Exo 19:9-20:22 | ESV | STEP | And the Lord said to Moses , Behold , I am coming to you in a thick cloud , that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever . When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord ,

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^ain a thick cloud, that ^bthe people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^cbelieve you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^dconsecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^ewash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^fthe Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^gWhoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; ^{▼▼That is, shot with an arrow} whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ⁱthe trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses ^jwent down from the mountain to the people and ^kconsecrated the people; ^land they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^mthird day; ⁿdo not go near a woman.”

16 On the morning of the ^othird day there were ^pthunders and lightnings and ^qa thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^rtrumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^strembled. 17 Then ^tMoses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now ^uMount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^vthe whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the ^wsound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^xGod answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^yto look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^zconsecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^aabreak out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^ab‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^acbreak through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Exodus 20:1-22

The Ten Commandments

1 ^adAnd ^aeGod spoke all these words, saying,

2 ^af“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 ^ag“You shall have no other gods before ^{▼▼Or besides} me.

4 ^ai“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 ^ajYou shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am ^aka jealous God, ^alvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands ^{▼▼Or to the thousandth generation} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 ^an“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

8 ^ao“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 ^apSix days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the ^aqseventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the ^arsojourner who is within your gates. 11 For ^asin six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 ^at“Honor your father and your mother, ^authat your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 ^av“You shall not murder. ^{▼▼The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence}

14 ^ax“You shall not commit adultery.

15 ^ay“You shall not steal.

16 ^az“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 ^ba“You shall not covet ^bbyour neighbor’s house; ^bcyou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18 Now when all the people saw ^bdthe thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid ^{▼▼Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text the people saw} and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, ^bf“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 ^bgMoses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to ^bhtest you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the ^bithick darkness where God was.

Laws About Altars

22 And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have ^bjtalked with you from heaven.