, because the children of Israel had protested and had put the Lord to the test, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”

While Moses Prays, the Amalekites^[j] Are Defeated.^{[k] 8} Amalek came and fought against Israel in Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out to fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ Joshua did all that Moses had commanded him to do and he fought against Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the top of the hill. ¹¹ When Moses lifted his hands, Israel was stronger, but when he lowered them, Amalek was stronger. ¹² Moses’ hands grew heavy as he tired, so they took a stone and placed it under him as a stool. Aaron and Hur stood on either side and held up his hands. Thus, his hands were held steady until the sun set. ¹³ Joshua defeated Amalek and its people, putting them to the sword.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it to Joshua: I will totally cancel the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”

¹⁵ Moses built an altar, and he named it, “The Lord is my banner,” ¹⁶ and he said, “A hand is raised upon the throne of the Lord that there will be war against Amalek from one generation to the next.”

Chapter 18

Moses Visited by His Father-in-Law.^{[l] 1} Jethro, the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses, came to know what God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

² Jethro brought Zipporah, the wife of Moses, with him, for he had sent her back to him, ³ and also her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for he had said, “I am a stranger in a strange land,” ⁴ and the other named Eliezer, for he had said, “The God of my father has come to my assistance and has freed me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, and the sons and wife of Moses came to him in the desert where he was camped, near the mountain of God. ⁶ He had it announced to Moses, “It is I, Jethro, your father-in-law. I have come with your wife and your two sons.”

⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed before him and kissed him. They inquired about each other’s health, and then went into their tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law what the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for the children of Israel, and also about all the difficulties that they had encountered during their journey, and from which the Lord had delivered them.

⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the blessings that the Lord had shown to Israel when he liberated it from the hands of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who freed you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of Pharaoh. He delivered this people from the hands of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is the greatest of all gods because of what he has done to the Egyptians. He delivered them from their hands when they acted arrogantly.”

¹² Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, offered a burnt offering and sacrificed to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came and ate a banquet with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

¹³ Moses Institutes the Judges.^[m] The next day Moses sat in judgment over the people of Israel. All the people stood before Moses from morning until the evening. ¹⁴ Jethro, seeing what he was doing for the people, said to him, “What is this that you do for the people? Why do you sit in judgment alone, while the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵ Moses answered his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire the will of God. ¹⁶ When they have some question, they come to me and I judge the matter between them and let them know the statutes of God and his laws.”

¹⁷ The father-in-law of Moses told him, “What you are doing is no good. ¹⁸ You will surely wear yourself out, you and the people with you, because this job is too difficult for you. You cannot do it alone. ¹⁹ Now, listen to me. I wish to give you some advice, and God be with you. You must act as the people’s representative before God and bring their cases before him. ²⁰ You will explain the decrees and the laws to them. You will direct them along the way that they should go and teach the things that they must do. ²¹ You will also choose virtuous men who fear God from among the people, honest men who are not filled with greed, and you will make them leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²² They must judge the people at all times. When there is an important matter, they will refer it to you, but they will judge all the minor issues. Thus, they will lighten the burden upon you, for they will carry it with you. ²³ If you do this thing and if God commands this of you, then you will be able to continue and this people will arrive in peace at its destination.”

²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law’s suggestion, and he did what he had suggested that he do. ²⁵ Moses chose capable men from among all the men of Israel, and he appointed them as leaders of the people, as leaders of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶ They judged the people at all times. When there was a difficult matter, they referred it to Moses, but they themselves judged all the minor issues. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and Jethro returned to his own country.

The Covenant at Mount Sinai

The Covenant and the Ten Commandments^[n]

Chapter 19

God Proposes His Covenant.^{[o] 1} Three months to the day after the children of Israel left the land of Egypt, they arrived in the Sinai Desert. ² They left the camp at Rephidim and arrived in the Desert of Sinai. There Israel camped in front of the mountain.

³ Moses climbed up to meet God, and the Lord called out to him from the mountain, saying, “You will say this to the house of Jacob and announce it to the children of Israel: ⁴ ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you here to me. ⁵ Now, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession from among all the peoples, for the entire earth is mine. ⁶ You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for me.’ These are the words you will speak to Israel.”^[p]

⁷ Moses went and summoned the elders of the people and told them what the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ All the people answered together and said, “We will do what the Lord has said.” Then Moses returned to the Lord and told him what the people had said.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to approach you in a thick cloud so that the people will hear when I speak to you and always believe in you.”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes ¹¹ and have them ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai to visit all the people.

¹² “You shall establish a boundary around it, saying, ‘Take heed not to climb up the mountain or even touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain will be put to death.’

¹³ “No hand must touch that person, however, for he must be stoned or shot with an arrow. Whether it be a human or an animal, he is not to live. They can come up the mountain only when you blow the trumpet.”

¹⁴ Moses went down the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people and had them wash their clothes. ¹⁵ Then he said to the people, “Be ready in three days’ time. Abstain from sexual relations.”

¹⁶ The Great Theophany. On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, lightning, a dense cloud on the mountain, and the sound of loud trumpets. All the people in the camp were filled with fear.

¹⁷ Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They stood on foot at the base of the mountain.

¹⁸ Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord had descended upon it in fire and the smoke rose up like the smoke of a furnace. The entire mountain trembled. ¹⁹ The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God responded with the sound of a trumpet.

²⁰ The Lord thus descended upon Mount Sinai, on the mountain peak, and he called out to Moses upon the mountain peak. Moses went up the mountain.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to gaze upon the Lord; otherwise many will die.

²² “Let the priests consecrate themselves before they approach the Lord. Otherwise the Lord will burst forth upon them.”

²³ Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot climb up Mount Sinai, for you yourself have warned us saying, ‘Establish a boundary around the mountain and declare it to be holy.’ ”

²⁴ The Lord told him, “Go, descend, then come back up with Aaron. But the priests and the people are not to break through to climb up to the Lord. Otherwise, he will burst forth against them.”

²⁵ Moses went down and spoke to the people.

Chapter 20

The Ten Commandments.^{[q] 1} God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of that place of slavery. ³ You shall not have other gods instead of me. ⁴ You shall not make idols or any image of things that are in the heavens above or that are upon the earth or that are in the waters under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow before them nor shall you serve them. I, the Lord, am your God, a jealous God, who punishes the sins of fathers upon their sons until the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, ⁶ but I will show my favor for a thousand generations of those who love me and observe my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not leave unpunished those who use his name in vain.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your animals, nor the foreigner who dwells with you. ¹¹ The Lord made the heavens and the earth and the seas and that which is in them in six days, but he rested the seventh day. Thus, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and declared it to be sacred.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be lengthened in the land that the Lord your God, will give you.

¹³ “You shall not kill.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male slave, nor his female slave, nor his oxen, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ Moses, Intermediary of the Covenant. All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the sound of the trumpet and saw the mountain smoking. They were filled with fear and kept their distance.

¹⁹ They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰ Moses spoke to the people saying, “Do not be afraid. God has come to put you to the test so that you may always be filled with fear of him and not sin.”

²¹ The people kept their distance while Moses approached the dark cloud where God was found.

The Book of the Covenant^[r]

Norms for Constructing an Altar to the Lord.²² The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. ²³ Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves.

²⁴ “ ‘Make an altar for me in the land and upon it offer your burnt offerings and your communion sacrifices, your sheep and your oxen. In all the places where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

²⁵ “ ‘If you make an altar out of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stone. If you use a chisel upon it, it will be considered to be unclean. ²⁶ Do not go up to the altar by steps, lest your nakedness be seen.’^[s]

Chapter 21

Laws Concerning Slaves. ¹ “These are the decrees that you will set before them.

² “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years and in the seventh year he will go free, without paying anything.^{[t] 3} If he entered into slavery unmarried, he will go out alone. If he is married, then his wife will go with him. ⁴ If his master has given him a wife and she has had sons or daughters, the woman and her children will be the property of the master and he will go out alone.

⁵ “If the slave says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I do not want to go free,’ ⁶ then the master will bring him before God. He will bring him to a door or a doorpost and will bore a hole in his ear with an awl. He will be his slave forever.

⁷ “When a man sells his daughter^[u] as a slave, she will not go free as the male slaves do. ⁸ If she does not please her master who has taken her as a concubine, she will be allowed to be redeemed. But he cannot sell her to foreigners, for he has acted faithlessly to her. ⁹ If he wishes to give her as a concubine to his own son, he will treat her like a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another for himself, he will not withhold her food, her clothes, or her marriage rights. ¹¹ If he does not give her these things, then she can go away without having to pay the price of her redemption.

¹² Different Cases of the Penalty of Death.“Whoever strikes a man causing his death will be put to death. ¹³ However, if the man did not lie in wait, but he met him by chance, there will be a place where he can flee for refuge.

¹⁴ “But when a person kills a neighbor with premeditation, he shall be dragged away from my altar to be put to death.

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes a mother or a father will be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps a man and either sells him or has him still in his possession, shall be put to death.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

¹⁸ Punishments for Personal Injury.^[v]“When people are fighting and one of them injures the other with a stone or with a fist, and this does not kill the other but causes a serious injury, ¹⁹ and yet the injured party is able to walk around with a staff, then the one who struck the blow shall be held to be innocent. He must, however, pay the victim for the time he lost on account of the injury and he must pay for his medical care.

²⁰ “When a man strikes his male or female slave with a staff and kills that slave, he shall surely be punished. ²¹ But if the slave lives for a day or two, the slave-owner shall not be punished, for the slave is his property.

²² “When some men fight and injure a pregnant woman so that she loses her child, but there is no other damage, they will be fined as much as the husband of the woman decides. They will pay in the presence of a judge. ²³ But if further harm results, they will pay a life for a life, ²⁴ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵ a burning for a burning, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

²⁶ “When a man strikes the eye of his male slave or his female slave and blinds the slave, he will free the slave because of the eye. ²⁷ If he breaks a tooth of his male slave or his female slave, he will free the slave to compensate for the tooth.

²⁸ Animals: Injuries and Thefts.“If an ox gores a man or a woman and that person dies, the ox is to be stoned and its meat is not to be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be considered to be innocent. ²⁹ However, if the ox had already gored someone before and the owner had been warned, yet failed to keep it penned up, and if the ox gores another man or a woman and that person dies, then the ox is to be stoned and the owner is to be put to death.

³⁰ “If, however, a fine is imposed, he can pay it to redeem his life, as much as has been required. ³¹ This will also be the procedure if a son or a daughter is gored.

³² “If an ox gores a male or female slave, the master of the slave will be paid thirty shekels of silver, and the ox is to be stoned.

³³ “If someone leaves a cistern uncovered or digs a cistern and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the cistern must make restitution and pay the owner of the animal. The dead animal will be his.

³⁵ “If someone’s ox gores another person’s ox and that ox dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its price between them, and they will also divide the dead ox. ³⁶ But if it is known that the ox had already gored others and its owner had not confined it, then he must pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.

³⁷ “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and then kills it or sells it, he shall pay back five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

Chapter 22

¹ “If a thief is surprised while he is breaking in and is struck and dies, then there is no bloodguilt for the striker. ² But if the sun has already risen on him, there would be bloodguilt for the striker.

“A thief must surely pay restitution. If he has nothing with which he can pay, then he is to be sold to pay for his theft.

³ “If he is found with the animals he robbed and they are still alive, whether they be oxen or donkeys or sheep, he is to repay double.

Offenses Regarding Compensation. ⁴ “If someone uses a field or a vineyard as a pasture and lets his animals graze in someone else’s field, then he must repay that person with the best of his field and the best of his vineyard.

⁵ “If a fire breaks out and it spreads to the thornbushes so that it burns the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself, the person who started the fire must make restitution.^[w]

⁶ “If someone entrusts his neighbor with silver or goods for safekeeping, and there is a robbery in that house and the thief is caught, the thief shall pay back double. ⁷ If the thief is not caught, the master of the house is to be brought before the judges to swear that he has not laid hands on the property of his neighbor.

⁸ “Whatever the transgression, whether it be about an ox or a sheep or clothes or any other lost property about which a person has said, ‘This is mine,’ the case of both parties will be brought before the judges. Whoever the judges find guilty shall pay back double to his neighbor.

⁹ “If someone entrusts his neighbor with a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any other animal, and that animal dies or is injured or stolen with no witnesses, ¹⁰ then an oath to the Lord shall be taken between the two parties declaring that the one entrusted with the animal did not lay hands on his neighbor’s property. The owner of the property shall accept this and there shall be no restitution. ¹¹ But if it was stolen while he was present, then he will make restitution to its owner. ¹² If it was torn to pieces, let him bring the pieces as evidence and he shall not pay restitution.

¹³ “If someone borrows anything from a neighbor and it is hurt or dies when the owner is not there, he shall pay full restitution. ¹⁴ But if the owner is there, he shall not have to pay restitution. If the animal was hired, then its loss is the price of its hire.

¹⁵ Moral and Religious Regulations.“If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall pay a dowry for her and will make her his wife. ¹⁶ If her father refuses to give her to him, he must give him the normal amount of dowry paid for a virgin.^[x]

¹⁷ “You shall not allow a witch to live.

¹⁸ “Whoever lies with an animal must die. ¹⁹ Whoever offers a sacrifice to any other god besides the Lord will be annihilated.

²⁰ “You shall not mistreat or oppress the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²¹ “You shall not oppress the widow or the orphan. ²² If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will surely hear their cry, ²³ and my fury will burn and I will put you to death by the sword. Your wives will be widows and your children will be orphans.

²⁴ “If you lend money to any of the poor among my people, you will not act as a creditor toward him nor will you take any interest.

²⁵ “If you take your neighbor’s mantle as a pledge, you shall restore it to him at sunset, ²⁶ for it is his covering. It is the cloak for his body. What else would cover him when he sleeps? Otherwise, when he cries out to me, I will listen to his cry, for I am compassionate.^[y]

²⁷ “You shall not blaspheme God nor curse the leader of your people.

²⁸ “You shall not delay to make offerings from your harvest and your vintage. You shall give your firstborn from among your sons to me. ²⁹ You shall do the same with your oxen and your sheep. Seven days it shall remain with its mother, and on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³⁰ “You shall be men consecrated to me. So do not eat the flesh of any beast that has been torn to pieces in the countryside; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Chapter 23

A Righteous and Fraternal People. ¹ “You shall not utter a false report. Do not join hands with the guilty to be an unjust witness. ² Neither shall you follow the multitude in doing evil nor shall you testify in a suit in order to agree with the multitude and thus falsify justice.

³ “You shall not even show partiality toward a weak man in a lawsuit.

^4 [z]“When you encounter the lost ox or donkey of your enemy, you shall bring it back to him. ⁵ When you see your enemy’s donkey lying helpless under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him alone. You must help him to release it.

⁶ “You shall not pervert justice for a needy person who turns to you in a dispute.

⁷ “Keep far away from falsehoods. Do not slay the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the wicked.

⁸ “Do not accept gifts, for gifts blind the clear-sighted and pervert the cause of the righteous.

⁹ “Do not oppress those who are sojourners, for you know the life of the sojourner because you yourselves were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “For six years you shall sow the land and you shall harvest its produce, ¹¹ but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow so that the needy of your people may eat of it. Whatever is left, let the beasts of the field eat it. You shall do likewise with your vineyards and your olive groves. ¹² For six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may rest, as well as the sons of your female slaves and your sojourners.

¹³ “You shall take heed of all that I have said to you. Do not mention the names of other gods, nor let them be heard on your lips.

¹⁴ Feasts and Rites To Be Observed.“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast in my honor.^[aa]

¹⁵ “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You must eat unleavened products for seven days, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month I brought you out of the land of Egypt. You will not appear before me empty-handed.

¹⁶ “You shall also observe the Harvest Feast of the firstfruits of that which you have sown in the fields as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather the fruit of your labor in the fields.

¹⁷ “Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸ “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall you allow the fat of my feast to remain till the morning.

¹⁹ “You shall bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid goat in its mother’s milk.^[ab]

²⁰ Promises and Instructions for Entering into Canaan.^[ac]“Behold, I will send an angel before you to protect you on your way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. ²¹ Pay heed to him and listen to his voice and do not rebel against him for he will not pardon your transgression since my name is in him. ²² If you listen to his voice and do what I will tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

²³ “When my angel goes before you and leads you to the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, I will destroy them. ²⁴ You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them. You shall not do what they do, but rather you shall demolish and break their sacred pillars to pieces.

²⁵ “You shall serve the Lord, your God. He will bless your bread and water and take away sickness from your midst. ²⁶ There will be no woman in your land who miscarries or who is sterile. I will make you arrive at the full count of your days.

²⁷ “I will send my terror before you and throw into confusion all the peoples among whom you will come. I will make your enemies turn their backs and flee.

²⁸ “I will send hornets ahead of you and they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in a single year lest the country remain deserted and the wild beasts multiply against you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have many sons to occupy the land.

³¹ “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea up to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river. I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands and I will drive them out from before you. ³² But you must not make a covenant with them or their gods. ³³ They are no longer to live in your land. Otherwise, they would make you sin against me, for you would serve their gods and that would be a trap for you.”

Chapter 24

The People of God Ratify the Covenant.^{[ad] 1} He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ² Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not draw near and the people shall not go up with him.”

³ Moses went to tell the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances. All the people answered together and said, “We will keep all the commands that the Lord has given.”

⁴ Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He sent some of the young men of Israel to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.

⁶ Moses took half of the blood and placed it in bowls and the other half of the blood he poured out on the altar. ⁷ He then took the book of the covenant and read it in the presence of the people. They said, “All that the Lord has commanded, we will do and obey.”

⁸ Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, “Behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel. ¹⁰ They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was a pavement that looked as if it were made from sapphires, shining like the very heavens. ¹¹ He did not stretch out his hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; they saw God and yet they continued to eat and drink.

Moses on the Mountain: The Regulation of Worship^[ae]

¹² Moses Ascends the Mountain of God. The Lord said to Moses, “Climb up to me on the mountain and remain there. I will give you stone tablets with the laws and commandments that I have written for their instruction.”

¹³ Then Moses went up with Joshua, his assistant, and they climbed the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He told the elders, “Remain here to wait for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has any concern can bring it to them.”

¹⁵ Moses then climbed up the mountain, and clouds covered the mountain.

¹⁶ The glory of the Lord^[af] settled upon Mount Sinai, and clouds covered it for seven days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from out of the cloud.

¹⁷ The glory of the Lord appeared to the children of Israel to be a consuming fire on the mountaintop. ¹⁸ Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and climbed up the mountain. He remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Instruction on the Sanctuary and Its Ministers

Chapter 25

Moses Receives the Command to Establish a Sanctuary. ¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the children of Israel to gather an offering for me. Let each one raise up as an offering what his heart tells him is right. ³ This is what you shall gather from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁴ blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red, sheep skins, acacia wood, ⁶ oil for the lamps, balsam for anointing oil and for fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones and stones for setting in the ephod and the breastplate.

⁸ “They are to build a sanctuary for me and I will live in their midst. ⁹ Build it just as I will show you, following the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

¹⁰ The Ark of the Covenant.“They are to make an Ark out of acacia wood. It is to be two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.^{[ag] 11} You are to cover it with gold inside and out, and they are to put a gold molding on it. ¹² You are to cast four golden rings for it and attach them to its four legs, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ You are to make poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ¹⁴ You shall put the poles into the rings on the two sides of the Ark so that you may carry the Ark with them. ¹⁵ The poles must remain in the rings of the Ark; they are not to be taken out of them.

¹⁶ “You will place the Testimony that I will give you in the Ark.

¹⁷ “You shall make a seat^[ah] of atonement of pure gold. It shall be two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ You will make two cherubim^[ai] out of gold. Make them as hammered works, placing them on the two sides of the seat of atonement.

¹⁹ “Make one cherubim at one end and the other cherubim at the other end. Make the cherubim all of one piece at the two ends of the seat of atonement. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have two wings spread out covering the seat of atonement. They shall be facing each other, and the faces of the cherubim will be turned toward the seat of atonement.

²¹ “You will place the seat of atonement on top of the Ark and place the Testimony that I will give you inside the Ark.

²² “I will meet you there. I will speak with you from the seat of atonement that is between the two cherubim upon the Ark of Testimony concerning all that I will command the children of Israel.

²³ The Table of the Bread Offered to God.“You are to make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ²⁴ Cover it with pure gold and place a molding of gold upon it. ²⁵ Make a frame one handbreath wide and place a molding of gold around it. ²⁶ You shall also make four golden rings for it and place them at the four corners that are on its four legs. ²⁷ Place the rings alongside the borders to hold the poles used in carrying the table.

²⁸ “Make the poles out of acacia wood, cover them in gold, and carry the table with them. ²⁹ Also make dishes and plates and flagons and jars out of pure gold to pour out libations. ³⁰ Set the bread of the Presence on the table before me always.

³¹ The Golden Lampstand.“You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out.

“Its base and shaft; its bowls and knobs and flowers shall be of one piece. ³² Six of the branches of the lampstand shall come out of its sides, three from one side of the lampstand and three from the other side of the lampstand. ³³ On one branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower. Also there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower, on the next branch—and similarly for all six branches that rise out of the lampstand.

³⁴ “On the shaft of the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with their bud and flower. ³⁵ One bud shall be under the first set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the second set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the third set of two branches coming out of it, for there are six branches coming out of it. ³⁶ The buds and their respective branches must be one piece with the lampstand, and the whole made from one piece of pure gold that has been beaten into shape.

³⁷ “You shall then make seven lamps for the lampstand and set them on the lampstand to shed light in front of it. ³⁸ Its snuffers and their trays are to be made of pure gold.

³⁹ “Use a talent^[aj] of pure gold for making the lampstand and all of its accessories.

⁴⁰ “See that you make them according to the model that I have shown you on the mountain.

Chapter 26

The Tabernacle. ¹ “As for the tabernacle, you shall make it out of ten curtains of fine twisted linen, blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim sewn on them by skillful craftsmen.^{[ak] 2} The curtains shall be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide, each curtain being the same size. ³ Five curtains shall be joined together, and the other five curtains shall be joined together. ⁴ Make loops of blue cloth on the outside edge of the first set, and likewise loops on the outside edge of the second set. ⁵ Make fifty loops in the first set and make fifty loops in the edge of the second set. The loops should be symmetrical. ⁶ Then make fifty golden clasps and attach the sets of curtains to each other to form the tabernacle.

⁷ “You shall then make curtains of goats hair to build a tent over the tabernacle, eleven curtains in all. ⁸ The curtains shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. Each curtain shall be the same size. ⁹ You shall join five of the curtains on one side and six curtains on the other side. Fold back the sixth curtain to double it over on the front of the tent. ¹⁰ You shall make fifty loops in the outside edge of the first set, and fifty loops in the edge of the second set. ¹¹ You shall make fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops to join the tent together and make it a single structure.

¹² “The overlapping part of the curtain, the half curtain that is left over, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. ¹³ The cubit that is left over on the one side, like the cubit that is left over on the other side, of what is remaining in the length of the curtain of the tent, shall hang over the two sides of the tabernacle to cover one side and the other.

¹⁴ “You shall make a covering for the tent out of rams’ skins dyed red, and over it shall be a covering of sheep skin.

¹⁵ The Linear Structure of the Tabernacle.“You shall make upright frames for the tent of acacia wood. ¹⁶ Each board shall be ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁷ Each board shall have two joints in it to fit them together. All the boards of the tabernacle are to be made this way. ¹⁸ This is how you shall make all the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards being on the southern side. ¹⁹ You shall also make forty silver bases for the twenty boards, two bases for each of the joints on one board, and two bases for each of the joints on the next board. ²⁰ On the second side of the tabernacle, toward the north, there shall be twenty boards ²¹ as well as their forty silver bases, two bases under one board, and two bases under the next board. ²² For the rear of the tabernacle facing the west you shall make six boards, ²³ and two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the rear. ²⁴ They shall be doubled together below and likewise joined together above into one ring. The two of them will form two corners. ²⁵ Thus, there shall be eight boards with their silver bases, sixteen bases in all, with two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.

²⁶ “You shall also make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle ²⁷ and five bars for the boards for the other side of the tabernacle and five bars for the boards of the rear, toward the west. ²⁸ The middle bar shall pass half way up the boards, reaching from end to end. ²⁹ Cover the boards with gold, and make their rings gold in which the bars are inserted, and also cover the bars in gold.

³⁰ “You shall build the tabernacle according to the plan that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹ The Inner Veil.“You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen, with cherubim sewn upon it by skillful craftsmen. ³² You shall hang it on four columns of acacia wood covered in gold, with hooks of gold and standing upon four bases of silver. ³³ Hang the veil from the clasps, and place the Ark of Testimony inside the veil. The veil shall serve you as the separation between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. ³⁴ Place the seat of atonement on the Ark of Testimony in the Holy of Holies. ³⁵ Set the table outside of the veil and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. You are to put the table on the north side.

³⁶ The Entry Curtain.“You shall make a curtain for the door to the tent of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen that is covered with embroidery. ³⁷ You shall make five columns of acacia wood covered in gold for the curtain. Their hooks are to be made out of gold and you shall cast five bronze bases.

Chapter 27

Altar of Burnt Offering. ¹ “You shall make an altar out of acacia wood. It is to be five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square and be three cubits high. ² Make horns^[al] for its four corners and the horns and altar are one piece. You shall then cover it with bronze. ³ Fashion vessels to take away its ashes, as well as shovels, and basins, and forks, and fire pans. All of its utensils are to be made of bronze. ⁴ Make a grating for it, a network of bronze. Upon the net you shall fashion four rings made of bronze at its four corners. ⁵ Set it under the edge of the altar so that the net will hang halfway down the altar. ⁶ You shall also make poles for the altar. They shall be made of acacia wood covered with bronze. ⁷ The poles are to be placed through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar for carrying it. ⁸ Make the altar with boards, hollow in the middle. It is to be made just as was shown to you on the mountain.

The Courtyard. ⁹ “You shall make a courtyard^[am] for the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be a drape of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits long, to form the first side. ¹⁰ There are to be twenty columns with twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver.

¹¹ “Likewise on the north side, there must be a drape one hundred cubits long, its twenty pillars with their twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver. ¹² Along the width of the courtyard on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of drapes with ten columns and ten bases. ¹³ The width of the courtyard on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ On one side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases, ¹⁵ and on the other side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases.

¹⁶ “For the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain twenty cubits long, made of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen with four columns and their four bases. ¹⁷ All the columns around the courtyard are to be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be made of silver and their bases of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard must be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and the height five cubits, made of fine twisted linen with the bases made of bronze. ¹⁹ All the utensils of the tabernacle for whatever use and all the pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.

²⁰ The Oil for the Lampstand.“You shall order the children of Israel to obtain pure oil pressed from olives for the light, so that a lamp may burn continually. ²¹ It shall be in the meeting tent^[an] outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony. Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning so that it may be before the Lord. This is a statute for the children of Israel throughout all their generations.

Chapter 28

The Priestly Vestments. ¹ “Have Aaron, your brother, and his sons approach you. Take them from among the children of Israel to be your priests: Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons. ² You shall make sacred vestments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and beauty. ³ Speak to all the most expert artisans, those to whom I have given a spirit of wisdom, and they shall prepare vestments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he might exercise his priesthood in my honor.

⁴ “These are the vestments that they shall make: the breastplate and the ephod,^[ao] a robe, a checkered colored coat, a turban, and a sash. They will make sacred vestments for Aaron your brother and for his sons so that they may exercise their priesthood in my honor. ⁵ They must use gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and linen.

The Ephod. ⁶ “They shall make the ephod with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine linen, the work of skillful craftsmen. ⁷ It will have two shoulder pieces attached to its two ends so that it may be joined together. ⁸ The skillfully woven band to bind it together shall be placed over it and be of the same quality and materials: blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen.

⁹ “Take two pieces of onyx and engrave the names of the children of Israel on them. ¹⁰ Put six of their names on the first stone, and the other six names on the second piece, written in order of their birth. ¹¹ Engrave the names of the children of Israel on the two stones as an engraver engraves a signet ring. Insert them into settings of gold filigree. ¹² Set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. Thus, Aaron shall carry the names upon his shoulders^[ap] before the Lord, as a memorial. ¹³ Also make settings of gold filigree ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold that are twisted like cords. Then attach the chains to the settings.

¹⁵ The Breastplate.“You shall make a breastplate of judgment with skilled craftsmanship, the same as was used on the ephod. Make it of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. ¹⁷ Then cover it with settings of precious stones arranged in four rows. The first row shall have a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. ¹⁸ The second row shall have a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹⁹ The third row shall have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row shall have a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. ²¹ The stones shall correspond to the names of the children of Israel. There are to be twelve, standing for their names, each with engravings like that of a signet ring, each of them corresponding to a name of one of the twelve tribes.

²² “On the breastplate make chains of pure gold in the shape of twisted cords. ²³ On the breastplate also make two golden rings and place the two rings at the edges of the breastplate.

²⁴ “Attach the two golden chains to the two golden rings on the edges of the breastplate. ²⁵ As for the two other ends of the chains, attach them to two filigree settings and fasten them to the front part of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ Make two golden rings and place them at the two edges of the breastplate, on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make another two golden rings and place them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at their bottom on the front side, next to the place where it is attached to the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ Tie the rings of the breastplate to the rings on the ephod with a cord of blue material so that it may lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so that the breastplate may not pull away from the ephod.

²⁹ “Thus Aaron shall carry the names of the children of Israel over his heart on the breastplate of judgment whenever he enters the sanctuary. This will serve as a memorial before the Lord forever. ³⁰ Put the Urim and the Thummim inside the breastplate of judgment so that they will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.^[aq] Aaron will forever bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.

³¹ Other Priestly Vestments.“Make the robe for the ephod all in blue ³² with an opening in the middle for the head, with a woven border around the opening, like the opening of a garment, so that it may not be torn. ³³ On its hem you shall design pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet cloth, and fine twisted linen, all around its hem, with bells of gold between them ³⁴ so that there shall be a golden bell^[ar] and a pomegranate alternating all around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear it when he ministers as priest, and one will hear the sound it makes when he enters the sanctuary, into the presence of the Lord, and when he leaves it, lest he die.

³⁶ “You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave ‘Holy to the Lord’ on it as one engraves a signet ring. ³⁷ Attach it with a blue cord to the front part of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron may carry the weight of whatever guilt the children of Israel may incur in the holy things, when they consecrate their holy offerings. He will always wear it on his forehead so that they may be pleasing to the Lord.

³⁹ “Weave the checkered tunic of fine linen and make a turban of fine linen and a sash embroidered with needlework. ⁴⁰ Make tunics and sashes for the sons of Aaron as well as caps for them to give them honor and renown. ⁴¹ Put these garments on Aaron, your brother, and his sons. Then anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests in my honor.

⁴² “Make linen undergarments to cover their nakedness. They must reach from their hips to their thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons will put them on whenever they enter into the meeting tent or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, so that they may not incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his offspring forever.