Exodus 19

In the third month after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, on that same day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

1In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

NoteMonths in the Hebrew calendar follow the moon and are here counted from the departure from Egypt, so this is roughly six weeks after the escape. "On that same day" most likely means the same day of the month on which they had left.

2They had set out from Rephidim and had come to the desert of Sinai, and they set up camp in the wilderness. There Israel camped in front of the mountain.

2For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

NoteRephidim was the previous stopping place, where the people had quarreled with Moses over water and had been attacked by the Amalekites (Exodus 17).

3Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell it to the people of Israel:

3And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

NoteJacob, the ancestor of the twelve tribes, was also called Israel. "House of Jacob" and "people of Israel" name the same group; the two lines say the same thing twice, a normal pattern in Hebrew speech.

4'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

NoteThe Hebrew bird covers both the eagle and the griffon vulture, the great soaring birds of the region. The picture is of a bird carrying its young on its wings, and of a journey made by the bird's strength rather than the passenger's.

5So now, if you will truly obey my voice and keep my covenant, then out of all peoples you will be my own special treasure, for the whole earth belongs to me.

5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

NoteA covenant was a formal, binding agreement, of the kind a great king made with a lesser ruler: it set out obligations on both sides and was sworn to, not merely agreed. The words behind "special treasure" refer to a king's private hoard, the property he kept as personally his own as distinct from the wealth of the realm.

6And you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the people of Israel."

6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

NoteA priest was someone permitted to approach God directly and to act as go-between on behalf of others. "Holy" here means set apart and reserved for God's use; it describes status, not moral character.

7So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and he set out before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

NoteThe elders were the heads of families and clans, the recognized leaders who spoke for the people and through whom decisions reached everyone.

8All the people answered together and said, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do." And Moses brought the people's words back to the LORD.

8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

9The LORD said to Moses, "Look, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may trust you forever." And Moses told the LORD what the people had said.

9And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

10The LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and set them apart today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothes.

10And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

Note"Set apart" (older versions say "sanctify") means putting people through the ritual preparation that made them fit to come near God: washing, clean clothing, avoiding whatever left a person temporarily unfit. It concerns ritual condition, not moral improvement.

11Have them ready for the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai where all the people can see.

11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

12You are to set boundaries for the people all around, and say to them, 'Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its edge. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death.

12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

NoteThe boundary was a physical marker set around the base of the mountain, showing how close anyone could come.

13No hand is to touch him. He must be stoned or shot through. Whether it is an animal or a person, it must not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may come up to the mountain."

13There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

Note"No hand is to touch him" means the offender was to be killed from a distance, by stones or arrows, so that no one else made contact with a person who had touched the mountain. The instrument is a ram's horn, blown as a signal, not a metal trumpet.

14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He set the people apart, and they washed their clothes.

14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15He said to the people, "Be ready for the third day. Do not come near a woman."

15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

NoteThis means abstaining from sexual relations. Under Israel's rules sexual intercourse left both partners ritually unfit for a set time, again a matter of ritual condition, not of wrongdoing.

16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a trumpet, very loud. All the people in the camp trembled.

16And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the lower part of the mountain.

17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke, because the LORD came down on it in fire. The smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.

18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

NoteA furnace here is a kiln for smelting metal or burning lime, the hottest, smokiest fire people of the time knew.

19When the sound of the trumpet went on long and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice.

19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

NoteThe Hebrew word means both "voice" and "thunder," and the text can be read either way: God answered in words, or God answered in the thunder. The ambiguity is in the original.

20The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. The LORD called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

20And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

21The LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, so they do not push through to the LORD to look, and many of them die.

21And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

22And the priests too, who come near to the LORD, must set themselves apart, or the LORD will break out against them."

22And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

NoteAaron's priesthood has not yet been set up at this point in the story, so who these priests are is unclear. They may be the men who had traditionally offered sacrifices for their families, firstborn sons or clan heads.

23Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you warned us and said, 'Set boundaries around the mountain and set it apart as holy.'"

23And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

24The LORD said to him, "Go, get down, and then come back up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people push through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them."

24And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.

NoteAaron was Moses' older brother, who had been acting as his spokesman since the confrontations with Pharaoh.

25So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

25So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.