Bible in 90 Days

¹⁹ Yes, it really happened! Pharaoh’s horses and riders, and chariots went into the sea. And the Lord brought all the water of the sea down on top of them. But the Israelites walked through that sea on dry land.

²⁰ Then Aaron’s sister, the woman prophet Miriam, took a tambourine. She and the women began singing and dancing. ²¹ Miriam repeated the words,

Israel Goes Into the Desert

²² Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea and into the desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert. They could not find any water. ²³ Then they came to Marah.^[a] There was water at Marah, but it was too bitter to drink. (That is why the place was named Marah.)

²⁴ The people began complaining to Moses. They said, “Now what will we drink?”

²⁵ So Moses called to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a large piece of wood. When Moses put the wood in the water, the water became good to drink.

There the Lord put in place a law and a command for him and tested him to see if he would obey.^{[b] 26} He said to him, “I am the Lord your God. If you listen to me and do what I say is right, and if you obey all my commands and laws, then I will not give you any of the sicknesses that I gave the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then the people traveled to Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees. So the people made their camp there near that water.

Israel Complains, So God Sends Food

16 Then all the Israelites left Elim. They reached the western Sinai desert,^[c] between Elim and Mount Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month^[d] after leaving Egypt. ² Then the whole community of Israelites began complaining again. They complained to Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ They said, “It would have been better if the Lord had just killed us in the land of Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert to make us all die from hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day. I will do this to see if they will do what I tell them. ⁵ Every day the people will gather only enough food for one day. But on Friday, when the people prepare their food, they will see that they have enough food for two days.”^[e]

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to the Israelites, “Tonight you will see the power of the Lord. You will know that he is the one who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ You have been complaining about the Lord, and he heard you. So tomorrow morning you will see the Glory of the Lord. You have been complaining and complaining about us. Maybe now we can have a little rest.”^[f]

⁸ Then Moses said, “In the evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. The Lord will do this because he has heard your complaining, which was against him, not us. What can we do? We do only what he tells us to do, so your complaints are really against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites to come together before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.”

¹⁰ So Aaron spoke to all the Israelites. While he was talking, the people turned and looked into the desert. And they saw the Glory of the Lord appear in a cloud.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. So tell them, ‘Tonight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know you can trust the Lord, your God.’”

¹³ That evening, flocks of quail came and filled the camp, and in the morning dew lay on the ground all around it. ¹⁴ After the dew was gone, something like thin flakes of frost was on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “This is the food the Lord is giving you to eat. ¹⁶ The Lord says, ‘Each of you should gather what you need, a basket^[g] of manna for everyone in your family.’”

¹⁷ So that is what the Israelites did. Some people gathered a large amount, some people gathered a little. ¹⁸ But when they measured what they had gathered, there was no shortage and there was none left over. Everyone gathered just what they needed.

¹⁹ Moses told them, “Don’t save that food to eat the next day.” ²⁰ But some of the people did not obey Moses. They saved their food for the next day. But worms got into the food and it began to stink. Moses was angry with the people who did this.

²¹ Every morning the people gathered as much food as they could eat, but by noon^[h] the food melted and was gone.

²² On Friday the people gathered twice as much food—two baskets^[i] for every person. So all the leaders of the people came and told this to Moses.

²³ Moses told them, “This is what the Lord said would happen. It happened because tomorrow is the Sabbath, the special day of rest to honor the Lord. You can cook all the food you need to cook for today, but save the rest of this food for tomorrow morning.”

²⁴ So the people saved the rest of the food for the next day, as Moses had commanded, and none of the food spoiled or had worms in it.

²⁵ On Saturday, Moses told the people, “Today is the Sabbath, the special day of rest to honor the Lord. So none of you should be out in the fields. Eat the food you gathered yesterday. ²⁶ You should gather the food for six days. But the seventh day of the week is a day of rest—so there will not be any of the special food on the ground.”

²⁷ On Saturday, some of the people went out to gather some of the food, but they could not 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 Friday he will give you enough food for two days. Then, on the Sabbath, each of you should sit down and relax. Stay where you are.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the Sabbath.

³¹ The people called the special food “manna.^[j]” It was like small white coriander seeds and tasted like thin cakes made with honey. ³² Moses told the people what the Lord said: “Save a basket of this food for your descendants. Then they can see the food that I gave to you in the desert when I took you out of Egypt.”

³³ So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with a full basket of manna. Save this manna to put before the Lord. Save it for our descendants.” ³⁴ (Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the Box of the Agreement.) ³⁵ The people ate the manna for 40 years, until they came to the land of rest, that is, until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ (The measure they used for the manna was an omer. An omer was about 8 cups.^[k])

Water From the Rock

17 The Israelites left the western Sinai desert.^[l] They traveled all together from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they turned against Moses and started arguing with him. They said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why have you turned against me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people were very thirsty, so they continued complaining to Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here so that we, our children, and our cattle will all die without water?”

⁴ So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are ready to kill me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Go before the Israelites. Take some of the elders of the people with you. Carry your walking stick with you. This is the stick that you used when you hit the Nile River. ⁶ I will stand before you on a rock at Horeb.^[m] Hit that rock with the walking stick and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.”

Moses did these things and the elders of Israel saw it. ⁷ Moses named that place Meribah^[n] and Massah,^[o] because this was the place that the Israelites turned against him and tested the Lord. The people wanted to know if the Lord was with them or not.

War With the Amalekites

⁸ At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought against 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 and watch you. I will be holding the walking stick God gave me.”

¹⁰ Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites the next day. At the same time Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Any time Moses held his hands in the air, the men of Israel would start winning the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the men of Israel began to lose the fight.

¹² After some time, Moses’ arms became tired. So they put a large rock under Moses for him to sit on. Then Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands in the air. Aaron was on one side of Moses and Hur was on the other side. They held his hands up like this until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua and his men defeated the Amalekites in this battle.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle. Write these things in a book so that people will remember what happened here. And be sure to tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”

¹⁵ Then Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord is My Flag.” ¹⁶ Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. So the Lord fought against the Amalekites, as he always has.”

Advice From Moses’ Father-in-Law

18 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was a priest in Midian. He heard about the many ways that God helped Moses and the Israelites. He heard about the Lord leading the Israelites out of Egypt. ² So Jethro went to Moses while Moses was camped near the mountain of God.^[p] Jethro brought Moses’ wife, Zipporah, with him. (Zipporah was not with Moses, because Moses had sent her home.) ³ Jethro also brought Moses’ two sons with him. The first son was named Gershom,^[q] because when he was born, Moses said, “I am a stranger in a foreign country.” ⁴ The other son was named Eliezer,^[r] because when he was born, Moses said, “The God of my father helped me and saved me from the king of Egypt.” ⁵ So Jethro went to Moses while Moses was camped in the desert near the mountain of God. Moses’ wife and his two sons were with Jethro.

⁶ Jethro sent a message to Moses that said, “This is your father-in-law Jethro. I am bringing your wife and her two sons to you.”

⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down before him and kissed him. The two men asked about each other’s health. Then they went into Moses’ tent to talk more. ⁸ Moses told Jethro everything the Lord had done for the Israelites. He told what the Lord did to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. He told about all the problems they had along the way. And he told his father-in-law how the Lord saved the Israelites every time there was trouble.

⁹ Jethro was happy when he heard all the good things the Lord had done for Israel. He was glad that the Lord had freed the Israelites from the Egyptians. ¹⁰ He said, “Praise the Lord! He freed you from the power of Egypt. He saved you from Pharaoh. ¹¹ Now I know the Lord is greater than all the gods. They thought they were in control, but look what God did!”

¹² Jethro got some sacrifices and offerings to honor God. Then Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat with Moses’ father-in-law Jethro. They all ate together there with God.

¹³ The next day, Moses had the special job of judging the people. There were so many people that they had to stand before him all day.

¹⁴ Jethro saw Moses judging the people. He asked, “Why are you doing this? Why are you the only judge? And why do people come to you all day?”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “The people come to me and ask me to ask for God’s decision for their problem. ¹⁶ If people have an argument, they come to me, and I decide which person is right. In this way I teach the people God’s laws and teachings.”

¹⁷ But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “This isn’t the right way to do this. ¹⁸ It is too much work for you to do alone. You cannot do this job by yourself. It wears you out. And it makes the people tired too. ¹⁹ Now, listen to me. Let me give you some advice. And I pray God will be with you. You should continue listening to the problems of the people. And you should continue to speak to God about these things. ²⁰ You should explain God’s laws and teachings to the people. Warn them not to break the laws. Tell them the right way to live and what they should do. ²¹ But you should also choose some of the people to be judges and leaders.

“Choose good men you can trust—men who respect God. Choose men who will not change their decisions for money. Make these men rulers over the people. There should be rulers over 1000 people, 100 people, 50 people, and even over ten people. ²² Let these rulers judge the people. If there is a very important case, then they can come to you and let you decide what to do. But they can decide the other cases themselves. In this way these men will share your work with you, and it will be easier for you to lead the people. ²³ If you do this as God directs you, then you will be able to do your job without tiring yourself out. And the people can still have all their problems solved before they return home.”

²⁴ So Moses did what Jethro told him. ²⁵ Moses chose good men from among the Israelites. He made them leaders over the people. There were rulers over 1000 people, 100 people, 50 people, and ten people. ²⁶ These rulers were judges for the people. The people could always bring their arguments to these rulers, and Moses had to decide only the most important cases.

²⁷ After a short time Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law Jethro, and Jethro went back to his own home.

God’s Agreement With Israel

19 The Israelites reached the desert of Sinai in the third month of their trip from Egypt. ² They had traveled from Rephidim to the Sinai desert. The Israelites camped in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³ Then Moses climbed up the mountain to meet with God. The Lord spoke to him on the mountain and said, “Tell this to the Israelites, the great family of Jacob: ⁴ ‘You people saw what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw that I carried you out of Egypt like an eagle and brought you here to me. ⁵ So now I tell you to obey my commands and keep my agreement. So if you do this, you will be my own special people. The whole world belongs to me, but I am choosing you to be my own special people. ⁶ You will be a special nation—a kingdom of priests.’ Moses, you must tell the Israelites what I have said.”

⁷ So Moses climbed down the mountain and called the elders of the people together. Moses told the elders everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them. ⁸ All the people spoke at the same time and said, “We will obey everything the Lord says.”

Then Moses went back up the mountain and told the Lord that the people would obey him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in the thick cloud. I will speak to you. All the people will hear me talking to you. I will do this so that they will always believe what you tell them.”

Then Moses told God everything the people had said.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “Today and tomorrow you must prepare the people for a special meeting. They must wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready for me on the third day. On the third day, the Lord will come down to Mount Sinai. And all the people will see me. ^12-13 But you must tell the people to stay away from the mountain. Make a line and don’t let them cross it. Any person or animal that touches the mountain must be killed with stones or shot with arrows. But don’t let anyone touch them. The people must wait until the trumpet blows. Only then can they go up the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses climbed down the mountain and went to the people. He got them ready for the special meeting and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵ Then Moses said to the people, “Be ready for the meeting with God in three days. Until that time do not have sexual relations.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day, a thick cloud came down onto the mountain. There was thunder and lightning and a very loud sound from a trumpet. All the people in the camp were frightened. ¹⁷ Then Moses led the people out of the camp to a place near the mountain to meet God. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was covered with smoke. Smoke rose off the mountain like smoke from a furnace. This happened because the Lord came down to the mountain in fire. Also the whole mountain began to shake. ¹⁹ The noise from the trumpet became louder and louder. Every time Moses spoke to God, God answered him with a voice like thunder.

²⁰ So the Lord came down to Mount Sinai. He came from heaven to the top of the mountain. Then he called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain with him. So Moses went up the mountain.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to come near me and look at me. If they do, many will die. ²² Also tell the priests who come near the Lord that they must prepare themselves for this special meeting. If they don’t, I, the Lord, will punish them.”

²³ Moses said to the Lord, “But the people cannot come up the mountain. You yourself told us to make a line and not allow the people to cross the line to holy ground.”

²⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go down to the people. Get Aaron and bring him back with you. But don’t let the priests or the people come near me. I will punish them if they come too close.”

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

The Ten Commandments

20 These are the things God told his people:

² “I am the Lord your God. I am the one who freed you from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.

³ “You must not worship any other gods except me.

⁴ “You must not make any idols. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. ⁵ Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the Lord, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods.^[s] People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. ⁶ But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations.^[t]

⁷ “You must not use the name of the Lord your God to make empty promises. If you do, the Lord will not let you go unpunished.

⁸ “You must remember to keep the Sabbath a special day. ⁹ You may work six days a week to do your job. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the Lord your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, or your men and women slaves. Even your animals and the foreigners living in your cities must not work! ¹¹ That is because the Lord worked six days and made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. In this way the Lord blessed the Sabbath—the day of rest. He made that a very special day.

¹² “You must honor and respect your father and your mother. Do this so that you will have a full life in the land that the Lord your God gives you.

¹³ “You must not murder anyone.

¹⁴ “You must not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You must not steal anything.

¹⁶ “You must not tell lies about other people.^[u]

¹⁷ “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife. And you must not want his men and women servants or his cattle or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person.”

The People Are Afraid of God

¹⁸ During all this time, the people in the valley heard the thundering and saw the lightning on the mountain. They saw smoke rising from the mountain and heard the sound of the trumpet. They were afraid and shook with fear. They stood away from the mountain and watched. ¹⁹ Then the people said to Moses, “If you want to speak to us, then we will listen. But please don’t let God speak to us. If this happens, we will die.”

²⁰ Then Moses said to them, “Don’t be afraid! God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so that you will not sin.”

²¹ The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went to the dark cloud where God was. ²² Then the Lord told Moses to say this to the Israelites: “You people have seen that I talked with you from heaven. ²³ So you must not make idols using gold or silver to compete with me. You must not make these false gods.

²⁴ “Make a special altar for me. You should use dirt to make this altar. Offer sheep and cattle as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on this altar. Do this in every place where I tell you to remember me. Then I will come and bless you. ²⁵ But if you use stones to make an altar, then don’t use stones that were cut with an iron tool.^[v] If you do that, it will make the altar unacceptable. ²⁶ And you must not make steps leading up to the altar. If there are steps, when people look up to the altar, they will be able to see under your clothes.”

Other Laws and Commands

21 Then God said to Moses, “These are the other laws that you will give to the people:

² “If you buy a Hebrew^[w] slave, then that slave will serve for only six years. After six years, he will be free, and he will have to pay nothing. ³ If he is not married when he becomes your slave, when he becomes free, he will leave without a wife. But if the man is married when he becomes your slave, then he will keep his wife at the time he is made free. ⁴ If the slave is not married, the master can give him a wife. If that wife gives birth to sons or daughters, she and her children will belong to the master. After the slave is finished with his years of service, he will be made free.

⁵ “But if the slave decides that he wants to stay with the master, he must say, ‘I love my master. I love my wife and my children. I will not become free—I will stay.’ ⁶ If this happens, the master will bring the slave before God.^[x] The master will take the slave to a door or the wooden frame around the door and pierce the slave’s ear using a sharp tool to show that the slave will serve that master for all his life.

⁷ “A man might decide to sell his daughter as a slave. If this happens, the rules for making her free are not the same as the rules for making the men slaves free. ⁸ If the master who chose her for himself is not pleased with her, then he can sell the woman back to her father. If the master broke his promise to marry her, he loses the right to sell her to other people. ⁹ If the master promised to let the slave woman marry his son, he must treat her like a daughter, not like a slave.

¹⁰ “If the master marries another woman, he must not give less food or clothing to the first wife. And he must continue to give her what she has a right to have in marriage. ¹¹ The man must do these three things for her. If he does not, the woman is made free, and it will cost her nothing. She owes no money to the man.

¹² “Whoever hits and kills someone must be killed too. ¹³ But if an accident happens, and a person kills someone without planning it, then God allowed that thing to happen. I will choose some special places where people can run to for safety. So that person can run to one of those places. ¹⁴ But whoever plans to kill someone out of anger or hatred must be punished. Take them away from my altar^[y] and kill them.

¹⁵ “Whoever hits their father or their mother must be killed.

¹⁶ “Whoever steals someone to sell them as a slave or to keep them for their own slave must be killed.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses their father or mother must be killed.

¹⁸ “Two men might argue and one might hit the other with a rock or with his fist. If the man who was hurt is not killed, the man who hurt him should not be killed. ¹⁹ If the man was hurt and must stay in bed for some time, the man who hurt him must support him. The man who hurt him must pay for the loss of his time. He must support him until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “Sometimes people beat their slaves. If the slave dies after being beaten, the killer must be punished. ²¹ But if the slave gets up after a few days, then the master will not be punished.^[z] That is because someone paid their money for the slave, and the slave belongs to them.

²² “Two men might be fighting and hurt a pregnant woman. This might make the woman give birth to her baby before its time. If the woman was not hurt badly,^[aa] the man who hurt her must pay a fine. The woman’s husband will decide how much the man must pay. The judges will help the man decide how much the fine will be. ²³ But if the woman was hurt badly, then the man who hurt her must be punished. The punishment must fit the crime. You must trade one life for another life. ²⁴ You must trade an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, ²⁵ a burn for a burn, a bruise for a bruise, a cut for a cut.

²⁶ “If a man hits a slave in the eye, and the slave is blinded in that eye, then the slave will be allowed to go free. His eye is the payment for his freedom. This is the same for a man or a woman slave. ²⁷ If a master hits his slave in the mouth, and the slave loses a tooth, then the slave will be allowed to go free. The slave’s tooth is payment for the slave’s freedom. This is the same for a man or a woman slave.

²⁸ “If a man’s bull kills a man or woman, then you should use stones and kill that bull. You should not eat the bull. The owner of the bull is not guilty. ²⁹ But if the bull had hurt people in the past, and if the owner was warned, then the owner is guilty. That is because he did not keep the bull tied or locked in its place. So if the bull is allowed to be free and kills someone, the owner is guilty. You should kill the bull with stones and also kill the owner. ³⁰ But the family of the dead man may accept money. If they accept money, the man who owned the bull should not be killed. But he must pay as much money as the judge decides.

³¹ “This same law must be followed if the bull kills someone’s son or daughter. ³² But if the bull kills a slave, the owner of the animal must pay the master 30 pieces of silver.^[ab] And the bull must also be killed with stones. This law will be the same for men and women slaves.

³³ “A man might take a cover off a well or dig a hole and not cover it. If another man’s animal comes and falls into that hole, the man who owns the hole is guilty. ³⁴ The man who owns the hole must pay for the animal. But after he pays for the animal, he will be allowed to keep the body of that animal.

³⁵ “If one man’s bull kills another man’s bull, they should sell the bull that is alive. Both men will get half of the money that comes from selling the bull, and both men will also get half of the bull that was killed. ³⁶ But if a man’s bull has hurt other animals in the past, that owner is responsible for his bull. If his bull kills another bull, he is guilty because he allowed the bull to be free. That man must pay bull for bull. He must trade his bull for the bull that was killed.

22 “How should you punish a man who steals a bull or a sheep? If the man kills the animal or sells it, then he cannot give it back. So he must pay five bulls for the one he stole. Or he must pay four sheep for the one he stole. He must pay for stealing. ^2-4 If he owns nothing, then he will be sold as a slave. But if the man still has the animal and you find it, that man must give the owner two animals for every animal he stole. It doesn’t matter if the animal was a bull, a donkey, or a sheep.

“If a thief is killed while trying to break into a house at night, then no one will be guilty for killing him. But if this happens during the day, the one who killed him will be guilty of murder.

⁵ “A man might let his animal loose to graze in his field or vineyard. If the animal wanders into another person’s field or vineyard, then the owner must pay. The payment must come from the best of his crop.^[ac]

⁶ “A man might start a fire to burn thornbushes on his field. But if the fire grows and burns his neighbor’s crops or the grain growing on the neighbor’s field, the man who started the fire must pay for what he burned.

⁷ “Someone might give some money or tools to a neighbor for safekeeping. What should you do if someone steals those things from the neighbor’s house? If you find the one who stole them, then that thief must pay twice as much as the things are worth. ⁸ If you don’t find the thief, then the owner of the house must go before the judges^[ad] who will decide if that person is guilty.

⁹ “What should you do if two men disagree about a bull or a donkey or sheep or clothing or something that is lost? One man says, ‘This is mine,’ and the other says, ‘No, it is mine.’ Both men should go before the judges who will decide who is guilty. The one who was wrong must pay the other man twice as much as the thing is worth.

¹⁰ “A man might ask his neighbor to take care of an animal for a short time. It might be a donkey, a bull, or a sheep. But what should you do if that animal is hurt or dies or someone takes the animal while no one is looking? ¹¹ That neighbor must explain that he did not steal the animal. If this is true, the neighbor will promise to the Lord that he did not steal it. The owner of the animal must accept this promise. The neighbor does not have to pay the owner for the animal. ¹² But if the neighbor stole the animal, then he must pay the owner for the animal. ¹³ If wild animals killed the animal, then the neighbor should bring the body as proof. The neighbor will not have to pay the owner for the animal that was killed.

¹⁴ “If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and the animal is hurt or dies, then the neighbor must pay the owner for the animal. The neighbor is responsible, because the owner was not there himself. ¹⁵ But if the owner was there, then the neighbor does not have to pay. Or if the neighbor was paying money to use the animal for work, he will not have to pay if the animal dies or is hurt. The money he paid to use the animal will be enough payment.

¹⁶ “If a man has sexual relations with a virgin who he is not engaged to,^[ae] then he must pay her father the full amount necessary to marry her. ¹⁷ If the father refuses to allow his daughter to marry him, then the man must still pay the full amount for her.

¹⁸ “You must not allow any woman to do evil magic. If she does magic, you must not let her live.

¹⁹ “You must not allow anyone to have sexual relations with an animal. If this happens, that person must be killed.

²⁰ “Whoever makes a sacrifice to a false god should be destroyed. The Lord is the only one you should make sacrifices to.

²¹ “Remember, in the past you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. So you should not cheat or hurt anyone who is a foreigner in your land.

²² “You must never do anything bad to women whose husbands are dead or to orphans. ²³ If you do anything wrong to these widows or orphans, I will know it. I will hear about their suffering. ²⁴ And I will be very angry. I will kill you with a sword. Then your wives will become widows, and your children will become orphans.

²⁵ “If you loan money to any of my people, that is, the poor among you, don’t be like a moneylender and charge them interest. ²⁶ You might take their cloak to make sure they pay the money back, but you must give that cloak back to them before sunset. ²⁷ That cloak might be their only protection against the cold when they lie down to sleep. If they call to me for help, I will listen because I am kind.

²⁸ “You must not curse God or the leaders of your people.

²⁹ “At harvest time you should give me the first grain and the first juice from your fruit. Don’t wait until late in the year.

“Give me your firstborn sons. ³⁰ Also, give me your firstborn cattle and sheep. Let the firstborn stay with its mother for seven days. Then on the eighth day, give him to me.

³¹ “You are my special people. So don’t eat the meat from something that was killed by wild animals. Let the dogs eat that dead animal.

23 “Don’t tell lies against other people. If you are a witness in court, don’t agree to help a bad person tell lies.

² “Don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it. If you see a group of people doing wrong, don’t join them. You must not let them persuade you to do wrong things—you must do what is right and fair.

³ “In court, don’t treat a person in a special way simply because that person is poor.

⁴ “If you see a lost bull or donkey, then you must return it to its owner—even if the owner is your enemy.

⁵ “If you see an animal that cannot walk because it has too much to carry, you must stop and help that animal. You must help that animal even if it belongs to one of your enemies.

⁶ “In court, don’t let anyone take advantage of a person simply because that person is poor.

⁷ “Be very careful if you say that someone is guilty of something. Don’t make false charges against a person. Never allow innocent people to be killed as punishment for something they did not do. Whoever kills an innocent person is evil, and I will not treat a guilty person as innocent.

⁸ “If someone tries to pay you to agree with them when they are wrong, don’t accept that payment. A payment like that can blind judges so that they cannot see the truth. It can make good people tell lies.

⁹ “You must never do wrong things to a foreigner. Remember, you know what it is like to be a foreigner because at one time you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

The Special Festivals

¹⁰ “Plant seeds, harvest your crops, and work the ground for six years. ¹¹ But the seventh year must be a special time of rest for the land. Don’t plant anything in your fields. If any crops grow there, allow the poor to have it. And allow the wild animals to eat the food that is left. You should do the same with your vineyards and with your fields of olive trees.

¹² “Work for six days, but on the seventh day, rest! This will allow your slaves and other workers a time to rest and relax. And your bulls and donkeys will also have a time of rest.

¹³ “Be sure that you obey all these laws. Don’t worship false gods. You should not even speak their names!

¹⁴ “You will have three special festivals each year. You must come to my special place to worship me during these festivals. ¹⁵ The first festival is the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This is as I commanded you. During this time you will eat bread that is made without yeast. This will continue for seven days. You will do this during the month of Abib, because this is the time when you came out of Egypt. Everyone must bring a sacrifice to me at that time.

¹⁶ “The second festival will be the Festival of Harvest. This festival will be during the early summer when you begin harvesting the first crops that you planted in your fields.

“The third festival will be the Festival of Shelters. This will be in the fall, when you finish gathering the rest of the crops from your fields.

¹⁷ “So three times each year all the men will come to the special place to be with the Lord God.

¹⁸ “When you kill an animal and offer its blood as a sacrifice, you must not include anything that has yeast in it. And when you burn the fat from my sacrifice, don’t let any of it remain until morning.

¹⁹ “When you gather your crops at harvest time, you should bring the first of everything you harvest to the house^[af] of the Lord your God.

“You must not eat the meat from a young goat that is boiled in its mother’s milk.”

God Will Help Israel Take Their Land

²⁰ “I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to lead you to the place that I have prepared for you. ²¹ Obey the angel and follow him. Be careful in his presence, and don’t rebel against him. The angel will not forgive the wrong things you do to him. He has my power^[ag] in him. ²² If you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to all of your enemies. I will be against everyone who is against you.

²³ “My angel will lead you through the land. He will lead you against many different people—the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I will defeat all of them.

²⁴ “Don’t worship their gods. Don’t ever bow down to those gods. You must never live the way those people live. You must destroy their idols. And you must break the stones that help them remember their gods.^{[ah] 25} You must serve the Lord your God. If you do this, I will bless you with plenty of bread and water. I will take away all sickness from you. ²⁶ Your women will all be able to have babies. None of their babies will die at birth. And I will allow you to live long lives.

²⁷ “When you fight against your enemies, I will send my great power before you.^[ai] I will help you defeat all your enemies. The people who are against you will become confused in battle and run away. ²⁸ I will send the hornet^[aj] in front of you. He will force your enemies to leave. The Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites will leave your country. ²⁹ But I will not force all of them out of your land quickly. I will not do this in only one year. The land will be empty if I force the people out too fast. Then all the wild animals would increase and control the land. And they would be much trouble for you. ³⁰ So I will force them out of your land very slowly. I will do this as you grow and eventually take the land to be your own.

³¹ “I will give you all the land from the Red Sea^[ak] to the Mediterranean Sea,^[al] and from the desert of Sinai to the Euphrates River. I will let you defeat the people living there and force them all to leave.

³² “You must not make any agreements with any of those people or their gods. ³³ Don’t let them stay in your country. If you let them stay, they will be like a trap to you—they will cause you to sin against me. And you will begin worshiping their gods.”

God and Israel Make Their Agreement

24 The Lord told Moses, “You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel must come up the mountain and worship me from a distance. ² Then only Moses will come close to the Lord. The other men must not come close, and the rest of the people must not even come up the mountain.”

³ Moses told the people all the rules and commands from the Lord. Then all the people said, “We will obey all the commands that the Lord has spoken.”

⁴ So Moses wrote down all the commands of the Lord. The next morning he got up and built an altar near the bottom of the mountain. And he set up twelve stones—one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then Moses sent young men of Israel to offer sacrifices. These men offered bulls to the Lord as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

⁶ Moses saved the blood from these animals. He put half of the blood in bowls, and he poured the other half of the blood on the altar.^[am]

⁷ Moses read the scroll with the special agreement written on it. He read the agreement so that all the people could hear him. And the people said, “We have heard the laws that the Lord has given us. And we agree to obey them.”

⁸ Then Moses held the bowls full of the blood from the sacrifices. He threw that blood on the people. He said, “This blood shows that the Lord has made a special agreement with you. The laws God gave you explain the agreement.”

⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain. ¹⁰ On the mountain, these men saw the God of Israel. He was standing on something that looked like blue sapphires, as clear as the sky! ¹¹ All the leaders of Israel saw God, but God did not destroy them.^[an] They all ate and drank together.

Moses Goes to Get God’s Law

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come to me on the mountain. I have written my teachings and laws on two stone tablets. These teachings and laws are for the people. I will give these stone tablets to you.”

¹³ So Moses and his helper, Joshua, went up the mountain of God. ¹⁴ Moses said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. While I am gone, Aaron and Hur will rule over you. Go to them if anyone has a problem.”

Moses Meets With God

¹⁵ Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The Glory of the Lord came down on Mount Sinai. The cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord spoke to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁷ The Israelites could see the Glory of the Lord. It was like a fire burning on top of the mountain.

¹⁸ Then Moses went higher up the mountain into the cloud. He was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Gifts for the Holy Things

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to bring me gifts. You will accept gifts for me from everyone who is willing to give. ³ Here is the list of the things that you should accept from the people: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen; goat hair, ⁵ ram skins dyed red, and fine leather; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and spices for the sweet-smelling incense. ⁷ Also accept onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the ephod and the judgment pouch.

The Holy Tent

⁸ “The people will build a holy place for me. Then I can live among them. ⁹ I will show you what the Holy Tent and everything in it should look like. Build everything exactly as I show you.

The Box of the Agreement

¹⁰ “Use acacia wood and build a special box. This Holy Box must be 2 1/2 cubits^[ao] long, 1 1/2 cubits^[ap] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ¹¹ Use pure gold to cover the Box inside and out. Put gold trim around the edges of the Box. ¹² Make four gold rings for carrying the Box. Put the gold rings on the four corners, two rings on each side. ¹³ Then make poles for carrying the Box. These poles should be made from acacia wood and covered with gold. ¹⁴ Put the poles through the rings on the corners of the Box. Use these poles to carry the Box. ¹⁵ These poles should always stay in the rings of the Box. Don’t take the poles out.

¹⁶ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it into this Box. ¹⁷ Then make a lid, the mercy-cover. Make it from pure gold. Make it 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits wide. ¹⁸ Then make two Cherub angels and put them on each end of the mercy-cover. Hammer gold to make these angels. ¹⁹ Put one angel on one end of the mercy-cover, and put the other angel on the other end. Join the angels together with the mercy-cover to make one piece. ²⁰ The wings of these angels should spread up toward the sky. The angels should cover the Box with their wings and should face each other, looking toward the mercy-cover.

²¹ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it in the Box, and put the mercy-cover on the Box. ²² When I meet with you, I will speak from between the Cherub angels on the mercy-cover that is on the Box of the Agreement. From that place, I will give all my commands to the Israelites.

The Table

²³ “Make a table from acacia wood. The table must be 2 cubits^[aq] long, 1 cubit^[ar] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ²⁴ Cover the table with pure gold and put gold trim around it. ²⁵ Then make a frame 1 handbreadth^[as] wide around the table. And put gold trim on the frame. ²⁶ Then make four gold rings and put them on 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. These rings will hold the poles used to carry the table. ²⁸ Use acacia wood to make the poles, and cover them with gold. The poles are for carrying the table. ²⁹ Make the plates, the spoons, the pitchers, and the bowls from pure gold. The pitchers and bowls will be used for pouring the drink offerings. ³⁰ Put the special bread^[at] before me on the table. It must always be there in front of me.

The Lampstand

³¹ “Then you must make a lampstand. Use pure gold and hammer it to make the base and the shaft.^[au] Make flowers, buds, and petals from pure gold. Join all these things together into one piece.

³² “The lampstand must have six branches—three branches on one side and three branches on the other. ³³ Each branch must have three flowers. Make these flowers like almond flowers with buds and petals. ³⁴ Make four more flowers for the lampstand. These flowers must be made like almond flowers with buds and petals. ³⁵ There will be six branches on the lampstand—three branches coming out from each side of the shaft. Make a flower with buds and petals below each of the three places where the branches join the shaft. ³⁶ The whole lampstand with the flowers and branches must be made from pure gold. All this gold must be hammered and joined together into one piece. ³⁷ Then make seven lamps^[av] to go on the lampstand. These lamps will give light to the area in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ Use pure gold to make the lamp snuffers and trays. ³⁹ Use 75 pounds^[aw] of pure gold to make the lampstand and the things to be used with it. ⁴⁰ Be very careful to make everything exactly the way I showed you on the mountain.

The Holy Tent

26 “The Holy Tent should be made from ten curtains. These curtains must be made from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. A skilled worker should sew pictures of Cherub angels with wings into the curtains. ² Make each curtain the same size. Each curtain should be 28 cubits^[ax] long and 4 cubits^[ay] wide. ³ Join the curtains together into two groups. Join five curtains together to make one group and join five curtains together to make the other group. ⁴ Use blue cloth to make loops along the edge of the end curtain in one group. Do the same on the end curtain in the other group. ⁵ There must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the first group. And there must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the other group. These loops must be opposite each other. ⁶ Then make 50 gold rings to join the curtains together. This will join the Holy Tent together into one piece.

⁷ “Make another tent that will cover the Holy Tent. Use eleven curtains to make this tent. Make these curtains from goat hair. ⁸ All these curtains must be the same size. They must be 30 cubits^[az] long and 4 cubits wide. ⁹ Join five of the curtains together into one group. Then join the other six curtains together into another group. Fold back half of the sixth curtain at the front of the Tent. ¹⁰ Make 50 loops down the edge of the end curtain of one group. Do the same for the end curtain of the other group. ¹¹ Then make 50 bronze rings to join the curtains together. This will join the tent together into one piece. ¹² Half of the end curtain of this tent will hang down below the back edge of the Holy Tent. ¹³ On the sides, the curtains of this tent will hang down 1 cubit^[ba] below the bottom edges of the Holy Tent. So this tent will completely cover the Holy Tent. ¹⁴ Make two coverings to go over the outer tent. One covering should be made from ram skins dyed red. The other covering should be made from fine leather.

¹⁵ “Use acacia wood to make frames to support the Holy Tent. ¹⁶ The frames should be 10 cubits^[bb] high and 1 1/2 cubits^[bc] wide. ¹⁷ Two side poles should be joined together with cross pieces to make each frame. All the frames for the Holy Tent must be the same. ¹⁸ Make 20 frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. ¹⁹ And make 40 silver bases for the frames. Each frame should have two silver bases to go under it—one base for each side pole. ²⁰ Make 20 more frames for the other side (the north side) of the Holy Tent. ²¹ And make 40 silver bases for these frames—two bases under each frame. ²² Make six more frames for the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. ²³ Make two frames for the corners at the back of the Holy Tent. ²⁴ The frames at the corners should be joined together at the bottom. At the top a ring will hold the frames together. Do the same for both corners. ²⁵ There will be a total of eight frames for the west end of the Tent. There will be 16 silver bases—two bases under each frame.

²⁶ “Use acacia wood and make braces for the frames of the Holy Tent. There should be five braces for the first side of the Holy Tent. ²⁷ And there should be five braces for the frames on the other side of the Holy Tent. And there should be five braces for the frames at the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. ²⁸ The middle brace should pass through the frames from one end to the other.

²⁹ “Cover the frames with gold. And make rings for the frames to hold the braces. Make these rings from gold. Also cover the braces with gold. ³⁰ Build the Holy Tent the way I showed you on the mountain.

Inside the Holy Tent

³¹ “Use fine linen and make a special curtain for the inside of the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and sew pictures of Cherub angels into the curtain. ³² Make four posts from acacia wood, and cover the posts with gold. Put hooks made from gold on the four posts. Put four silver bases under the posts. Then hang the curtain on the gold hooks. ³³ Put the curtain under the gold rings.^[bd] Then put the Box of the Agreement behind the curtain. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. ³⁴ Put the mercy-cover on the Box of the Agreement in the Most Holy Place.

³⁵ “Put the special table you made outside of the curtain. The table should be on the north side of the Holy Tent. Then put the lampstand on the south side, across from the table.

The Door of the Holy Tent

³⁶ “Then make a curtain to cover the entrance to the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen to make this curtain. Weave pictures into it. ³⁷ Make gold hooks for this curtain. Make five posts using acacia wood covered with gold and make five bronze bases for the five posts.

The Altar for Burning Offerings

27 “Use acacia wood and build an altar. The altar should be square. It must be 5 cubits^[be] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits^[bf] high. ² Make a horn for each of the four corners of the altar. Join each horn to its corner so that everything is one piece. Then cover the altar with bronze.

³ “Use bronze to make all the tools and dishes that will be used on the altar. Make pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and pans. These will be used for cleaning ashes from the altar. ⁴ Make a grating for the altar. This grating will be shaped like a net. And make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the grating. ⁵ Put the grating under the ledge at the bottom of the altar. The grating will go halfway up into the altar from below.

⁶ “Use acacia wood to make poles for the altar, and cover them with bronze. ⁷ Put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar. Use these poles for carrying the altar. ⁸ Make the altar like an empty box with the sides made from boards. Make the altar just as I showed you on the mountain.

The Courtyard Around the Holy Tent

⁹ “Make a courtyard for the Holy Tent. The south side should have a wall of curtains 100 cubits^[bg] long. These curtains must be made from fine linen. ¹⁰ Use 20 posts and 20 bronze bases under the posts. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods^[bh] should be made from silver. ¹¹ The north side must also have a wall of curtains 100 cubits long. It must have 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods must be made from silver.

¹² “On the west side of the courtyard there must be a wall of curtains 50 cubits^[bi] long. There must be ten posts and ten bases. ¹³ The east side of the courtyard must also be 50 cubits long. ¹⁴ Here at the entrance to the courtyard, one side must have curtains 15 cubits^[bj] long. There must be three posts and three bases on this side. ¹⁵ The other side of the entrance must also have curtains 15 cubits long. There must be three posts and three bases on that side.

¹⁶ “Make a curtain 20 cubits^[bk] long to cover the entrance to the courtyard. Make that curtain from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. Weave designs into that curtain. There must be four posts and four bases for that curtain. ¹⁷ All the posts around the courtyard must be joined with silver curtain rods. The hooks on the posts must be made from silver, and the bases for the posts must be bronze. ¹⁸ The courtyard should be 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide. The wall of curtains around the courtyard should be 5 cubits high. The curtains must be made from fine linen. The bases under the posts must be bronze. ¹⁹ All the tools, tent pegs, and other things used in the Holy Tent must be made from bronze. And all the pegs for the curtains around the courtyard must be made from bronze.

Oil for the Lamp

²⁰ “Command the Israelites to bring their best olive oil for the lamp that must be lit each evening. ²¹ This lamp is in the first room of the Meeting Tent, outside the curtain for the room where the Agreement is. Aaron and his sons will make sure this lamp is burning before the Lord every day from evening until morning. The Israelites and their descendants must obey this law forever.

Clothes for the Priests

28 “Tell your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to come to you from the Israelites. These men will serve me as priests.

² “Make special clothes for your brother Aaron. These clothes will give him honor and respect. ³ I have given special wisdom to some of the skilled men. Tell them to make the clothes for Aaron. These clothes will show that he serves me in a special way. Then he can serve me as a priest. ⁴ These are the clothes the men should make: the judgment pouch, the ephod, a blue robe, a white woven robe, a turban, and a cloth belt. They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can serve me as priests. ⁵ Tell the men to use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

The Ephod and the Cloth Belt

⁶ “Use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn to make the ephod. This must be the work of a very skilled person. ⁷ At each shoulder of the ephod, there should be a shoulder piece. These shoulder pieces should be tied to the two corners of the ephod.

⁸ “The men will very carefully weave a cloth belt for the ephod. This belt must be made the same way as the ephod—use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones. Write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on these jewels. ¹⁰ Write six names on one jewel and six names on the other jewel. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. ¹¹ Cut the names of the sons of Israel into these stones. Do this the way a worker makes a seal. Put the jewels in gold settings. ¹² Then put these two jewels on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Aaron will wear this special coat when he stands before the Lord. And the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel will be on the ephod. These jewels will cause the Lord to remember the Israelites. ¹³ Use fine gold to hold the stones on the ephod. ¹⁴ Twist chains of pure gold together like a rope. Make two of these gold chains and fasten them to the gold settings.

The Judgment Pouch

¹⁵ “Make the judgment pouch for the high priest. Skilled workers should make this pouch just as they made the ephod. They must use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn. ¹⁶ The judgment pouch should be folded double to make a square pocket. It should be 1 span^[bl] long and 1 span wide. ¹⁷ Put four rows of beautiful jewels on the judgment pouch. The first row of jewels should have a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl. ¹⁸ The second row should have a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald. ¹⁹ The third row should have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row should have a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Set all these jewels in gold. ²¹ There will be twelve jewels on the judgment pouch—one stone for each of the sons of Israel. Each stone will be like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes cut into it.

²² “Make chains of pure gold for the judgment pouch. These chains must be braided like a rope. ²³ Make two gold rings and put them on two corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁴ Put the two golden chains through the two rings at the corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁵ Fasten the other ends of the gold chains to the two settings. This will fasten them to the two shoulder pieces of the ephod on the front. ²⁶ Make two more gold rings and put them on the other two corners of the judgment pouch. This will be on the inside edge of the judgment pouch next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings and put them on the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod. Put the gold rings above the cloth belt of the ephod. ²⁸ Use blue ribbon to tie the rings of the judgment pouch to the rings of the ephod. In this way the judgment pouch will rest close to the cloth belt and will be held against the ephod.

²⁹ “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he must wear the judgment pouch. In this way he will wear the names of the twelve sons of Israel over his heart. And the Lord will always be reminded of them. ³⁰ Put the Urim and Thummim inside the judgment pouch. They will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. So Aaron will always carry with him a way of judging for the Israelites when he is before the Lord.

Other Clothes for the Priests

³¹ “Make a blue robe for the ephod. ³² Make a hole in the center for the head. And sew a piece of cloth around the edge of this hole. This cloth will be like a collar that keeps the hole from tearing. ³³ Use blue, purple, and red yarn to make cloth pomegranates. Hang these pomegranates around the bottom edge of the robe, and hang gold bells between the pomegranates. ³⁴ So around the bottom edge of the robe there should be bells and pomegranates. There should be a bell following each pomegranate. ³⁵ Aaron will wear this robe when he serves as a priest. The bells will ring as Aaron goes into the Holy Place to stand before the Lord, and the bells will ring as he leaves the Holy Place. This way Aaron will not die.

³⁶ “Make a strip of pure gold and carve these words into the gold like the writing on a seal: holy to the lord.^{[bm] 37} Fasten the gold strip to a blue ribbon. Tie the blue ribbon around the turban. The gold strip should be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ Aaron will wear this on his head. In this way he will remove the guilt if anything is wrong with the gifts that the Israelites^[bn] give to God. Aaron will always wear this on his head so that the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.

³⁹ “Use fine linen to make the white woven robe and the turban. The cloth belt should have designs sewn into it. ⁴⁰ Also make coats, belts, and cloth caps for Aaron’s sons. This will give them honor and respect. ⁴¹ Put the clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour the special oil on them to make them priests. This will make them holy, and they will serve me as priests.

⁴² “Use linen to make underclothes for the priests. These underclothes will cover them from the waist to the thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear these clothes whenever they enter the Meeting Tent. They must wear these clothes when they come near to the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they don’t wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong and will have to die. All this should be a law that continues forever for Aaron and all his family after him.