Exodus 19-20

Young's Literal Translation

19 In the third month of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in this day they have come into the wilderness of Sinai,

² and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encampeth there before the mount.

³ And Moses hath gone up unto God, and Jehovah calleth unto him out of the mount, saying, `Thus dost thou say to the house of Jacob, and declare to the sons of Israel,

⁴ Ye -- ye have seen that which I have done to the Egyptians, and I bear you on eagles' wings, and bring you in unto Myself.

⁵ `And now, if ye really hearken to My voice, then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all the peoples, for all the earth [is] Mine;

⁶ and ye -- ye are to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation: these [are] the words which thou dost speak unto the sons of Israel.'

⁷ And Moses cometh, and calleth for the elders of the people, and setteth before them all these words which Jehovah hath commanded him;

⁸ and all the people answer together and say, `All that Jehovah hath spoken we do;' and Moses returneth the words of the people unto Jehovah.

⁹ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, I am coming unto thee in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people hear in My speaking with thee, and also believe in thee to the age;' and Moses declareth the words of the people unto Jehovah.

¹⁰ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go unto the people; and thou hast sanctified them to-day and to-morrow, and they have washed their garments,

¹¹ and have been prepared for the third day; for on the third day doth Jehovah come down before the eyes of all the people, on mount Sinai.

¹² `And thou hast made a border [for] the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, going up into the mount, or coming against its extremity; whoever is coming against the mount is certainly put to death;

¹³ a hand cometh not against him, for he is certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man it liveth not; in the drawing out of the jubilee cornet they go up into the mount.'

¹⁴ And Moses cometh down from the mount unto the people, and sanctifieth the people, and they wash their garments;

¹⁵ and he saith unto the people, `Be ye prepared for the third day, come not nigh unto a woman.'

¹⁶ And it cometh to pass, on the third day, while it is morning, that there are voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud, on the mount, and the sound of a trumpet very strong; and all the people who [are] in the camp do tremble.

¹⁷ And Moses bringeth out the people to meet God from the camp, and they station themselves at the lower part of the mount,

¹⁸ and mount Sinai [is] wholly a smoke from the presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly;

¹⁹ and the sound of the trumpet is going on, and very strong; Moses speaketh, and God doth answer him with a voice.

²⁰ And Jehovah cometh down on mount Sinai, unto the top of the mount, and Jehovah calleth for Moses unto the top of the mount, and Moses goeth up.

²¹ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go down, protest to the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to see, and many of them have fallen;

²² and also the priests who are coming nigh unto Jehovah do sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.'

²³ And Moses saith unto Jehovah, `The people [is] unable to come up unto mount Sinai, for Thou -- Thou hast protested to us, saying, Make a border [for] the mount, then thou hast sanctified it.'

²⁴ And Jehovah saith unto him, `Go, descend, then thou hast come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; and the priests and the people do not break through, to come up unto Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them.'

²⁵ And Moses goeth down unto the people, and saith unto them: --

20 `And God speaketh all these words, saying,

² I [am] Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants.

³ `Thou hast no other Gods before Me.

⁴ `Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which [is] in the heavens above, or which [is] in the earth beneath, or which [is] in the waters under the earth.

⁵ Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third [generation], and on the fourth, of those hating Me,

⁶ and doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands.

⁷ `Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.

⁸ `Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it;

⁹ six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work,

¹⁰ and the seventh day [is] a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, --

¹¹ for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.

¹² `Honour thy father and thy mother, so that thy days are prolonged on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

¹³ `Thou dost not murder.

¹⁴ `Thou dost not commit adultery.

¹⁵ `Thou dost not steal.

¹⁶ `Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a false testimony.

¹⁷ `Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which [is] thy neighbour's.'

¹⁸ And all the people are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand afar off,

¹⁹ and say unto Moses, `Speak thou with us, and we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.'

²⁰ And Moses saith unto the people, `Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces -- that ye sin not.'

²¹ And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God [is].

²² And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel: Ye -- ye have seen that from the heavens I have spoken with you;

²³ ye do not make with Me gods of silver, even gods of gold ye do not make to yourselves.

²⁴ `An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee.

²⁵ `And if an altar of stones thou dost make to Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over it, then thou dost pollute it;

²⁶ neither dost thou go up by steps on Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.