Exodus 19
1 The Israeli people then left Rephidim, and exactly two months after leaving Egypt, they/we came to the desert near Sinai [Mountain]. They/We set up their/our tents at the base of the mountain.
In the third month after the sons of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
And when they were departed from Rephidim, and came to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness, and there Israel encamped before the mount.
3 Moses/I climbed up the mountain [to talk with] God. Yahweh called to [him/me] from [the top of] the mountain and said, “This is what I want you to say to the Israeli people, the descendants of Jacob:
And Moses went up to God. And Jehovah called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus thou shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel:
4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You have seen [what I did for all of you] and how I brought you here to me. It was as though I [lifted you up as] an eagle [carries its young eaglets] on its wings [MET].
Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself.
5 So now, if you will do what I tell you and obey all that I command you, you will be my own people. All the people-groups on the earth are mine, but you will be (dearer/more special) to me than all the other people-groups.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be my own possession from among all peoples, for all the earth is mine,
6 You will be people over whom I will rule, and you will all (be like priests/represent me to other nations as priests represent me to one nation) [MET], and you will be completely dedicated to me.’ That is what you must tell the Israeli people.”
and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shall speak to the sons of Israel.
7 So Moses/I went [down the mountain] and summoned the elders/leaders of the people. He/I told them everything that Yahweh had told him/me to tell them.
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
8 The people all said, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us to do.” Then Moses/I [climbed back up the mountain and] reported to Yahweh what the people had said.
And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to Jehovah.
9 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “[Listen carefully]: I am going to appear to you from inside a thick cloud. When I am speaking to you, the people will hear it, and they will always trust in you.” Then Moses/I went [down the mountain and reported to the people what Yahweh said. Then he/I went back up the mountain and] told Yahweh what the people replied.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Lo, I come to thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah.
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go [back down] to the people [again]. [Tell them to] purify themselves today and tomorrow. [Tell them to] wash their clothes, too.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,
11 They must do that to be ready on the day after tomorrow. On that day I will come down to Sinai Mountain to where all the people can see me.
and be ready for the third day, for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12 You must make a boundary around the base of the mountain, and tell them, ‘Be sure that you do not climb the mountain or even go near it. Anyone who even touches the base of the mountain must be executed.’
And thou shall set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye not go up onto the mount, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mount shall be surely put to death;
13 Do not let anyone touch any person or any animal that touches the mountain. You must [kill any person or animal that touches the mountain] by throwing stones at it or shooting it [with arrows]. But when you hear a long [loud] trumpet sound, the people can come close to the [base of the] mountain.”
no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through, whether it be beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.
14 So Moses/I went down the mountain [again] and told the people to purify themselves. They did what Moses/I told them to do, and they also washed their clothes.
And Moses went down from the mount to the people, and sanctified the people, and they washed their garments.
15 Then Moses/I said to the people, “Be ready on the day after tomorrow. And [you men] must not have sex with [EUP] [your wives] until after then.”
And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day. Come not near a woman.
16 Two days later, during the morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a very dark cloud on the mountain. A trumpet sounded very loudly, with the result that the people in the camp shook/trembled because they [were very afraid].
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of an exceedingly loud trumpet. And all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17 Then Moses/I led the people outside the camp to meet with God. They stood at the base of the mountain.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the lower part of the mount.
18 All of Sinai Mountain was covered in smoke, because Yahweh had descended on it, surrounded by a fire. The smoke rose up like the smoke from [the chimney of] a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire, and the smoke of it ascended as the smoke of a furnace. And the whole mount quaked greatly.
19 As the sound of the trumpet continued to become louder, Moses/I spoke [to Yahweh], and Yahweh answered [him/me] in [a loud voice that sounded like] thunder.
And when the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.
20 Then Yahweh came down [again] onto the top of Sinai Mountain, and he summoned Moses/me to come up to the top of the mountain. So Moses/I went up.
And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount. And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mount, and Moses went up.
21 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go down again and warn the people not to cross the boundary in order to look [at me]. If they [do] that, many of them will die.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, command the people, lest they break through to Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.
22 Also, the priests who habitually come near me must purify themselves. If they do not do that, I will punish them.”
And let the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
23 Then Moses/I said to Yahweh, “The people will not climb the mountain, because you commanded them, saying, ‘Set a boundary around the mountain, to make it sacred/taboo.’”
And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai, for thou commanded us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24 Yahweh replied, “Go down the mountain, and bring Aaron back up with you. But do not allow the priests or other people to cross the boundary to come up to me. If they cross it, I will punish them.”
And Jehovah said to him, Go, get thee down. And thou shall come up, thou, and Aaron with thee, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, lest he break forth upon them.
25 So Moses/I went down the mountain [again] and told the people [what Yahweh had said].
So Moses went down to the people, and told them.
