This book contains the account of God enabling his people, the Israeli people, to escape from Egypt and of giving some laws forthem. We call this book

Exodus

1

The Egyptians caused the Israeli people to suffer greatly

1The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him along with their families were 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5Altogether there were 70 people who went with Jacob. That included his sons, his grandsons, and two great-grandsons. His son Joseph was already in Egypt.

6Eventually Joseph and his older and younger brothers and everyone else in their family who lived ◄in that generation/at that time► died. 7But Jacob’s descendants kept giving birth to many children [IDM]. The number of his descendants kept becoming larger and larger. As a result, there were so many of them that they were everywhere in Egypt (OR, that they became a threat to the Egyptians). 8Then several hundred years later, a new king began to rule [MTY] in Egypt. He did not know what Joseph had done for the people of Egypt long ago. 9He said to his people, “Look at what has happened! The Israeli people have become so numerous and so powerful that they now might conquer us! 10We must find a way to control them! If we do not do that, their population will continue to grow. Then, if enemies [PRS] attack us, they will join with our enemies and fight against us, and they will escape from our land.”

11So the king and his officials put supervisors over the Israeli people to cause them to suffer very much by forcing them to work very hard. They forced the Israeli people to build two cities, Pithom and Ramses, in which to store supplies for the king/government. 12But the more cruelly they treated the Israeli people, the bigger the Israeli population grew, and they became more numerous all over the land. So the Egyptian people began to be afraid of the Israeli people. 13They forced the Israeli people to work very hard, 14and by making them slaves, they made their lives miserable. They forced them to build many buildings with mortar and bricks. They also forced them to do other work in the fields. In making them do all this work, the Egyptian officials treated them ruthlessly/cruelly.

15There were two Hebrew ◄midwives/women who helped the women when they were giving birth►. [Hebrew means the same as Israeli.] The names of the women were Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to those two women, 16“When you help the Hebrew women when they are giving birth [MTY], if the baby that is born is a boy, you must kill it. If the baby is a girl, you ◄may let it live/do not have to kill them►.” 17But the midwives feared/revered God. So they did not do what the king told them to do. They allowed the baby boys to live. 18So the king summoned the two midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?” 19One of the midwives replied to the king, “You need to realize that the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. The Hebrew women are very strong/healthy. They give birth to their babies before we can get to them to help them.”

20So God acted kindly toward the midwives, and the Hebrew people became even more numerous and strong. 21Furthermore, because the midwives feared/revered God, he enabled them also to give birth to children.

22Then the king commanded all ◄the Egyptian people/his advisors►: “You must throw into the Nile River every baby boy born that the Hebrew women give birth to! But you can allow the baby girls to live.”

2

After Moses was born he was later adopted by the king’s daughter

1◄There was a man who/My father► was descended from Jacob’s son Levi. He married a woman who was also descended from Levi. 2She became pregnant and gave birth to ◄a baby boy/me►. When she saw that he/I was a good-looking baby, she hid him/me for three months, because she was not willing to do what the king commanded. 3When she was unable to ◄hide him/me/keep it a secret► any longer, she got a basket made from tall reeds. She covered the basket with tar ◄to make it waterproof/so water could not get in►. Then she put him/me in the basket and put the basket in the water in the middle of the tall grass at the edge of the Nile River. 4His/My older sister was standing not far away, watching to see what would happen to him/me.

5Soon the king’s daughter went down to the river to bathe. Her female servants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket amid the tall grass in the river. So she sent one of her servants to get it. 6When the servant brought the basket to her, she opened it, and was surprised to see ◄a baby that was/me►, crying. She felt sorry for him/me, and said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ babies.”

7Then ◄the baby’s/my► older sister approached the king’s daughter and said, “Do you want me to go and find someone from among the Hebrew women who will be able to nurse the baby for you?” 8The king’s daughter said to her, “Yes, go and find one.” So the girl went and summoned ◄the baby’s/my► mother. 9The king’s daughter said to her, “Please take this baby and nurse him for me. I will pay you for doing that.” So ◄the woman/my mother► took him/me and nursed him/me. 10◄A few years later/when ◄the child/I► grew older►, she brought him/me to the king’s daughter. She adopted him/me as though I was her own son. She named him/me Moses, which sounds like the Hebrew words ‘pull out’, because she said “I pulled him out of the water.”

Moses, after murdering an Egyptian, escaped to Midian and later married Zipporah

11One day, after Moses/I had grown up, he/I went out of the palace area to see his/my people, the Hebrews. He/I saw how they were being forced to work very hard. He/I also saw an Egyptian man beating one of his/my Hebrew people. 12He/I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no one, he/I killed the Egyptian man and buried his body in the sand.

13The next day he/I returned to the same place. He/I was surprised to see two Hebrew men who were fighting each other. He/I said to the man who started the fight, “Why are you ◄you should not be► striking your fellow Hebrew.” 14The man replied, “◄Who made you our ruler and judge?/No one made you our ruler and judge!► [RHQ] You have no right to interfere with us Are you going to kill me just like you killed that Egyptian man yesterday?” Then Moses/I was afraid, because he/I thought, “Since that man knows what I did, surely other people know, too.”

15And that was correct. The king heard about what he/I had done to that Egyptian. So he ordered his soldiers to execute/kill Moses/me. But he/I fled from the king and left Egypt. He/I traveled east to the Midian region and started to live there. 16The man who was the ◄priest/one who offered the people’s gifts to God► for the Midian people, whose name was Jethro, had seven daughters. One day as Moses/I sat down beside a well, those girls came to the well and got water, and filled the troughs in order to give water to their father’s flock of sheep. 17Some ◄shepherds/men who took care of other sheep► came and started to chase away the girls. But Moses/I helped/rescued the girls, and got water for their sheep. 18When the girls returned to their father Jethro, whose other name is Reuel, he asked them, “How is it that you were able to give water to the sheep and come home so quickly today?” 19They replied, “A man from Egypt kept [MTY] other shepherds from sending us away. He also got water for us from the well and gave water to the flock of sheep.”

20He said to his daughters, “Where is he? ◄Why did you leave him out there?/You should not leave him out there!► [RHQ] Invite him in, so he can have something to eat [MTY]!” 21So they did, and Moses/I accepted and ate with them. And Moses/I decided to live there. Later Jethro gave him/me his daughter Zipporah to be his/my wife. 22Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses/I named him Gershom, which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘foreigner’, because he/I said, “I am living as a foreigner in this land.”

23Many years later the king of Egypt died. The Israeli people in Egypt were still groaning because of the hard work they had to do as slaves. They called out for someone to help them, and God heard them call out [PRS]. 24He heard them groaning. And he ◄thought about/did not forget► that he had solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bless their descendants. 25God saw how the Israeli people were being badly treated, and he was concerned about them.

3

God talked to Moses from inside a burning bush, and told him to lead his people out of Egypt

1Moses/I was taking care of the sheep that belonged to his/my father-in-law Jethro, the priest of the Midian people. He/I led the flock across the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain that was later called Sinai, the ◄mountain that had been dedicated to God/taboo mountain►. 2One day Yahweh ◄appeared/revealed himself► to him/me, looking like an angel. The angel appeared in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush that was burning. Moses/I looked at it, and he/I was surprised that the bush was burning, but it was not burning up. 3Moses/I thought, “I will go closer and try to see this strange sight! Why is the bush not burning up?”

4When Yahweh saw that he/I had come closer, he called to Moses/me from the middle of the bush, saying, “Moses! Moses!” He/I replied, “Yes, here I am.” 5Yahweh said, “Do not come closer! Because I am God, the ground on which you are standing is holy/taboo. So take off your sandals to show respect to me.” 6Then he said, “I am God, whom your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped.” So Moses/I covered his/my face, because he/I was afraid that God would kill him/me if he/I looked at him.

7Then Yahweh said, “I have seen how cruelly they are treating my people in Egypt. I have heard them ◄wailing/crying out► for help because of what the slave-drivers are forcing them to do. I know how my people are suffering. 8So I have come down from heaven to rescue them from the Egyptians [SYN]. I have come to bring them up from that land to the highlands in Canaan. I will bring them to a land that is good/fertile and that has plenty of space. It will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY]. It is the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus live. 9Truly I have now heard my Israeli people crying [PRS]. I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10So you go back to Egypt. I am sending you to the king, in order that he may permit you to bring my people, the Israeli people, out of Egypt.”

11But Moses/I replied, “I am not a well-known person [RHQ]! ◄I cannot go to the king and ask him to permit me to bring the Israeli people out of Egypt!/How can I go to the king and ask him to allow me to bring the Israeli people out of Egypt?►” [RHQ] 12God replied, “I will be with you. And when you bring my people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me right here on this mountain. That will prove that I am the one who sent you to them.”

13Moses/I said to God, “If I go to the Israeli people and say to them, ‘God, the one your ancestors worshiped, has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’, what shall I say to them?” 14God replied, “I AM who I AM.” And he said, “Tell the Israeli people that the one who is named ‘I AM’ has sent me to you.”

15God also said to Moses/me, “Say this to the Israeli people: ‘Yahweh God, the one your ancestors worshiped, the one that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, has sent me to you.’ This name, Yahweh, will be my name forever. That is the name that people in all future generations must use when they talk about/to me. 16Go to Egypt and gather together the elders/leaders of the Israeli people, and say to them, ‘Yahweh God, the one your ancestors worshiped, the one Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped, appeared to me. He said to him/me, “I have been watching closely what the Egyptian people have done to you. 17I promise that I will rescue you from being oppressed in Egypt, and I will take you to the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus live. It is a land good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY].”’ 18My people will do what you say. Then you and their leaders must go to the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, ‘Yahweh, who is God, the one we Hebrews worship, has revealed himself to us. So now we ask you to allow us to travel for three days to a place in the desert, in order that there we may offer sacrifices to Yahweh, our God.’ 19But I know that the king of Egypt will allow you to go only if he realizes I am more powerful [MTY] than he is. 20So I will use my power [MTY] to strike/punish the people of Egypt [MTY] by performing many miracles there. Then he will allow you to leave. 21When that happens, I will cause the people of Egypt to respect you. The result will be that when you leave Egypt, ◄you will not go empty-handed/they will give you many valuable things to take with you►. 22At that time, each Israeli woman will ask her Egyptian neighbors and each Egyptian woman who is living in her (OR, her neighbor’s) house to give her some silver and gold jewelry and some nice clothes. Each Egyptian woman will give them some, and you will put them on your sons and daughters to take with you. In that way you will ◄take away/confiscate► the wealth of the Egyptian people.”

4

After Moses tried to resist Yahweh’s appointment, Yahweh gave him power to perform miracles

1Moses/I replied, “But what if the Israeli people ◄do not believe me/are not convinced► or not do what I tell them? What if they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you!’” 2Yahweh said to him/me, “Look at that thing you are holding in your hand. What is it?” He/I replied, “A ◄walking stick/shepherd’s stick►.” 3He said, “Throw it down on the ground!” So, he/I threw it on the ground, and it became a snake! And he/I ran/jumped away from it. 4But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach down and pick it up by its tail!” So he/I reached down and caught it, and when he/I picked it up, it became a stick in his/my hand again.

5Yahweh said, “Do the same thing in front of the Israeli people, in order that they may believe that I, Yahweh God, the one Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, truly appeared to you.”

6Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again, saying “Put your hand inside your robe [MTY]!” He/I did that. And when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, his/my hand was white. It had a skin disease that made it as white as snow. 7Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your robe [MTY]!” So he/I did that, and when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, it was normal again, just like the rest of his/my body! 8God said, “You can do that in front of the Israeli people, too. If they do not pay attention to what you say because of seeing the first miracle, they will ◄believe you/be convinced► when you perform the second miracle. 9If they do not believe you or do what you say, even after you perform those two miracles, get some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. When you do that, the water from the river that you pour on the ground will become blood [MTY] (OR, red like blood).”

10Moses/I replied, “O Yahweh! I am not an eloquent speaker! I was not an eloquent speaker before, and I have not become one since you started talking to me! I am not a good speaker [MTY], and I speak very slowly.” 11Then Yahweh said to him/me, “You seem to forget who it is that makes people able to speak [RHQ]! Who is it that enables people to be unable to speak or unable to hear, or able to see or not to see? It is I, Yahweh [RHQ]! 12So start going to Egypt, and I will help you to speak [MTY], and I will tell you what you should say.” 13But he/I replied, “O, Yahweh, I ask you, please send someone else instead!”

14Then Yahweh became very angry with Moses/me. He said, “What about your older brother Aaron, who is also a descendant of Levi? I know that he is a very good/eloquent speaker. He is actually on his way here right now, and he will be very happy to see you. 15You can talk to him and tell him what to say [MTY], and I will help both of you [SYN] to know what to say [MTY]. And I will tell you both what you should do. 16He will speak for you to the Israeli people. He will be ◄your spokesman/as though he was your mouth► [MET], and you will be to him as though you are his god. 17Be sure to take with you the walking/shepherd’s stick that is in your hand, because you will perform miracles with it.”

God’s instructions to Moses after Moses returned to Egypt

18Moses/I returned to his/my father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt, to see my fellow Israelis there. I want to know if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses/me, “Go, and may God give you inner peace.”

19Yahweh said to Moses/me before he/I left Midian, “You can safely return to Egypt, because the men who were wanting to kill you [MTY] are now dead.” 20So Moses/I took his/my wife and sons and put them on donkeys, and they/we returned to Egypt. And Moses/I took in his/my hand the stick that God told him/me to take along.

21Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you return to Egypt, be sure to perform all the miracles that I have given you power to do, while the king is watching. But I will make him stubborn [IDM], with the result that he will not let the Israeli people leave Egypt. 22Then say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “The Israeli people [MTY] are as dear to me as firstborn sons [MET]. 23I told you to let my people [MTY] leave Egypt, in order that they may worship me in the desert. If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will kill your firstborn son!”’”

Zipporah circumcised her son

24One night, as they were camping on the way to Egypt, Yahweh appeared to Moses/me. He wanted/threatened to kill Moses/me for disobeying his command that boys/sons be circumcised. 25Then his/my wife Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. Then she touched the boy’s feet (OR, genitals) with the piece of skin she had cut off, and she said, “The blood which flowed when I circumcised you will protect you from being harmed by Yahweh [MET].” 26She said to him, “You are safe now [MET] because you have been circumcised.” So Yahweh did not harm her son.

The Israeli people believed Moses when he and Aaron talked to them

27Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet/see Moses!” So he went there from Egypt and met him/me at Sinai, the mountain dedicated to God, and greeted him/me by kissing him/me on the cheek. 28Moses/I told Aaron everything that Yahweh had said to him/me when he told him/me to return to Egypt. He/I also told Aaron about all the miracles that Yahweh told him/me to perform.

29So Aaron and Moses/I returned to Egypt. There they/we gathered together all the Israeli elders/leaders. 30Aaron told them everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me, and Aaron performed all the miracles as the people watched. 31They believed that what they/we were saying was true. When they heard that Yahweh had seen how the Israeli people were being cruelly oppressed and that he was going to help them, they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh.

5

The king refused to let the Israeli people go after Moses and Aaron talked to him

1Then Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and one of them/us said, “Yahweh God, whom we Israeli people worship, says this to you: ‘Let my people go to the desert, in order that they may have a feast to honor me!’” 2But the king said, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I pay attention to what he says and let the Israeli people [MTY] go? I do not know Yahweh! And furthermore, I will not let the Israeli people go!” 3They/we replied, “Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews worship, has ◄revealed himself/appeared► to us and told us what to tell you. So we ask you to please let us go on a three day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to Yahweh God there. If we do not do that, he will cause us to die [IDM] from diseases or from attacks by our enemies [MTY].” 4But the king of Egypt said to them/us, “Moses and Aaron, ◄stop trying to keep the Israeli people from working/why are you preventing the Israeli people from working?► [RHQ] Tell those slaves to return to work!” 5The king also said, “Listen to me! You people who now live in this land are now more numerous, and you want them to stop working and rest!”

The king increased the amount of work the Israelis were forced to do

6That same day the king commanded the Egyptian slave bosses and the Israeli men supervising the slaves, 7“Do not continue to give the Israeli people straw for making bricks, as you have done previously. Make them go into the fields and gather straw for themselves. 8But require them to make the same number of bricks that they did before. Do not decrease the number at all. They ◄are lazy/do not have enough work to do►. That is the reason they are asking me to let them go into the desert to offer sacrifices to their god. 9Force the men to work harder, so that they will not have time to listen to lies from their leaders!”

10So the slave bosses and supervisors of the slaves went to where the Israeli people were and said to them, “The king has said that he will no longer give you any straw. 11So you yourselves must go and get straw wherever you can find it. But you must still keep working to make the same number of bricks as before.” [LIT] 12So the Israeli people went all over Egypt to find straw. 13The slave bosses kept telling them insistently, “Finish the work you are required to do each day, making the same amount of bricks as you did before, when we gave you straw!” 14When they were not able to do that, the slave bosses had the Israeli supervisors beaten with sticks, and they asked them, “Why have all the men you are supervising not been able to make the same number of bricks today/now as they did before [RHQ]?”

The king refused to pay attention to the complaints of the Israelis

15Then the Israeli supervisors went to the king and complained, saying “Your Majesty, why are you treating us this way? 16Now they are not giving us any straw for making bricks, but they keep commanding us to make bricks. And now sometimes they beat us. But it is the fault of your own slave bosses that we cannot make as many bricks as before!” 17But the king said, “You are lazy and do not want to work! That is why you keep saying, ‘Allow us to go to the desert and offer sacrifices to Yahweh.’ 18So go and get back to work! We are not going to give you any straw, but you must keep making the same number of bricks!”

19The Israeli supervisors realized that they were in a difficult situation, because they had been told, “We are not going to decrease the number of bricks you must make each day.” 20As they left the king’s palace, they met Aaron and Moses/me, who were waiting for them there. 21They said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Yahweh has seen what you two have done He will punish you [MTY], because you have caused the king and his officials to despise us! You have given them an excuse [MTY] to kill us!”

22Moses/I left them and prayed to Yahweh again, saying, “O Yahweh, why have you caused all these evil things to happen to your people [RHQ]? And why did you send me here [RHQ]? 23Ever since I went to the king and told him what you told me to say [MTY], he has treated your people very cruelly, and you have not done anything to help/rescue them!”

6

Yahweh promised to rescue them

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Now you will see what I will do to the king and his people. I will powerfully [MTY] compel him to let my people go. In fact, by my power [MTY] I will force him to expel them from his land!”

2God also said to Moses/me, “I am Yahweh. 3I am the one who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and told them that I was God Almighty, but I did not tell them that my name was Yahweh. 4I also made my solemn agreement with them, promising to give them the Canaan region. That was the area in which they were living as foreigners. 5Furthermore, I have heard the Israeli people as they were groaning because of the hard work that the Egyptians forced them to do as their slaves. I have thought about that solemn promise that I made. 6So tell the Israeli people that I said this: ‘I am Yahweh. I will free you from the burdens of heavy work that the Egyptians have given you. I will free you from being their slaves. With my great power [MTY] and by punishing them [MTY] very severely, I will save you. 7I will cause you to be my own people, and I will be your God, the one you worship. You will truly know that I, Yahweh your God, am the one who has freed you from the burdens of work as slaves of the Egyptians. 8And I will bring you to the land that I solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. You will possess it forever. I, Yahweh, am promising this.’”

9Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, but they did not believe what he/I said. They were very discouraged [IDM] because of the hard work that they had been forced to do as slaves.

Aaron and Moses gave God’s message to the king again

10Yahweh said to Moses/me, 11“Go and tell the king of Egypt again that he must allow the Israeli people to leave his land!” 12But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen to what I am saying. Even the Israeli people have not paid attention to what I told them. But I am a poor speaker. [MET, MTY] So ◄why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?/the king will certainly not pay attention to what I tell him!►” [RHQ] 13But Yahweh spoke to Aaron and Moses/me and commanded them/us, “Tell the Israeli people and the king of Egypt that I have commissioned you two to lead the Israeli people out of Egypt.”

The ancestors of Moses and Aaron

14◄Here is/I will now give you► a list of the ancestors of Moses/me and Aaron:

The sons of Reuben, who was Jacob’s oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. They were ancestors of the clans that have those same names.

15The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul. Shaul’s mother was a woman from the Canaan people-group. Those men also were ancestors of clans that have those same names.

16These are the names of the sons of Levi, in the order in which they were born: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi was 137 years old when he died.

17The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei. They were ancestors of clans that have those names.

18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath was 133 years old when he died.

19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. All of those people whose names I have listed belonged to tribes/clans descended from Levi, in the order in which they were born.

20Amram married his father’s sister, Jochebed. She was the mother of Aaron and Moses/me. Amram was 137 years old when he died.

21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. Elisheba gave birth to four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. They were the ancestors of the Korah people-group.

25Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to Phinehas. That ends the list of the families and clans that were descended from Levi. 26Aaron and Moses/I were the ones to whom Yahweh said, “Lead all the families and clans of the Israeli people out of Egypt.” 27They/We were the ones who spoke to the king of Egypt about bringing the Israeli people out of Egypt. 28On the day that Yahweh spoke to Moses/me in Egypt, 29he said, “I am Yahweh. You must tell the king everything that I say to you.” 30But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen to me. I am not a good speaker. [MET, MTY] So ◄/the king will certainly not pay attention to what I say/why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?►!” [RHQ]

7

Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen carefully. Just like I enabled prophet to speak my messages, I will cause the king to consider that you are like a god, and that Aaron is like a prophet. 2You must tell everything I command you to tell to your older brother Aaron, and he will tell that to the king. He must tell the king to let the Israeli people leave his land. 3But I will make the king stubborn [IDM]. As a result, even though I perform many kinds of ◄miracles/terrifying things► [DOU] here in Egypt, 4the king will not pay any attention to what you say. Then I will punish [MTY] the people of Egypt [MTY] very severely [MTY], and I will lead/bring the tribes of the Israeli people out of Egypt. 5Then, when I show my great power [MTY] to the Egyptian people and bring the Israeli people out from among them, they will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.”

6Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh told them/us to do. They/We went and spoke to the king. 7At that time, Moses/I was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 years old.

Aaron made his stick become a snake, but that did not influence the king

8Yahweh said to Moses/me, 9“If the king says to you, ‘Prove that God sent you by performing a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Throw your stick down in front of the king, in order that it may become a snake.’” 10So Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and did what Yahweh had commanded them/us to do. Aaron threw his stick down in front of the king and his officials, and it became a snake. 11Then the king summoned his sorcerers and men who performed magic. They did the same thing, using their magic. 12They all threw down their sticks, and they became snakes. But Aaron’s stick, which had become a snake, swallowed up all their sticks! 13But the king continued to be stubborn [IDM], just as Yahweh had predicted, and he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I said.

Moses and Aaron caused the Nile River to become red

14Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king is very stubborn [IDM]. He refuses to allow my people to go. 15So tomorrow morning, go to him as he is going down to the Nile River to bathe. Wait for him at the riverbank. When he comes out of the water, show him the stick, the one which became a snake. 16Say to him, ‘Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews worship, sent me to you to tell you to let my people go, in order that they may worship him in the desert. We told you that, but you have not paid any attention to it. 17So now Yahweh says this: “This is the way you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do. Watch this: I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile River with the stick that is in my hand. When I do that, the water will become blood (OR, red like blood [MTY]). 18Then the fish in the Nile River will die, and the water in the river will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the Nile River.”’”

19Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you are talking to the king, say to Aaron, ‘Hold your stick out as though you were holding it over the water in Egypt—over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and over the pools of water, in order that all of it may become red like blood.’ When Aaron does that, there will be blood throughout Egypt, even in wooden jars and in stone jars.”

20So Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. As the king and his officials were watching, Aaron lifted up his stick and then struck the water in the Nile River with it. And all the water in the river turned red like blood. 21Then all the fish died. And the water stank, with the result that the Egyptians could not drink water from the river. Everywhere in Egypt the water became red like blood. 22But the men who performed magic did the same thing using their magic. So the king remained stubborn [IDM], and he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I said, just as Yahweh had predicted. 23The king turned and went back to his palace, and he did not think anymore about it [IDM]. 24The Egyptians [HYP] dug into the ground near the Nile River to get water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.

Moses and Aaron caused frogs to appear everywhere

25◄One week/Seven days► passed after Yahweh caused the water in the Nile River to become red like blood.

8

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back to the king and tell him, ‘Yahweh says that you must let my people go, in order that they can worship me in the desert. 2But if you refuse to let them go, I will punish you by sending frogs to cover your country. 3Not only will the Nile River be full of frogs, but the frogs will come up out of the river into your palace. They will come into your bedroom and onto your bed. They will be in the houses of your officials and all the rest of your people. They will even get into your ovens and your pans for mixing the materials for baking bread. 4The frogs will jump up on you and your officials and all the rest of your people.’”

5Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Say this to Aaron: ‘Hold your stick in your hand and stretch it out as though you were stretching it over the river, the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up from all this water and cover the land of Egypt.’” 6After Moses/I told that to Aaron, he stretched out his hand as though he were stretching it over all the water in Egypt. And the frogs came up from the water and covered Egypt. 7But the men who performed magic did the same thing, and they caused more frogs to come up from the water onto the land. 8Then the king summoned Moses/me and said, “Ask Yahweh to take away these frogs from me and my people. After that happens, I will allow your people to go, in order that they can offer sacrifices to Yahweh.” 9Moses/I said to the king, “I will be glad to pray for you and for your officials and for the rest of your people. I will ask Yahweh to get rid of the frogs from all your houses. The only frogs left will be those in the Nile River. Just tell me when I should pray.” 10He replied, “Tomorrow.” So Moses/I said, “I will do what you say, and then you will know that Yahweh God, the one we worship, is the only true god, and that there is no other god like him. 11The frogs will leave you and your officials and all the rest of your people. The only ones left will be in the Nile River.”

12Aaron and Moses/I left the king. Then Moses/I prayed to Yahweh, asking him to take away all the frogs he had brought to the king’s land. 13And Yahweh did just what Moses/I asked him to do. As a result, all the frogs in the houses, in their courtyards, and in the fields died. 14The people gathered together all the dead frogs into big piles, and the land stank from the smell. 15But when the king saw that the problem was ended, he became stubborn [IDM] again. And just as Yahweh had predicted, he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/we told him.

Moses and Aaron caused the land to be full of gnats

16Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick. When he does that, all the fine particles of ground/dust will become gnats, all over the land of Egypt.” 17So they/we did that. Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all over Egypt, the fine particles of ground/dirt became gnats. The gnats covered the people and all their animals. 18The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats stayed on the Egyptian people and on their animals. 19The men who worked magic said to the king, “It is God who has done this with his power [MTY]!” But the king continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he would not pay attention to us, just as Yahweh had predicted.

Moses and Aaron caused the land to be filled with flies

20Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early tomorrow morning. Go down to the river and wait for the king. When he comes to bathe [MTY], say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says to you: “Let my people go, in order that they may worship me in the desert. 21I warn you that if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies to you. They will come down on you and on your officials and on the rest of your people. The houses of all you Egyptians will be full of flies. They will even cover the ground. 22But when that happens, I will treat the Goshen region, where my people live, differently. There will be no swarms of flies there. In that way, you will know that I, Yahweh, am doing these things here in this land. 23I will distinguish clearly between how I act toward my people and how I act toward your people. And this plague is going to happen tomorrow!”’”

24Early the next morning, Moses/I told that to the king, but the king would not pay any attention. So Yahweh did what he said he would do. He sent great swarms of flies into the palace of the king and into the houses of his officials. The whole country of Egypt was ruined by the flies. 25Then the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “You Israeli people can go and offer sacrifices to your god, but you must do it here in this land.” 26But Moses/I replied, “It would not be right for us to do that, because we will be offering sacrifices that are very offensive to the Egyptian people. If we offer sacrifices that the Egyptian people think are disgusting, they will kill us by throwing stones at us [RHQ]! 27No, we need to travel for three days into the desert. There we will offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the God we worship, just as he commands (OR, has commanded) us.” 28So the king said, “I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your god, in the desert. But you must not go very far. Now pray for me!” 29Moses/I said, “Listen to me! After I leave you, I will pray to Yahweh, asking that tomorrow he will cause the swarms of flies to leave you and your officials and the rest of your people. But do not deceive us again by refusing to let our people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh!”

30Then Moses/I left the king and prayed to Yahweh. 31And Yahweh did what Moses/I asked, and he got rid of the swarms of flies from around the king and his officials and the rest of his people. No flies remained. 32But the king was stubborn [IDM] this time also, and he did not allow the Israeli people to go.

9

Yahweh sent a terrible disease to afflict the Egyptians’ livestock

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God we Hebrews worship, says: “Allow my people to go, in order that they may worship me. 2If you still keep refusing to let them go [DOU], 3I warn you that I will punish you with my power [MTY] by sending a terrible disease on all your animals—on your horses, donkeys, camels, on your cattle, and on your flocks of sheep and goats. 4But I, Yahweh, will distinguish between what I do to the animals that belong to the Israeli people and what I do to your animals. The result will be that no animal that belongs to the Israeli people will die.”’ 5Tell him that I have determined/decided that tomorrow is the day that I will do this in this land.”

6The next day Yahweh did just what he said that he would do. A terrible disease afflicted all of the Egyptians’ animals, and many of them [HYP] died. But none of the Israeli people’s animals died. 7The king sent men to investigate, and they were surprised to see that none of the Israeli people’s animals had died. But after they reported that to the king, he continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he did not let the Israeli people go.

Yahweh caused the Egyptian people to be afflicted with boils

8Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Take a few handfuls of ashes/soot from ◄a furnace/an oven where they burn lime►, and let Moses throw them up into the air, in front of the king. 9The ashes/soot will spread all over the country of Egypt like fine dust. And the ashes/soot will cause boils to afflict both the Egyptian people and their animals, all over the land.” 10So they/we both got some ashes/soot and went and stood in front of the king. Moses/I threw the ashes/soot up into the air. The ashes/soot spread all over, causing boils to afflict the Egyptian people and their animals. All the boils became open sores. 11Even the men who worked magic had boils. The result was that they were suffering so much that they were not able to come to Moses/me, because the men who worked magic had boils just like all the rest of the Egyptian people. 12But Yahweh caused the king to continue to be stubborn [IDM]. He did not pay any attention to what they/we said, just as Yahweh had told Moses/me would happen.

Yahweh sent hail on all the Egyptian people and their animals

13Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early tomorrow morning. Go and stand in front of the king and tell him that Yahweh God, the one that the Hebrew people worship, says this: ‘Let my people go, in order that they may worship me in the desert. 14If you do not let them go, this time I will punish with plagues not only your officials and the rest of your people, but I will punish you yourself [SYN], in order that you will know there is no god like me anywhere in the world. 15By this time I could have used my power [MTY] to strike you and your people with terrible diseases that would have wiped you all from the earth. 16But I have let you live. The reason I have let you live is to show you my power, with the result that people all over the earth [HYP] will know how great I [MTY] am. 17You are still acting proudly and refusing to let my people go. 18So listen to this: About this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall in Egypt. From the time Egypt first became a country, there has never been a hailstorm as bad as this one will be. 19So you should send a message to everyone to put their cattle, and everything else that they own that is out in the fields, under shelters. The hail will fall on every person and every animal that is out in the fields and that is not put under a shelter, and they will all die.’” So Moses/I did what Yahweh said.

20Some of the king’s officials who heard what Yahweh had said became very afraid. So they put all their animals and their slaves under shelters. 21But those who did not pay any attention to what Yahweh had said left their slaves and their animals in the fields. 22Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Raise your hand up toward the sky, in order that hail will fall all over the land of Egypt—on the people and on their animals and on all the plants in the fields.” 23So Moses/I lifted his/my stick up toward the sky. And Yahweh sent down hail, all over the land of Egypt. There was also thunder and lightning. 24While very heavy hail was falling, there was thunder, and lightning struck the ground. There had never been a hailstorm like that since Egypt first became a country. 25The hail struck everything that was in the fields all over Egypt—every person and every animal. The hail destroyed the plants in the fields and stripped the leaves off the trees. 26Only in the Goshen region, where the Israeli people were living, was there no hail.

27Then the king sent someone to summon Aaron and Moses/me. When they/we came to the king, he said to them/us, “This time I admit that I have sinned. What Yahweh has done is right, and what I and my people have done is wrong. 28◄Pray to/Plead with► Yahweh to cause it to stop! We cannot endure any more of this thunder and hail! I will let your people go; they do not have to stay here in Egypt any longer.”

29Moses/I replied, “As soon as I go out of this city, I will lift up my hands and pray to Yahweh. Then the thunder will cease, and no more hail will fall. This will happen in order that you will know that Yahweh, not your gods, controls everything that happens on the earth. 30But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”

31When the hail fell, the flax was ruined because the buds were forming, and the barley was ruined because its grain was ripe. 32But none of the wheat crops was ruined, because their shoots were still very small.

33So Moses/I left the king and went outside the city. He/I lifted up his/my hands toward Yahweh and prayed. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain also stopped falling on the land of Egypt. 34But when the king saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn [IDM]. 35So, just as Yahweh had predicted by what he told Moses/me, the king did not allow the Israeli people to leave.

10

Yahweh sent locusts to destroy the rest of the Egyptians’ crops

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king again. I have made him and his officials stubborn [IDM]. I have done that in order that I would have a good reason to perform all these plagues among them, 2and also in order that you would be able to tell your children and your grandchildren how I caused the Egyptians to act very foolishly when I performed all these miracles. Then all of you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.”

3So Aaron and Moses/I went into the king’s palace and said to him, “Yahweh God, whom we Hebrews worship, says this: ‘How long will you stubbornly refuse to do what I tell you [MTY]? Let my people go, in order that they may worship me in the desert4If you keep refusing to let them go, I warn you that tomorrow I will bring ◄locusts/ large flying insects called locusts► into your country. 5They will completely cover the ground so that you will not even be able to see the ground. They will eat everything that the hail did not destroy. They will eat everything that is left on the trees. 6They will fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials, and the houses of all the rest of the Egyptians. There will be more locusts than you or your parents or your grandparents have ever seen, from the time your ancestors first came to this land until the present time!’” Then he/I turned and Aaron and I left the king.

7The king’s officials said to him, “◄How long is this man going to continue to bring disasters on us?/We must not let this man continue to cause trouble for us!► [RHQ] Let the Israeli men leave, in order that they may worship Yahweh, their god. ◄Do you not yet understand that this man has ruined Egypt?/You ought to realize by now that this man has ruined Egypt!►” [RHQ] 8So they brought Aaron and Moses/me back to the king. He said to them/us, “All right, you can go and worship Yahweh your god. But who are the ones who will go?” 9Moses/I replied, “We all need to go, everyone, including those who are young and those who are old. We need to take our sons and our daughters and our flocks of sheep and goats and herds of livestock, because we must have a festival to honor Yahweh.”

10Moses/I really did not intend that the Israelis would ever return to Egypt, and the king knew that also. So the king replied sarcastically, “If you all leave, it will be clear that Yahweh has helped you, but I myself will never let you take your children and your wives when you go! It is clear that you are wickedly planning not to return. 11So no, I will not let you all go. The Israeli men may go and worship Yahweh, if that is what you want.” Then the king expelled them/us from his palace.

12Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach out your hand as though you were stretching it over the land to welcome the locusts. They will come to the country of Egypt and eat every plant that is left in the land, every plant that the hail has not destroyed.”

13So Moses/I held out his/my stick as though he/I was stretching it over the whole land of Egypt. Then Yahweh caused a strong wind to blow from the east, and it blew over the land all that day and all that night. By the next morning, it had brought the locusts. 14The locusts swarmed all over Egypt. It was larger than any swarm of locusts that had ever been seen, and there will never be a swarm of locusts like that again. 15They covered the surface of the ground and made it appear black. They ate all the plants in the land and everything on the trees that had not been destroyed by the hail. Nothing that was green was left on any plant or on any tree, anywhere in Egypt.

16The king quickly summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh, your god, and against you two. 17So now I ask you to forgive me this one time for having sinned, and pray to Yahweh your god to stop these locusts [MTY] from causing everything to die.”

18They/We left the king, and Moses/I prayed to Yahweh. 19Then Yahweh changed the wind so that it blew strongly from the west, and it blew all the locusts into the Red Sea (OR, the Gulf of Suez). There was not one locust left anywhere in the country of Egypt.

20But Yahweh made the king stubborn [IDM] again, and he did not let the Israeli people go.

Yahweh caused a great darkness to cover Egypt

21Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach your hand up toward the sky, in order that there will be darkness over all the land of Egypt, a darkness so complete that people will have to grope around to know where to walk.” 22So Moses/I reached his/my hand toward the sky, and it became totally dark all over Egypt for three days and nights. 23People could not see each other. No one left his house during that whole time. But there was light in the area where the Israeli people were living.

24The king summoned Moses/me and said, “All right, you may go and worship Yahweh. Your wives and your children may go with you. But your flocks of sheep and goats and your herds of cattle must remain here.” 25But Moses/I replied, “No, you must let us take along the sheep and goats, in order that we may have some of them to sacrifice and give as burned offerings to Yahweh, our God. 26Our livestock must also go with us; we are not going to leave one of them [SYN] behind. We must take them to worship Yahweh. We will not know which animals to sacrifice until we get to where we are going.”

27But Yahweh made the king continue to be stubborn [IDM], and he would not let the Israeli people go. 28The king said to me, “Get out of here! Make sure that you never come to see me [SYN] again! The day you see me again, I will have you executed!” 29Moses/I replied, “You are correct! You will never see me [SYN] again!”

11

Yahweh declared that all the oldest sons of the Egyptians would die, and then the king’s officials would plead for the Israeli people to leave Egypt

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I will cause one more disaster to strike the king of Egypt and all his people [MTY]. After that, he will let you leave. In fact, he will expel you all. 2So now speak to all the Israeli people. Tell them to ask all their Egyptian neighbors, both men and women, to give them some silver and gold jewelry.” 3Yahweh made the Egyptians highly respect the Israeli people. In particular, the Egyptian officials and all the rest of the people considered Moses/me to be a very great man.

4Then Moses/I went to the king and said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight tonight I will go throughout Egypt, 5and I will cause all the firstborn/oldest sons to die. That will include your oldest son, the oldest sons of the slave women who grind grain, and the oldest sons of everyone else. I will also kill the oldest males of the Egyptians’ livestock. 6When that happens, people all over Egypt will wail loudly. They have never wailed like that before, and they will never wail like that again. 7But among the Israeli people it will be so quiet that not even a dog will bark! Then you will know for sure that I, Yahweh, distinguish how I act toward the Egyptians and how I act toward the Israeli people. 8Then all these officials of yours will come and bow down before me and will say, “Please get out of Egypt, you and all the Israeli people!”’ After that, I will leave Egypt!” After Moses/I said that, he/I very angrily left the king.

9Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king will not pay any attention to what you say. The result will be that I will perform more plagues in the land of Egypt.”

10Aaron and Moses/I performed all these miracles in front of the king, but Yahweh made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israeli people leave his country.

12

Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron about the Passover Festival

1Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me there in Egypt, 2“From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3Tell all the Israeli people that in each family, the man who heads the family must select a lamb or a young goat for his household. 4If there are not enough people in his family to eat a whole cooked lamb, then his family and the family that lives next door may share one animal. Decide how many lambs you need according to the number of people in each family, and according to how much each person can eat. 5The lambs or goats that you choose must be males, one-year-old, and they must not have any defects. 6You must take special care of these animals until the 14th day of the month. On that day, all the Israeli people must slaughter the lambs or goats in the evening. 7Then they must take some of the blood from the lambs or goats, and they must smear it on the doorposts and the ◄lintels/horizontal beams above the doorways► of the houses in which they will eat the meat. 8They must roast the animals immediately and eat the meat that night. They must eat it with bread that is baked without yeast and with bitter herbs. 9You must not eat any of the meat raw, and you must not boil the meat. You must roast it whole, without cutting off the head or the legs or removing the internal parts. 10You must eat all the meat that evening; do not let any of the meat remain to be eaten the next morning. If any of the meat is left until the next morning, you must completely burn it. 11When you eat it, you must be dressed ready to travel, and you must eat it quickly. You must have your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hands. It will be a festival called Passover to honor me, Yahweh. 12On that night I will go through all the country of Egypt, and I will kill all the oldest males in Egypt, both humans and animals. By doing this I will show that all the gods in Egypt are worthless. I can do this, because I am Yahweh, the all-powerful God. 13The blood that you smear on the doorways will be a mark to indicate the houses in which you Israelis live. When I see the blood, I will ignore and pass by those houses, and I will not harm you Israelis who live there, when I punish the Egyptians.

14Each year, you must celebrate this festival on this day, to remember what I, Yahweh, have done for you. In all the generations to come, each year you must celebrate this festival. It must continue forever. 15For seven days you must eat bread that has no yeast in it. On the first day of that week you must get rid of all the yeast that is in your houses. During those seven days, if anyone eats bread that is baked with yeast in it, you must consider that person to be no longer an Israeli. 16On the first day of that week, you must ◄have a holy meeting/gather together to worship me►. You must do the same thing on the seventh day. People must not work on those two days. The only work they may do is to prepare food for you to eat.

17Every year you must keep celebrating this festival of eating bread that has no yeast in it, because it will remind you that it was on this day that I brought all your tribal groups out of Egypt. So every year, in all the generations to come, you must celebrate this day as a festival. It must continue forever. 18-19In the first month of the year, on the 14th day of that month, the only bread you may eat is bread that has no yeast in it. You must keep doing that each day until the 21st day of that month. For those seven days you must not have any yeast in your house. During that time, if anyone, either an Israeli or a foreigner, eats bread made with yeast, you must consider that person no longer to be an Israeli. 20In your houses, do not eat anything that has yeast in it during those seven days.”

21Then Moses/I summoned all the leaders of the Israeli people. He/I said to them, “Each family should select a lamb and kill it, in order that you may eat it to celebrate the festival that will be called ‘Passover’. 22Let the lamb’s blood drain into a basin. Get a bunch/sprig of ◄hyssop/a very leafy plant► and dip it in the blood. Then smear some of the blood on the doorposts and the ◄lintels/beams above the doorways► of your houses. The people in each house must all stay inside the house until the next morning. 23When Yahweh goes throughout Egypt to kill the oldest male in each Egyptian family, he will see the blood on the ◄lintels/beams of your doorways►, and he will ignore and pass by those houses. He will not allow the angel who causes people to die to enter your houses and kill any of your oldest sons. 24You and your descendants must celebrate this festival forever. 25And when you arrive in the land that Yahweh will be giving to you as he promised, you must keep celebrating this ritual every year. 26When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’, 27you must tell them, ‘This ritual is to remember how our ancestors sacrificed lambs on the night that Yahweh’s angel passed by the houses of the Israeli people when they were in Egypt. He killed the oldest males/sons in all the Egyptian houses, but he spared the sons in [MTY] our houses.’” After Moses/I told them this, they all bowed their heads and worshiped Yahweh. 28Then the Israeli people did what Yahweh had told Aaron and Moses/me to tell them to do.

Yahweh killed all the oldest Egyptian males

29At midnight Yahweh killed all the oldest sons of the Egyptian people, all over Egypt. That included the king’s oldest son, the oldest sons of the prisoners in the dungeon/jail, and the oldest sons of everyone else. He also killed the oldest males of all the Egyptians’ livestock. 30That night the king, all his officials, and all the rest of the Egyptian people awoke and discovered what had happened. They wailed loudly all over Egypt, because in every house, someone’s son had died.

The Israeli people left Egypt

31That night the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “You and all the other Israeli people, must leave my country immediately! Go and worship Yahweh, as you requested! 32Take your flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle, and leave! And ask Yahweh to bless me, also!”

33Then the Israeli people did as Moses/I had told them. They went to their Egyptian neighbors and asked them for silver and gold jewelry and clothing. 34Yahweh caused the Egyptian people to greatly respect the Israeli people, so they gave them what they asked for. In that way, they carried away the wealth of the Egyptian people. 35The Egyptians urged the Israeli people to leave their country quickly. They said, “If you do not do that, we will all die!” 36So the Israeli people prepared to leave at once. They took the bowls in which they mixed the dough to make bread, and the dough that was in the bowls without any yeast in it, and they wrapped the bowls in their cloaks. They put the bowls on their shoulders and left.

37The Israeli people traveled from Rameses city to Succoth town. There were about 600,000 men who went, in addition to the women and children. 38Many other people who were not Israelis went along with them. There were also livestock, the flocks of sheep and goats and herds of cattle. 39On their way, they baked bread with the dough that they carried with them when they had been expelled from Egypt. The dough did not have yeast in it, because they were told to leave Egypt so quickly that they did not have enough time to get food ready to take with them, or enough time to mix yeast in the dough.

40The Israeli people had lived in Egypt 430 years. 41On the day that those 430 years ended, on that very day, all the tribes of Yahweh’s people left Egypt. 42It was a night when Yahweh ◄protected/guarded over► them as he brought them out of Egypt. So this same night every year is a night that is dedicated to Yahweh, a night when the Israeli people in every generation remember how Yahweh protected our ancestors.

Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron about future Passover festivals

43-44Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me: “These are my instructions about the Passover ritual: Do not let foreigners eat the Passover meal. But any male slaves that you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised them. 45Do not let people who are living among you temporarily, or servants whom you have hired, eat the Passover meal. 46Each family must eat the Passover meal inside their own house. Do not take any of the food outside the house. And do not break any of the bones of the lamb that is sacrificed. 47All the Israeli people must celebrate this festival. 48When someone from another country comes to live with you and wants to celebrate the Passover Festival, circumcise all the males in his household. Then they may eat the Passover meal, and you should treat those people as though they were born as Israelis. But do not allow men who have not been circumcised to eat the Passover meal. 49These rules apply to people who were born as Israelis and to foreigners who come and live among you.”

50All the Israeli people obeyed Aaron and Moses/me and did what Yahweh had commanded. 51On that very day Yahweh brought all the tribes of the Israeli people out of Egypt.

13

Yahweh gave Moses instructions about dedicating the firstborn sons

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Set apart all the firstborn males in order that they may belong to me. The firstborn males of the Israeli people and of their animals will be mine.”

Moses instructed them about future celebrations of the Festival of Unleavened Bread

3Moses/I said to the people, “Do not forget this day! This is the day that you are leaving Egypt. This is the day you are freed from being their slaves. Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]. Do not eat any bread that has yeast in it whenever you celebrate this day. 4You are leaving Egypt on this day, which is the first day of the month that is named Abib. 5Later, when Yahweh brings you into the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Hiv, and Jebus now live, the land that he solemnly promised to give to you, a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY], you must celebrate this festival during this month every year. 6For seven days the bread that you eat must not have any yeast in it. On the seventh day there must be a festival to honor Yahweh. 7For seven days do not eat bread that has yeast in it . You should not have any yeast or bread made with yeast anywhere in your land. 8On the day the festival starts, you must tell your children, ‘We are doing this to remember what Yahweh did for our ancestors when they left Egypt. 9This ritual will remind you how Yahweh brought your ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY]. The ritual will be like something you tie on your forehead or on your wrist. It will remind you to recite to others what Yahweh has instructed you. 10So you must celebrate this festival every year at the time Yahweh has appointed.’

11Yahweh will bring you into the land where the descendants of Canaan live, just as he promised you and your ancestors that he would do. When he gives that land to you, 12you must dedicate to Yahweh the firstborn males of all your animals. These all will belong to Yahweh. 13You may keep the firstborn male donkeys, but you must buy them back by sacrificing a lamb as a substitute for the donkey. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, you must kill it by breaking its neck. You must also buy back every one of your own firstborn sons. 14In the future, when one of your children asks, ‘What does this mean?’, you must say to him, ‘Yahweh brought our ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY], and freed us from being slaves there. 15The king of Egypt stubbornly refused to let them leave his country, so Yahweh killed all the firstborn males in Egypt, both the boys and the firstborn of their livestock. That is why we now sacrifice to Yahweh all the firstborn of our livestock, but we buy back our own firstborn sons.’ 16I repeat that this ritual will remind you about how Yahweh brought our ancestors out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]; it will be like something you tie on your wrist or on your forehead to remind you of that.”

God led them to detour through the desert

17When the king of Egypt let the Israeli people go, God did not lead them to go through the land of the Philistines. That was a shorter way, but God said, “It would be bad if my people change their minds when they realize that they will have to fight the Philistines to take their land, and then decide to return to Egypt.” 18Instead, God led them to go around through the desert toward the Red Sea (OR, the Gulf of Suez). When the Israeli people left Egypt, they were carrying weapons to fight their enemies.

19Moses/I had them take along the bones of Joseph with them/us, because Joseph long ago had made the Israeli people promise solemnly that they would do that. He had said to them, “God will enable your descendants to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones with you.”

20The Israeli people left Succoth and traveled to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and they set up their tents there. 21When they traveled during the daytime, Yahweh went in front of them in a tall white cloud to show them the way. During the night, he went in front of them in a tall cloud that looked like a fire. By doing that, he enabled them to travel in the daytime and also at nighttime. 22The tall cloud did not leave them. It was always in front of them, as a bright white cloud in the daytime and like a fire at night.

14

Yahweh told Moses what he planned to do

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“Tell the Israeli people to turn around and go back and set up their tents in front of Pi-Hahiroth town. That town is between Migdol and the sea, across from Baal-Zephon town. Set up your tents there, close to the sea. 3When the king knows you have done that, he will think, ‘The Israeli people are confused. They are wandering around, and the desert blocks their path.’ 4But I will make the king stubborn again, and he will take his army and pursue you. Then my people will praise/thank me for winning a victory over the king and his army. And the Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.” So Moses/I told my people that, and they did what he/I told them to do.

The Egyptian army started to pursue the Israelis

5When someone told the king that the Israeli people had left during the night, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “◄What have we done?/What we have done was stupid!► [RHQ] The Israeli people will no longer be our slaves!” 6So the king got his chariot and his army ready. 7Then he selected 600 of the best chariots, and in each chariot he placed a driver, a soldier, and a commander, and they left. Other chariots, with a driver and a soldier in each of them, also went along. 8Because Yahweh made the king of Egypt so stubborn that he and his army went to pursue the Israelis, who were leaving triumphantly, 9the Egyptian army, with all the king’s horses and chariots and horsemen, pursued the Israelis. They caught up with them as they were camped near the sea, close to Pi-Hahiroth, in front of Baal-Zephon town.

10When the king’s army got near, the Israeli people were surprised to see that the Egyptians were marching toward them. They were terrified; so they cried out to Yahweh to help them. 11Then they said to Moses/me, “Is it because there were no places in Egypt where we could be buried that you have brought us here to die in this desert [RHQ]? Look what you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt [RHQ]! 12That is what we told you when we were in Egypt! We said, ‘Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians [RHQ]!’ It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”

13Moses/I replied to the people, “Do not be afraid! Be brave, and see how Yahweh will rescue you! He will save you today, and the result will be that the Egyptians that you are looking at today—you will never see them again! 14Yahweh will fight for you! Just keep quiet. There is nothing else that you will have to do.”

Yahweh caused the Egyptian army to drown in the sea

15-16Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the people to stop crying out for me to help them, and tell them to go forward. Lift up your stick and stretch it out toward the sea. The water will divide, so that all you Israeli people can go in the middle of the sea, walking on dry ground. 17I will make the Egyptians stubborn, so that they will try to follow you. And then as a result of what I will do to the king and his army and his chariots and his horsemen, my people will praise/thank me. 18And when I have won a glorious victory over the king and his chariots and his horsemen, the other Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.”

19Then the angel of God, who had been in front of the Israeli people, moved and went behind them. The tall bright cloud that had been in front of them also moved behind them, 20until it was between the Egyptian army and the Israeli people. The cloud caused the Egyptian army to be in the dark but it gave light for the Israelis. As a result, neither group could come near the other group during the whole night.

21That evening, Moses/I stretched out his/my hand toward the sea. Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the east. It blew all night and pushed the water apart, and it caused the ground between the water to dry up. 22Then we Israeli people went on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The water was like a wall on each side of us, on the right side and on the left side. 23Then the Egyptian army pursued them, and went after them into the middle of the sea, with their horses and their chariots and the chariot-drivers. 24Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic. 25He caused the wheels of the chariots to get stuck in the mud, so that they could hardly move. So the Egyptians said, “Yahweh is fighting for the Israelis and against us; let’s get out of here!”

26Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Stretch out your arm toward the sea again. Then the water will come back on the Egyptians and on their chariots and their horsemen.” 27So Moses/I stretched out his/my arm, and as the sun was rising, the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Yahweh hurled them back into the sea. 28The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and the whole Egyptian army that had tried to follow us Israelis into the sea. Every one of the Egyptians drowned. 29But we Israeli people had already crossed through the sea by walking on dry ground, with the water being like two walls, one on the right side and one on the left side.

30That is the way Yahweh saved theIsraeli people from the Egyptian army on that day. The Israeli people saw the Egyptians lying dead, with their bodies washed up on the shore. 31The Israelis saw what Yahweh did to the Egyptians by his great power [MTY], and they were in awe of Yahweh. They trusted in Yahweh and they also trusted Moses/me.

15

The Israelis celebrated being rescued

1Then Moses/I sang this song, and the Israeli people sang with him:

“I will sing to Yahweh, because he has triumphed gloriously;

He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea!

2Yahweh is the one who makes me strong, and he is the one I sing about.

He is the one who has saved me.

He is ◄my God/God, the one I worship►, and I will praise him.

He is the one my father worshiped,

and I will tell others how great he is.

3Yahweh is a warrior;

Yahweh is his name.

4He has thrown the king’s chariots and his army

into the sea;

His best officers

all drowned in the Red Sea (OR, Gulf of Suez).

5The water covered them like a flood;

they sank to the bottom like a stone.

6O Yahweh, your right arm has awesome power;

with that power [MTY], O Yahweh, you have crushed/smashed the enemy into pieces.

7You have gloriously defeated your enemies.

Because you were angry with them, you have destroyed them

like a fire burns up straw [SIM].

8You blew on the sea,

and the water piled up high;

the water stood up like two walls.

In the deepest part of the sea the water became thick/solid,

as though it was frozen.

9Our enemies said, ‘We will pursue them

and catch up to them.

We will draw our swords

and strike them.

After we defeat them,

we will divide up the spoils.

We will take from them all we want.’

10But you blew on them with your breath,

and then the sea covered them.

They sank like lead/rocks in the big waves.

11Yahweh, among their gods, there is no god like you [RHQ]!

You are glorious, completely different from all that you made.

◄There is no god like you!/What god is like you?► [RHQ]

There is no one who can perform all kinds of miracles [DOU] like you do [RHQ]!

12When you stretched out your right hand,

the earth swallowed up our enemies

13You faithfully loved the people you rescued;

with your power you are leading them to the land that you have set apart.

14The people of other nations will hear what you have done;

and they will tremble.

The people in Philistia will be terrified.

15The chiefs in Edom will be dismayed.

The leaders in Moab will be so afraid, they will shake. All those who live in Canaan will faint.

16They will be terrified and fearful because of your great strength [MTY].

But they will be as silent as stones

until your people march past them,

the people you freed from being slaves in Egypt,

17to go to Canaan land.

You will enable them to live [MET] on your hill,

at the place that you, O Yahweh, have chosen to be your home,

in the ◄holy place/temple►

that you yourself will build.

18O Yahweh, you will rule forever!

19The Israeli people walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground. But when the king’s horses and chariots and horsemen tried to go through the sea, Yahweh caused the water to come back and cover them.” 20Then Miriam, who was Aaron’s older sister and a ◄prophetess/woman who spoke messages that came directly from God►, picked up her tambourine, 21and she sang this song to Yahweh:

“Sing to Yahweh,

because he has triumphed gloriously over his enemies.

He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.”

Yahweh made bitter water become good water to drink

22Then Moses/I led the Israeli people away from the Red Sea (OR, Gulf of Suez). They/we went to the desert at Shur. They/We walked for three days, but they/we could not find any water. 23So they/we went on and came to a place named Marah. There was water there, but they/we could not drink it, because it was bitter. That is why they named the place Marah, which is the Hebrew word that means ‘bitter’. 24The people complained to Moses/me, saying, “What are we going to drink?” 25So Moses/I prayed earnestly to Yahweh. Then Yahweh showed him/me a tree. So he/I cut off one of the branches and threw it into the water, and the water became good to drink. There at Marah, Yahweh gave them various laws to direct their lives. He also tested them there, to determine if they would obey him, 26by saying, “I am Yahweh, your God. If you will carefully obey me when I speak to you, and do those things that I know are right, and pay close attention to all the things that I command you, I will keep you from being afflicted by all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. Do not forget that I am the one who heals you.”

27After they/we left Marah, they/we came to a place named Elim. There were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees there. So they/we camped there.

16

Yahweh gave them quail and manna to eat

1They/We left Elim, and all the Israeli people came to the desert named Sin. That is between Elim and Sinai Mountain. That was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they/we left Egypt. 2There in the desert, the Israeli [HYP] people complained to Aaron and Moses/me. 3They said to them/us, “We wish that Yahweh had killed us in Egypt! There we had meat to eat, and all the bread that we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert in order that we will all starve to death!”

4Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen to what I am going to do. I am going to send something from the sky that will take the place of bread for all of you. When I do that, the people must go out of their tents every day and gather just enough to eat on that day. When I do that, I will find out whether they will obey my instructions or not. 5On the sixth day after I start doing that, they will be able to gather twice as much as on the other days, and not have to gather any on the seventh day. Then they can prepare it to eat it on the 6th and 7th days.”

6So Aaron and Moses/I said to all the Israeli people, “This evening you will know that it was Yahweh, not we, who brought you out of Egypt. 7And tomorrow morning you will see how great Yahweh is, because he has heard what you have complained about. He is the one whom you have really complained to, because we are just his servants.” [RHQ] 8Then Moses/I also said, “From now on, each evening Yahweh will give you meat to eat, and each morning he will give you something that will take the place of bread, because he has heard what you have complained about. Yahweh is the one to whom you have really complained, not us. We are just his servants.” [RHQ]

9Then Moses/I said to Aaron, “Tell all the Israeli people, ‘Come and stand here in the presence of Yahweh, because he has heard what you have been complaining about.’”

10So Aaron told them that. And as Aaron was talking to all the Israeli people, they looked toward the desert, and were surprised to see the ◄dazzling light/incredible brightness► of Yahweh in the cloud that had been leading them. 11Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 12“I have heard what the Israeli people have been complaining about. So say to them, ‘From now on, each evening, you will have meat to eat. And each morning you will have something that will take the place of bread. You will have all you want of it to eat.’ Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.”

13That evening, ◄quails/small plump birds► appeared, and there were so many that they covered the campsite. The next morning there was something like dew all around the campsite. 14When the dew evaporated, on the surface of the desert there was a thick layer of something that looked like white flakes. It looked like frost. 15When the Israeli people saw it, since they had never seen it before and did not know what it was, they said to each other, “What is it?” Moses/I replied to them, “It is something Yahweh has given you to eat, to take the place of bread. 16This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Each of you should gather as much as you need to eat. Gather two quarts/liters for each person who lives in your tents.’”

17So that is what the Israeli people did. Some gathered more and some gathered less. 18But when they measured what they had gathered, those that had gathered a lot did not have anything left over. And those that gathered less still had enough to eat. Each person gathered just what they needed.

19Moses/I said to them, “Do not leave any of it to eat tomorrow morning!” 20But some of them did not pay any attention to what Moses/I said. They kept some of it until the next morning. But it was full of maggots and smelled rotten. And that made Moses/me angry.

21Each morning they gathered as much as they needed. But later, when the sun got hot, what was left on the ground melted.

22On the sixth day after they started gathering it, each person was able to gather four quarts/liters, which was twice as much as they gathered on the other days. When the leaders of the people came to Moses/me and told him/me about that, 23Moses/I said to them, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Tomorrow will be a day for you to rest completely. It will be a day dedicated to Yahweh. So today, bake or boil what you will need for today and for tomorrow. Whatever is left this evening, you should put aside and keep it to eat tomorrow.’”

24So they did what Moses/I commanded. What was left over, they kept until the next day. It did not spoil and did not get maggots in it! 25On that day, Moses/I said, “Eat today what you have saved from yesterday, because today is a day dedicated to Yahweh. Today you will not find any of that food outside. 26Every week, you must gather it for six days; but on the seventh day, which will be a day of rest, you will not find any.” 27On the seventh day, some of the people went outside their tents to gather some of that food, but there was none. 28Then Yahweh told Moses/me to say this to the people: “How long will you people refuse to do all the things that I tell you? 29Listen! Yahweh has given you a day of rest. So on the sixth day of each week, he will be giving you enough of this food for two days. Each of you should stay in his tent and do no work on the seventh day!” 30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The Israeli people called this food manna, which sounds like the words in their language that mean ‘what is it?’ It looked like small seeds called coriander, but it was white, and it tasted like thin wafers/biscuits made with honey. 32Moses/I said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘You must keep two quarts/liters of it for all future generations, so that they can see the food that took the place of bread that I gave to your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt.’” 33And he/I said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put two quarts of manna in it. Then put it in a place where Yahweh can see it. It is to be kept like that for all future generations.” 34Many years later, as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me, Aaron put the jar in front of the box that contained the stone slabs on which the Ten Commandments were written. 35The Israeli people were able to eat manna every day for 40 years, until they came to the border of Canaan land. 36(The standard measure that they used at that time held 20 quarts/liters.)

17

Yahweh provided water gushing from a rock

1Obeying what Yahweh commanded, all the Israeli people moved from the Sin Desert. They/We traveled from one place to another. They/We camped at a place named Rephidim, but there was no water there for ◄the people/us► to drink. 2So the people complained to Moses/me again, saying, “Give us water to drink!” Moses/I replied to them, “Why are you ◄criticizing/arguing with► me [RHQ]? And why are you trying to determine whether Yahweh has the power to provide for you?” 3But the people were very thirsty, and they continued to complain to Moses/me. They were saying things like “Why did you bring us out of Egypt?”, and “Did you bring us here to cause us and our children and livestock to die ◄from thirst/because we had no water to drink► [RHQ]?”

4So Moses/I prayed earnestly to Yahweh. He/I said, “◄How shall I deal with these people?/I do not know how to deal with these people!► [RHQ] They are almost ready to kill me by throwing stones at me!” 5Yahweh replied to Moses/me, “Take some of the elders/leaders of the Israeli people with you and tell the rest of the people to follow you to Sinai Mountain. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile River. 6Listen carefully: I will stand in front of you on top of a large rock at the foot of the mountain. Strike the rock with your stick. When you do that, water for the people to drink will flow out of the rock.” When they/we arrived at the mountain, Moses/I did that while the Israeli elders were watching, and water flowed from the rock. 7Moses/I gave that place two names in the Hebrew language: Massah, which means ‘testing’, and Meribah, which means ‘complaining’. He/I gave it the name Massah because the Israeli people were testing Yahweh, saying “Is Yahweh really among us and able to help us, or not?”, and he/I gave it the name Meribah because they were continually complaining.

God enabled the Israeli men to defeat the Amalekites

8Then the descendants of the Amalek people-group came and fought against the Israeli people at Rephidim. 9Moses/I said to Joshua, who was one of our army/Israeli leaders, “Choose some men to go out and fight against the Amalek people-group tomorrow. I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the stick that God told me to carry.” 10So Joshua did what Moses/I told him to do. He took some men to fight against the Amalek people-group. While they were fighting, Aaron, Hur, and Moses/I went up to the top of the hill so that they/we could see the whole battle area. 11Whenever Moses/I lifted up his/my arms, the Israeli men started to win the battle. And whenever he/I lowered his/my arms, the Amalek people-group started to win. 12But his/my arms became tired. So Aaron and Hur rolled a large stone for Moses/me to sit on. While he/I was sitting on it, those two held up his/my arms, one on one side and the other on the other side. In that way, they kept his/my arms lifted up, and his/my arms held steaady until the sun went down. 13So Joshua and the men with him completely defeated the Amalek people-group, using their swords to fight against them. 14Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Write an account of this battle, and then read it to Joshua. Also write that some day I will completely get rid of the Amalek people-group.” 15Then Moses/I built a stone altar there and named it ‘Yahweh is like my flag’. 16He/I said, “Hold high Yahweh’s flag! Yahweh will continue to fight against the Amalek people-group ◄forever/in all future generations►!”

18

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came to visit him

1Jethro, who was the priest for the Midian people-group, and who was also Moses’/my father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for the Israeli people. He heard about how Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt. 2Moses/I had previously sent his/my wife Zipporah back home when he/I was returning to Egypt. But now Jethro came to him/me, 3bringing Zipporah and their/our two sons. One son was named Gershom, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘foreigner’, because he/I had said, “I have been a foreigner living in another land.” 4Her other son was named Eliezer, which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘God helps me’, because he/I had said “God, whom my father worshiped, has helped me and saved me from being killed [MTY] by the king of Egypt.”

5While Moses/I was camped with the Israeli people in the desert near Sinai, God’s sacred/holy mountain, Jethro came to him/me, bringing along Moses’/my wife and our two sons. 6Jethro had sent a message to Moses/me, “I, your father-in-law, Jethro, am coming to see you, bringing along your wife and your two sons!” 7So Moses/I went out of the campsite to meet his/my father-in-law. He/I bowed before him, and kissed him on the cheek. ◄They both/We► asked each other, “Have you been healthy?” Then they/we went into Moses’/my tent. 8Moses/I told Jethro everything that Yahweh had done to the king and all the other people in Egypt for the sake of the Israeli people. He/I also told him about the troubles/problems they/we had experienced on the way, and how Yahweh had helped them/us. 9Jethro rejoiced when he heard all that Yahweh had done for the Israeli people. 10He said, “Praise Yahweh, who has rescued you from the powerful [MTY] Egyptian king and his army! 11Now I realize that Yahweh is greater than all other gods, because he rescued you all from the power [MTY] of the proud Egyptians when they were causing you to suffer.” 12Then Jethro sacrificed an animal by burning it completely on the altar as an offering, and he also offered other sacrifices to God. Aaron and the Israeli elders/leaders went with them/us to eat a sacred meal with Jethro.

Jethro gave Moses some good advice about appointing judges

13The next day, Moses/I sat down at the place where he/I settled disputes among the people. The people were continually bringing their disputes to Moses/me, from morning until evening. 14When Jethro saw everything that Moses/I was doing for the people, he said, “◄Why are you doing all this for the people?/You should not be doing all this for the people!► [RHQ] Why are you doing this by yourself, and all the people are crowding around you, from morning until evening, asking you to make decisions for them [RHQ]?” 15Moses/I replied, “I am doing this because the people keep coming to me to find out what God desires. 16When they have a dispute about something, they come to me, and they ask me to decide which of them is right. I also tell them all of God’s laws and instructions.” 17Jethro said to him/me, “What you are doing is not good for you or for the people. 18You and these people will ◄wear yourselves out/become exhausted►! This work is too much for one person. You are not able to do it by yourself. 19Now listen to some good advice [MTY] I will give to you. If you do what I suggest, God will help you. You should continue to speak to God and tell him about the people’s disputes. 20You should also teach the people what God has commanded and instructed you. You should also explain to them how they should conduct their lives, and the things that they should do. 21But in addition, you should choose some other men to help you. Choose men who have reverence for God and who will not accept bribes. Appoint some of them to make decisions for groups of ten people, some for groups of 50 people, some for groups of 100 people, and some for groups of 1,000 people. 22Allow them to serve permanently to settle disputes for the people. The difficult matters the peeole can bring to you; but the matters that are not difficult, they can decide themselves. That will make the work easier for you, as they help you do that work. 23If you do that, and I think that God is telling you to do it (OR, if God tells you to do it), you will not become exhausted, and all the people will be able to go home feeling satisfied about the deecisios, with their disputes settled quickly”.

24Moses/I accepted what his/my father-in-law Jethro suggested. 25Moses/I chose capable men from among the Israeli people. 26They were appointed permanently to make decisions about the people’s disputes. They brought the difficult cases to Moses/me, but they decided the matters that were not difficult by themselves. 27Then Moses/I said goodbye to his/my father-in-law, and Jethro returned home.

19

Yahweh gave instructions to Moses at Sinai Mountain.

1-2The 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. 3Moses/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: 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]. 5So 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. 6You 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.”

7So 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. 8The 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.

9Then 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. 10Then 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. 11They 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. 12You 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.’ 13Do 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.”

14So 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. 15Then 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.”

16Two 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. 17Then Moses/I led the people outside the camp to meet with God. They stood at the base of the mountain. 18All 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. 19As 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. 20Then 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. 21Yahweh 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. 22Also, the priests who habitually come near me must purify themselves. If they do not do that, I will punish them.”

23Then 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.’” 24Yahweh 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.” 25So Moses/I went down the mountain again and told the people what Yahweh had said.

20

God gave the people the Ten Commandments

1Then God siaid this to the Israeli people:2“I am Yahweh God, the one you worship. I am the one who brought you out of Egypt. I am the one who freed you from being slaves there. 3So you must worship only me; you must not worship any other god. 4You must not carve/make for yourselves any idol that represents anything in the sky or that is on the ground or that is in the water under the ground/earth. 5You must not bow down to any idol and worship it, because I am Yahweh God, and I ◄am very jealous/want you to worship me only►. I will punish those who sin and hate me. I will punish not only them, but I will punish ◄their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren►. 6But I will steadfastly love thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments (OR, I will love for thousands of generations.)

7Do not use my name carelessly (OR, for wrong/evil purposes), because I am Yahweh God, the one whom you should worship, and I will certainly punish those who use my name for wrong/evil purposes [LIT].

8Do not forget that the seventh day of every week is mine, so dedicate those days to me. 9There are six days each week for you to do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a day of rest, a day dedicated to me, Yahweh God, the one whom you should worship. On that day you must not do any work. You and your sons and daughters and your male and female slaves must not work. You must not even force your livestock to work, and you must not allow foreigners to work, those who are living in your country. 11I, Yahweh, created the sky, the earth, the ocean, and everything that is in them, in six days. Then I stopped my work of creating everything, and rested on the seventh day. That is the reason that I, Yahweh, have blessed the rest day and set it apart to be a sacred/special day.

12Honor/Respect your fathers and your mothers, in order that you may live a long time in the land that I, Yahweh God, will give you.

13Do not murder anyone.

14Do not ◄commit adultery/have sex with anyone other than your spouse►.

15Do not steal anything.

16Do not falsely accuse anyone of committing a crime.

17Do not ◄covet/desire to have► someone else’s house, someone else’s wife, someone else’s male or female slave, someone else’s livestock, someone else’s donkeys, or anything else that some other person owns.”

18When the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning, and when they heard the sound of the trumpet and saw the smoke on the mountain, they were afraid and trembled. They stood at a distance, 19and said to Moses/me, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But do not let God speak anymore to us. We are afraid that if he speaks anymore to us, we will die.” 20Moses/I replied, “Do not be afraid! God has come to determine/test how you will behave. He wants you to revere him, and to not sin.”

21Then, as the people watched from a distance, Moses/I went close to the black cloud where God was.

22-23Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Say this to the Israeli people: ’You have heard how I, Yahweh, have spoken to you from heaven. I told you that you must not make any idols of silver or gold that you will worship instead of me. 24Make for me an altar from dirt. Sacrifice on it the animals that you will burn completely. Also sacrifice on it the animals that you will not burn completely, to mainatin fellowship with me. Worship me [MTY] in any place that I choose for you to honor/worship me; and if you do that, I will come to you and bless you. 25If you make for me an altar from stones, do not make it from stones that you have cut to make them look nice, because you will make the altar unsuitable for worshiping me if you use tools to cut the stones. 26Do not make an altar that has steps in front of it, because if you do that, people could see your naked buttocks as you go up the steps.’”

21

Instructions for treating slaves

1“Here are some other instructions to give to the Israeli people: 2When/If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve you for only six years. In the seventh year you must free him from being your slave, and he is not required to pay you anything for setting him free. 3If he was not married before he became your slave, and if he marries someone while he is your slave, his wife is not to be set free with him. But if he was married before he became your slave, you must free both him and his wife. 4If a slave’s master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters while her husband is a slave, only the man is to be freed. His wife and children will continue to be slaves of their master. 5But when it is time for the slave to be set free, if the slave says, ‘I love my master and my wife and my children, and I do not want to be set free,’ 6then his master must take him to the place where they worship God (OR, to the owner’s house). There he must make the slave stand against the door or the doorpost. Then the master will use an ◄awl/pointed metal rod► to make a hole in the slave’s ear. Then he will fasten a tag to the slave’s ear to indicate that ◄he will own that slave for the rest of his life/he will own the slave as long as the slave lives►.

7If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not be set free after six years, as the male slaves are. 8If the man who bought her wanted her to be his wife, but if later he is not pleased with her, he must sell her back to her father. He must not sell her to a foreigner, because that would be breaking the contract/agreement he made with the girl’s father. 9If the man who buys her wants her to be a wife for his son, he must then treat her as though she were his own daughter. 10If the master takes another slave girl to be another wife for himself, he must continue to give the first slave wife the same amount of food and clothing that he gave to her before, and he must continue to have sex [EUP] with her as before. 11If he does not do all these three things for her, he must free her from being a slave, and she is not required to pay anything for being set free.

12You must execute anyone who strikes another person with the result that the person who is struck dies. 13But if the one who struck the other did not intend to kill that person, the one who struck him can escape to a place that I will choose for you, and he will be safe there. 14But if someone gets angry with another person and kills him, even if the murderer runs to the altar, a place that God designated as a place to be safe, you must execute him.

15Anyone who strikes his father or mother must surely be executed.

16Anyone who kidnaps another person, either in order to sell that person or to keep him as a slave, must be executed.

17Anyone who reviles/curses his father or his mother must be executed.

18Suppose two people fight, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist. And suppose the person he strikes does not die but is injured and has to stay in bed for a while, 19and later he is able to walk outside using a cane. Then the person who struck him does not have to be punished. However, he must pay the injured person the money he could not earn while he was recovering, and he must also pay the injured person’s medical expenses until that person is well.

20If someone strikes his male or female slave with a stick, if the slave dies ◄immediately/as a result► [IDM], the one who struck him must be punished. 21But if the slave lives for a day or two after he is struck and then dies, you must not punish the one who struck him. Not having that slave to be able to work for him any longer is enough punishment.

22Suppose two people are fighting and they hurt a pregnant woman with the result that ◄she has a miscarriage/her baby is born prematurely and dies►. If the woman is not harmed in any other way, the one who injured her must pay a fine. He must pay whatever the woman’s husband demands, after a judge approves of the fine. 23But if the woman is injured in some additional way, the one who injured her must be caused to suffer in exactly the same way that he caused her to suffer. If she dies, he must be executed. 24-25If her eye is injured or destroyed, or if he knocks out one of her teeth, or her hand or foot is injured, or if she is burned or bruised, the one who injured her must be injured in the same way. 26If the owner of a slave strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he must free that slave because of what he did to the slave’s eye. 27If someone knocks out one of his slave’s teeth, he must free the slave because of what he did to the slave’s tooth.

28If a bull gores a man or woman with the result that the person dies, you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it, but you must not punish the owner of the bull. 29But suppose the bull had attacked people several times before, and its owner had been warned, but he did not keep the bull inside a fence. Then you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it, but you must also execute its owner. 30However, if the owner of the bull is allowed to pay a fine ◄to save his own life/in order not to be executed►, he must pay the full amount that the judges say that he must pay. 31If someone’s bull attacks and gores another person’s son or daughter, you must treat the bull’s owner according to that same rule. 32If a bull attacks and gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay to the slave’s owner 30 pieces of silver. Then you must kill the bull by throwing stones at it.

33Suppose someone has a pit/cistern and does not keep it covered, and someone’s bull or donkey falls into it and dies. 34Then the owner of the pit/cistern must pay for the animal that died. He must give the money to the animal’s owner, but then he can take away the animal that died and do whatever he wants to with it. 35If someone’s bull hurts another person’s bull with the result that it dies, the owners of both bulls must sell the bull that is living, and they must divide between them the money that they receive for it. They must also divide between them the meat of the animal that died. 36However, if people know that the bull often attacked other animals previously, and its owner did not keep it inside a fence, then the owner of that bull must give the owner of the bull that died one of his own bulls, but he can take away the animal that died and do with it whatever he wants to do.”

22

Laws regarding possessions

1Yahweh also said, “If someone steals a bull or a sheep, and then slaughters it to sell it or to sacrifice it or sells its meat to someone else, he must pay five bulls for the bull that he stole, and he must pay four sheep for the sheep that he stole.

2If a thief is caught while he is breaking into someone else’s house at night, if the one who catches him kills the thief, he is not guilty of murdering him. 3But if that happens during the daytime, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murdering him. The thief must pay for what he stole. If he has no animals with which to pay for the one that he stole, he must be sold to become someone’s else’s slave and the money must be used to pay for what he stole. 4If the thief still has the animal when he is caught, whether it is a bull or a donkey or a sheep, and it is still alive, the thief must give back the stolen animal as well as giving two additional animals for each one that he stole.

5If someone allows his animals to ◄graze/eat the grass► in his field or in his vineyard, and if they stray away and eat the crops in another person’s field, the owner of the animals must pay the owner of those crops by giving him the best crops from his own field or vineyard.

6Suppose someone starts a fire in his own field, and the fire spreads through the grass and starts burning in someone else’s field, and the fire burns grain that is growing or grain that is already cut and stacked. Then the person who started the fire must pay completely for the damage.

7Suppose someone gives to another person some money or other valuable goods and asks him to guard them in his house for a while. If those things are stolen from that person’s house, if the thief is caught, he must pay back twice as much as he stole. 8But if the thief is not caught, the owner of the house from which the things were stolen must stand before the judges, so that the judges can determine whether the owner of the house was the one who took the other man’s goods and sold them to someone else.

9If two people argue about which one of them owns a bull or a donkey or a sheep or some clothing, or something else that has been lost, the two people who each claim/say that the item belongs to them must stand before the judges. The one whom the judges declare is lying must pay back to the real owner twice as many bulls or donkeys or sheep or pieces of clothing.

10Suppose someone gives his donkey or bull or sheep or some other animal to someone else and asks him to take care of it for a while, and the animal dies or is injured or is stolen while no one is watching. 11Then the person who was taking care of the animal must ◄swear/solemnly declare►, knowing that God is listening, that he did not steal the animal. If he did not steal it the owner of the animal must accept/believe that the other person is telling the truth, and the other person will not have to pay anything back to the owner. 12But if the animal was stolen while he was supposed to be taking care of it, the man who promised to take care of it must pay back the owner for the animal. 13If he says that the animal was killed by wild animals, he must bring back the remains of the animal that was killed and show it to the animal’s owner. If he does that, he will not have to pay anything for the animal.

14If someone borrows an animal, and if that animal is hurt or dies when its owner is not there, the one who borrowed it must pay the owner for the animal. 15But if that happens when the owner of the animal is there, the one who borrowed it will not have to pay back anything. If the man who borrowed it only rented it, the money that he paid to rent it will be enough to pay for the animal dying or being injured.”

Laws concerning everyday life

16“If a man persuades a girl/woman to have sex with him, a girl/woman who ◄is a virgin/has never had sex with any man► and who is not engaged to be married, he must pay the bride price for her and marry her. 17But if her father refuses to allow her to marry him, he must pay to the woman’s father the amount of money that is equal to the amount of bride price money that men pay for virgins.

18You must execute any woman who ◄practices sorcery/is a shaman►.

19You must execute any person who has sex with an animal.

20You must offer sacrifices only to Yahweh. You must execute anyone who offers a sacrifice to any other god.

21You must not mistreat a foreigner who comes to live among you. Do not forget that you were previously foreigners in Egypt.

22You must not mistreat any widow or any orphan. 23If you mistreat them and they cry out to me for help, I will hear them. 24And I will be angry with you, and I will cause you to be killed in a war [MTY]. Your wives will become widows, and your children will no longer have fathers.

25If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest on the money. 26If he gives you his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back, you must give the cloak back to him before the sun goes down, 27because he needs it to keep him warm during the night. ◄That is the only covering that poor people have when they sleep at night./What else will he cover himself with during the night?► [RHQ] If you do not act mercifully toward him by returning his cloak, when he cries out to me asking for my help, I will help him, because I always act mercifully.

28Do not ◄revile/speak evil about► me, and do not ◄curse/ask me to do harmful things to► any ruler of your people.

29◄Do not withhold from/Give► me the best parts of the grain that you harvest and of the olive oil and the wine that you produce.

30You must dedicate your firstborn sons to me. Similarly, your firstborn male cattle and sheep belong to me. After those animals are born, allow them to stay with their mothers for seven days. On the eighth day, offer them to me as a sacrifice.

31You are people who are ◄completely dedicated to/set apart for► me. And I detest the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals. Therefore you should not eat such meat. Instead, throw it where the dogs can eat it.”

23

Treat people and animals fairly

1“Do not tell to others ◄false rumors/untrue reports► about other people. Do not help someone who is guilty by ◄testifying falsely/lying► about what happened.

2Do not join a group of people who are planning to do something evil. Do not testify the way the crowd wants you to, if that will prevent the judge from deciding the case justly/fairly. 3When a poor person is on trial, do not testify in his favor just because he is poor and you feel sorry for him.

4If you see someone’s bull or donkey when it is wandering away loose, take it back to its owner, even if the owner is your enemy. 5If you see someone’s donkey that has fallen down because of its heavy load, help the owner to get the donkey up again, even if he is someone who hates you. Do not just walk away without helping him.

6Decide the cases of poor people who are on trial as fairly as you decide the cases of other people.

7Do not accuse people falsely. Do not decide that innocent and righteous [DOU] people should be executed, because I will ◄punish/not forgive► people who do such an evil thing.

8Do not accept money that is a bribe, because officials who accept bribes are not able to [MTY] decide what is right to do, and they do not allow innocent people to be treated fairly.

9Do not mistreat foreigners who live among you. You know how people often treat foreigners, because the Egyptians did not treat you well when you were foreigners there.

10Plant seeds in your ground and gather the harvest for six years. 11But during the seventh year you must not plant anything. If things grow without your planting seeds, allow poor people to harvest and eat the crops. If there are still crops ◄left over/that they do not harvest►, allow wild animals to eat them. Do the same thing with your grapevines/vineyards and your olive trees.

12You may work for six days each week, but on the seventh day you must rest and not work. And on the seventh day you must allow your work animals and your slaves and the foreigners who live among you also to rest and be refreshed.

13Make certain that you obey everything that I have commanded you to do. Do not pray to [MTY] other gods. Do not even mention their names.”

Rules about three annual festivals

14“Every year you must celebrate three festivals to honor me. 15The first one is the Festival of Bread That Has No Yeast. Celebrate it in the month that is named Abib. That is the month in which you left Egypt. Celebrate it in the way that I commanded you. And always bring [LIT] an offering when you come to worship me. 16The second one is the Festival of Harvesting. During that festival you must offer to me the first parts/harvest of your crops that grow from the seeds that you planted. The third one is the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters. That will be after you finish harvesting your grain and grapes and fruit. 17Every year, at each of these times, all the men must gather together to worship me, Yahweh God.

18When you sacrifice an animal and offer it to me, you must not offer bread that has been baked with yeast. When you offer sacrifices, burn the fat from the animals on that same day. Do not allow any fat to remain until the next morning.

19Each year, when you harvest your crops, bring to the place where you worship me, Yahweh God, the first part of what you harvest. When you kill a ◄young animal/kid or lamb or calf►, do not prepare to eat it by boiling it in its mother’s milk.”

Yahweh gave the Israeli people several promises

20-21“Note this: I am going to send an angel ahead of you, to guard you as you travel and to bring you safely to the place that I have prepared for you. Pay attention to what he says and obey him. Do not rebel against him, because he will have my authority [MTY] and he will ◄punish/not forgive► [LIT] you if you rebel against him. 22But if you pay attention to what he says and if you do all that I tell you to do, I will fight strongly [DOU] against all of your enemies. 23My angel will go ahead of you, and will take you to where the Amor and Heth and Periz and Canaan and Hiv and Jebus people-groups live, and I will completely get rid of them. 24Do not bow down before their gods/idols or worship them. And do not do the things that they think that their gods want them to do. Completely destroy their gods/idols, and smash to pieces their sacred stones.

25You must worship me, Yahweh God. If you do that, I will bless your (OR, bless you by giving you) food and water, and I will protect you from becoming sick. 26No women in your land will have ◄miscarriages/babies that will die after being born prematurely►, and no women will be unable to become pregnant. And I will enable you to live a long time.

27I will cause the people who oppose you to become very afraid of me. I will cause the people whom you fight against to become very confused. And then I will cause them to turn around and run away from you. 28I will cause your enemies to become terrified. And I will expel the Hiv, Canaan, and Heth people-groups from your land. 29I will not expel all of them in less than one year. If I did that, your land would become deserted, and there would be very many wild animals ◄that would attack you/you would not be able to control►. 30I will expel those people-groups slowly, a few at a time, until the number of your people increases and you are able to live everywhere in the land. 31I will cause the borders of your land to extend from the ◄Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba► in the southeast to the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest, and from the Sinai Desert in the southwest to the Euphrates River in the northeast of the country. I will enable you [MTY] to expel the people who live there, so that you will expel them as you occupy more of the country. 32You must not make any agreement/treaty with those people or with their gods. 33Do not allow those people to live in your land, in order that they do not cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, you will not be able to escape from worshiping them and sinning against me, just like someone caught in a trap is unable to escape [MET].”

24

Yahweh’s agreement is confirmed

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come to me, up on top of this mountain, you and Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu. Also take along 70 of the Israeli elders/leaders. While you are still some distance from the top of the mountain, prostrate yourselves on the ground and worship me. 2Moses, I will allow you alone to come near to me. The others must not come near, and the rest of the people must not come up the mountain.”

3Moses/I went and told the people everything that Yahweh had said and all that he had commanded. The people all replied together, saying, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us to do.” 4Then Moses/I wrote down everything that Yahweh had commanded. Early the next morning Moses/I built a stone altar. He/I also set up twelve stones, one for each of the Israeli tribes. 5He/I also selected some young men. They burned sacrifices to Yahweh and they also sacrificed some cattle that they did not burn completely, for the purpose of maintaining fellowship with Yahweh. 6Moses/I took half of the blood of the animals that were slaughtered and put it in bowls. The other half of the blood he/I threw/splashed against the altar. 7Then he/I took the scroll on which he/I had written everything that Yahweh had commanded in the agreement that he had made, and he/I read it aloud, while all the people were listening. Then all the people said, “We will do all that Yahweh has told us to do. We will obey everything.”

8Then Moses/I took the blood that was in the bowls and threw/splashed it on the people. He/I said, “This is the blood that ◄confirms/puts into effect► the agreement that Yahweh made with you when he gave you all these commands.”

9Then Moses/I, along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 Israeli elders/leaders, went up the mountain, 10and they/we saw God, the one whom the Israeli people worship. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of expensive blue stones called sapphires. They were as clear as the sky is when there are no clouds. 11God did not harm [MTY] those Israeli elders/leaders because of their having seen him. They saw God, and they ate and drank together! Then we all went back down the mountain.

12Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come up to me again on top of this mountain. While you are here, I will give you two stone slabs on which I have written all the laws [DOU] that I have given to you to instruct/teach the people.” 13-14So Moses/I told the elders, “Stay here with the other people until we return! Do not forget that Aaron and Hur will be with you. So if anyone has a dispute while I am gone, he can go to those two men.” Then Moses/I went with his/my servant Joshua part of the way up the mountain that was dedicated to God. 15Then Moses/I went the rest of the way up the mountain. A cloud covered the mountain. 16The ◄glory/brilliant light► of Yahweh came down on the mountain and covered it for six days. On the seventh day, Yahweh called to Moses/me from the middle of the cloud. 17When the Israeli people looked at the top of the mountain, the glory of Yahweh was like a big fire that was burning there. 18Moses/I went into the cloud on top of the mountain. He/I was there for 40 days and nights.

25

Yahweh gave Moses instructions about a big Sacred Tent for their worship

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, “There are many things that I want you to tell to the Israeli people.

2Tell them that they must give offerings/gifts to me. Receive from the people every offering/gift that they want to give to me. 3These are the things that they may offer/give: Gold, silver, bronze, 4blue, purple, and scarlet yarn/wool, fine ◄linen/white cloth►, goats’ hair for making cloth, 5rams’ skins that have been ◄tanned/dyed red►, goatskins, hard wood from acacia trees, 6olive oil to burn in the lamps, spices to put in the olive oil for anointing the priests and in the sweet-smelling incense, 7expensive quartz stones called onyx, and other expensive stones to be fastened to the priest’s vest and put on the pouches that are to be fastened to the vest. 8Tell the people to make a big Sacred Tent for me, so that I can live in it among them. 9They must make the Sacred Tent and all the things that will be used inside it according to the plan/model that I will show you.”

Instructions for making the sacred chest

10“Tell the people to make a sacred chest from acacia wood. It is to be ◄45 in./110 cm.► long, ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high. 11Cover it with pure gold inside and outside, and put a gold border around the top of it. 12They must make/cast four rings from gold and fasten them to the legs of the chest. Put two rings on each side of the chest. 13They must make two poles from acacia wood, and they must cover them with gold. 14They must put the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest, so that the chest can be carried by the poles. 15The poles must always be left in the rings; they must not take the poles out of the rings. 16Put inside the chest the two stone slabs that I will give you, on which I have written my commandments.

17Tell them to make a lid for the chest from pure gold. It will be the place where I will forgive people’s sins. It also is to be ◄45 in./110 cm.► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide. 18Tell them to hammer huge lump of gold into the form of two creatures that have wings. 19One of these is to be put at each end of the chest, but the gold from which they are made must be joined to the gold from which the lid is made. 20Tell them to place the winged creatures so that their wings touch each other and spread out over the lid. 21Put inside the chest the stone slabs that I will give you . Then fasten the lid onto the top of the chest. 22I will set times to talk with you there. From above the lid of the chest, between the two winged creatures, I will tell to you all my laws that you must tell to the Israeli people.”

Instructions for the table for the sacred bread

23“Tell them to make a table from acacia wood. It is to be ◄36 in./88 cm.► long, ◄18 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high. 24Tell them to cover it with pure gold and put a gold border around it. 25Tell them to make a rim all around it, ◄3 in./7.5 cm.► wide, and put a gold border around the rim. 26Tell them to make/cast four rings from gold and fasten the rings to the four corners of the table, one ring close to each leg of the table. 27The rings should be fastened to the table near the rim. 28Make two poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The poles for carrying the table are to be inserted in the rings. 29Also tell them to make plates, cups, jars, and bowls to be used when the priests pour out wine to offer to me. They must all be made from pure gold. 30On the table, in front of the chest, there must always be the loaves of sacred bread that the priests have offered to me.”

Instructions for the lampstand

31“Tell them to make a lampstand from pure gold. They must hammer one large lump of gold to make its base and its shaft. The branches of the lampstand, the cups for holding the oil, the flower buds and the flower petals that decorate the branches of the lamp, the base, and the shaft are all to be hammered from one big lump of gold. 32There are to be six branches on the lampstand, three on each side of the shaft. 33Each of the branches is to have on it three gold decorations that will look like almond blossoms. These decorations must also have flower buds and flower petals. 34On the shaft of the lampstand there are to be four gold decorations that also look like almond blossoms, each one with flower buds and petals. 35On each side, there is to be one flower bud beneath each of the branches. 36All these buds and branches, along with the shaft, are to be hammered from one large lump of pure gold. 37Also tell them to make seven small cups for holding oil. One is to be put on top of the shaft and the others are to be put on top of the branches. Place these cups so that when the lamps are lit, the light will shine toward the ◄front of the lampstand/entrance►. 38Tell them to make tongs from pure gold, to remove the burned wicks and trays in which to put the burned wicks. 39Tell them to use ◄75 pounds/35 kg.► of pure gold to make the lampstand and the tongs and the trays. 40Make sure that they make these things according to the instructions that I am giving you here on this mountain.”

26

Instructions for the coverings for the Sacred Tent

1“Tell the people to make the Sacred Tent using ten long strips of fine linen. They must take blue, purple, and red thread (OR, weave the strips from blue, purple, and red thread), and a skilled craftsman must embroider these strips with designs that represent the winged creatures that are above the chest. 2Each strip is to be ◄14 yards/twelve meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide. 3Tell them to sew five strips together to make one set, and sew the other five strips together to make another set. 4For each set, they must make loops of blue cloth and fasten them along the outer edge of the strip, at the end of each set. 5They must put 50 loops on the edge of the first set, and 50 loops on the edge of the second set. 6Tell them to make 50 gold clasps/fasteners, to fasten both of the sets together. As a result, the inside of the Sacred Tent will be as though it was one piece.

7Also, tell them to make a cover for the Sacred Tent from eleven pieces of cloth made from goats’ hair. 8Each piece of cloth is to be ◄15 yards/13.5 meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide. 9Tell them to sew five of these pieces of cloth together to make one set, and sew the other six pieces of cloth together to make another set. They must fold the sixth piece of cloth in half to make it double over the front of the Sacred Tent. 10Tell them to make 100 loops of blue cloth, and to fasten 50 of them to the outer edge of the one set and fasten 50 to the outer edge of the other set. 11Tell them to make fifty bronze clasps/fasteners and put them in the cloth loops to join the two sets together. As a result, the cover for the Sacred Tent will be as though it was one piece. 12Let the extra part of the cover, the part that extends beyond the linen cloth, hang over the back of the Sacred Tent. 13The extra half yard/meter of each cover, the part that extends beyond the linen cloth on each side, must hang over the two sides of the Sacred Tent, to protect the sides. 14Tell them to make two more covers for the Sacred Tent. One is to be made from rams’ skins that have been ◄tanned/dyed red►, and the top cover is to be made from goatskin leather.”

Instructions for the framework for the Sacred Tent

15“Tell them to make 48 frames from acacia wood, frames that will be set up from which to hang the Sacred Tent covers . 16Each frame is to be ◄five yards/four meters► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide. 17They must make two projections at the bottom of each frame. These will be to fasten the frames to the bases underneath them. They must make these projections at the bottom of each frame. 18Make 20 frames for the south side of the Sacred Tent. 19Tell them to make 40 silver bases to go underneath them. Two bases will go under each frame. The projections at the bottom of each frame are to be made to fit into the bases. 20Similarly, tell them to make twenty frames for the north side of the Sacred Tent. 21They must make 40 silver bases for them also, with two bases to be put under each frame. 22For the rear of the Sacred Tent, on the west side, tell them to make six frames. 23Also, tell them to make two extra frames, one for each corner of the rear of the Sacred Tent, to provide extra support. 24The two corner frames must be joined from the bottom to the top (OR, joined at both the bottom and the top). At the top of each of the two corner frames there must be a gold ring for holding the crossbar. 25In that way, for the rear of the Sacred Tent there will be eight frames, and there will be 16 bases, two under each frame.

26Tell them to make 15 crossbars from acacia wood. 27Five of them will be for the frames on the north side of the Sacred Tent, five will be for the south side, and five for the frames at the rear of the Sacred Tent, the west side. 28Tell them to fasten the crossbars on the north, south, and west sides of the Sacred Tent to the middle of the frames. The two long ones must extend from one end of the Sacred Tent to the other, and the crossbar on the west side must extend from one side of the Sacred Tent to the other. 29Tell them to cover the frames with gold, and make gold rings to fasten the crossbars to the frames. The crossbars must also be covered with gold. 30Erect the Sacred Tent in the way that I have shown you here on this mountain.”

Instructions for the Very Holy Place and the curtain

31“Tell them to make a curtain from fine linen. A skilled craftsman must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, making designs to represent the winged creatures that are above the chest. 32Tell them to suspend/hang the curtain from four posts made from acacia wood and covered with gold. Set each post in a silver base. 33They must suspend/hang the top of the curtain by hooks that are fastened to the roof of the Sacred Tent. Behind the curtain, in the room called the Very Holy Place, they must put the chest containing the two stone slabs on which I have written my commandments. That curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place. 34On top of the chest in the Very Holy Place they must put the lid which will be the place where blood will be sprinkled to forgive people’s sins. 35In the room that is outside of the Very Holy Place, they must put the table for the sacred bread on the north side, and put the lampstand on the south side. 36Tell them to make a curtain to cover the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They must make it from fine linen, and a skilled weaver must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. 37To hold up this curtain, they must make five posts from acacia wood. They must cover them with gold, and fasten gold clasps/fasteners to them. Also they must make a bronze base for each of these posts.”

27

Instructions for the altar

1“Tell them to make an altar from acacia wood. It is to be square, ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► on each side, and make it ◄4-1/2 feet/1.3 meters► high. 2They must make a projection that looks like a horn on each of the top corners. The projections must be carved from the same block of wood as the altar. Tell them to cover the whole altar with gold. 3They must make pans in which to put the greasy ashes from the animal sacrifices. Also they must make shovels for cleaning out the ashes, basins and forks for turning the meat as it cooks, and buckets for carrying hot coals/ashes. All of these things must be made from bronze. 4Also tell them to make a bronze grating to hold the wood and burning coals. They must fasten to each of the corners of the altar a bronze ring for carrying the altar. 5They must put the grating under the rim that is around the altar. They must make it so that it is inside the altar, halfway down. 6For carrying the altar, they must make poles from acacia wood and cover them with bronze. 7They must put the poles through the rings on each side of the altar. The poles are for carrying the altar. 8The altar will be like a box, made from boards of acacia wood. They must make it according to these instructions that I am giving you here on this mountain.”

Instructions for the courtyard

9“Around the Sacred Tent there is to be a courtyard. To form the courtyard, tell them to make curtains of fine linen. On the south side, the curtain is to be ◄50 yards/44 meters► long. 10To support/hang the curtain, tell them to make twenty bronze posts, and one bronze base for each post. To fasten the curtains to the posts, they must make silver hooks, and metal rods covered with silver to fasten the curtains to the hooks. 11They must make the same kind of curtains for the north side of the courtyard. 12On the west side of the courtyard they must make a curtain ◄25 yards/22 meters► long. The curtains are to be supported by ten posts, with a base under each post. 13On the east side, where the entrance is, the courtyard must also be ◄25 yards/22 meters► wide. 14-15Tell them to make a curtain ◄22-1/2 feet/6.6 meters► wide for each side of the entrance to the courtyard. 16They must make a curtain ◄30 feet/9 meters► long for the entrance. A skilled weaver must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. It must be ◄supported by/hung from► four posts, each one with a base under it. 17All the posts around the courtyard must be connected with metal rods covered with silver. The clasps/fasteners must be made of silver, and the bases must be made of bronze. 18The whole courtyard, from the east entrance to the west end, must be ◄50 yards/44 meters► long, and the curtains that enclose it must be ◄7-1/2 feet/2.3 meters► high. All the curtains must be made of fine linen, and all the bases under the posts must be made of bronze. 19All the things that are not made of gold that are to be used inside the Sacred Tent and in the courtyard, and all the tent pegs to support the Sacred Tent and the curtains, must be made of bronze.

20“Command the Israeli people that they must bring to you the best kind of olive oil to burn in the lamps. They must bring this oil to you continually, in order that the lamps can burn continually. 21They must put the lampstand outside of the curtain which is in front of the sacred chest which contains the stone slabs on which I have written my commandments. Aaron must take care of the lamps. After he dies, his descendants must do this work. The lamps are to burn every night, from evening until morning. The Israeli people must obey this regulation throughout all future generations.”

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Instructions for the priests’ clothing

1“Summon your older brother Aaron and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ◄Set them apart/They are the ones whom I have chosen► from the rest of the Israeli people, in order that they can serve me by being priests. 2Tell the people to make beautiful clothes for Aaron, clothes that are suitable for one who has this dignified and sacred work. 3Talk to all the skilled workmen, those to whom I have given special ability. Tell them to make clothes for Aaron, for him to wear when he is ◄set apart/dedicated► to become a priest to serve me. 4These are the clothes that they are to make: A sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his chest, a sacred apron, a robe, an embroidered tunic/gown, a ◄turban/cloth to wrap around his head►, and a sash/waistband. These are the clothes that your older brother Aaron and his sons must wear as they serve me by doing the work that priests do. 5The skilled workmen must use fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make these clothes.”

Instructions for the sacred apron

6“The skilled workmen must make the sacred apron from fine linen, and skillfully embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. 7It must have two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part. 8A carefully-woven sash, which must be made from the same materials as the sacred apron, must be sewn onto the sacred apron. 9A skilled workman must take two expensive onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. 10He must engrave the names in the order in which Jacob’s sons were born. He must engrave six names on one stone, and the other six names on the other stone. 11A gem-cutter should engrave these names on the stones. Then he should enclose the stones in ◄settings/tiny gold frames►. 12Then he should fasten the stones onto the shoulder straps of the sacred apron, to represent the twelve Israeli tribes. In that way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes on his shoulders in order that I, Yahweh, will never forget my people (OR, in order that he will always remember that those tribes belong to Yahweh). 13The settings for the stones must be made from gold. 14Tell them to make two tiny chains that are braided like cords, and fasten the chains to the settings.”

Instructions for the sacred pouch

15“Tell the skilled workman to make a sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his chest. He will use the things he puts into the pouch to determine my answers to the questions he asks. It must be made of the same materials as the sacred apron, and embroidered in the same way. 16It is to be square, and the material must be folded double, so that it is ◄9 in./22 cm.► on each side. 17The skilled workman must fasten four rows of valuable stones onto the pouch. In the first row he must put a red ruby, a yellow topaz, and a red garnet. 18In the second row he must put a green emerald, a blue sapphire, and a clear/white diamond. 19In the third row he must put a red jacinth, a white agate, and a purple amethyst. 20In the fourth row he must put a yellow beryl, a red carnelian, and a green jasper. 21A gem-cutter should engrave on each of these twelve stones the name of one of the sons of Jacob. These names will represent the twelve Israeli tribes. 22The two chains that are made from pure gold and braided like cords are for attaching the sacred pouch to the sacred apron. 23The workman must make two gold rings, and attach them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch. 24He must make two gold cords, and fasten one end of each cord to one of the rings. 25He must fasten the other end of each cord to the two settings that enclose the stones. In that way, the sacred pouch will be attached to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron. 26Then he must make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower corners of the sacred pouch, on the inside edges, next to the sacred apron. 27He must make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower part of the front of the shoulder straps, near to where the shoulder straps are joined to the sacred apron, just above the carefully-woven sash/waistband. 28The skilled workman must tie the rings on the sacred pouch to the rings on the sacred apron with a blue cord, so that the sacred pouch is above the sash/waistband and does not come loose from the sacred apron. 29In that way, Aaron will have the names of the twelve Israeli tribes in the sacred pouch close to his chest when he enters the Holy Place. This will remind him that I, Yahweh, will never forget my people (OR, that he represents my people when he talks to me, Yahweh). 30Put into the sacred pouch the two things that the priest will use to determine my answers to the questions he asks. In that way, they will be close to his chest when he enters the Holy Place to talk to me. He will use them to find out what is my will for the Israeli people.”

Instructions for other clothes for the priests

31“Tell the workmen to use only blue cloth to make the robe that is to be worn underneath the priest’s sacred apron. 32It is to have an opening through which the priest can put his head. They must sew a border around this opening, to keep the material from tearing. 33At the lower edge on the robe, they must fasten decorations that look like pomegranate fruit. They must be woven from blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. 34Between each of these decorations, they must fasten a tiny gold bell. 35When Aaron enters the Holy Place in the Sacred Tent to do his work as a priest and when he leaves the Sacred Tent, the bells will ring as he walks. As a result, he will not die because of disobeying my instructions.

36“Tell them to make a tiny ornament of pure gold, and tell a ◄skilled workman/gem-cutter► to engrave on it the words, ‘Dedicated to Yahweh.’ 37They should fasten this ornament to the front of the turban by a blue cord. 38Aaron must always wear this on his forehead. In that way, Aaron himself will show that he accepts the guilt if the Israeli people offer their sacrifices to me in a way that is not correct, and I, Yahweh, will accept their sacrifices.

39“Tell them to weave the long-sleeved tunic/gown from fine linen. Also, they must make from fine linen a turban and a sash/waistband, and embroider designs on it.

40“Tell them to make beautiful long-sleeved tunics/gowns, sashes, and caps for Aaron’s sons. Make ones that will be suitable for those who have this dignified work. 41Put these clothes on your older brother Aaron and on his sons. Then ◄set them apart/dedicate them► for this work by anointing them with olive oil, in order that they may serve me by being priests. 42Also tell them to make linen undershorts for them. The undershorts should extend from their waists to their thighs, in order that no one can see their private parts. 43Aaron and his sons must always wear those undershorts when they enter the Sacred Tent or when they come near to the altar to offer sacrifices in the Holy Place. If they do not obey this command, I will cause them to die. Aaron and all his male descendants must obey this rule forever.”

29

Instructions for dedicating the priests

1“This is what you must do to dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me by being priests: Select one young bull and two rams that do not have any defects. 2Bake three kinds of bread using finely-ground wheat flour, but without yeast: Bake some loaves that do not have any olive oil in them, bake some loaves that have olive oil in the dough, and bake some thin wafers that will be smeared with olive oil after they are baked. 3Put them in a basket and offer them to me when you sacrifice the young bull and the two rams. 4Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them ritually. 5Then put the special clothes on Aaron—the long-sleeved tunic/gown, the robe that will be worn underneath the sacred apron, the sacred apron, the sacred pouch, and the sash/waistband. 6Place the turban on his head, and fasten to the turban the ornament that has the words ‘Dedicated to Yahweh’ engraved on it. 7Then take the oil and pour some on his head to ◄dedicate him/set him apart►. 8Then bring his sons and put the long-sleeved tunics/gowns on them. 9Put the sashes/waistbands around their waists and the caps on their heads. That is the ritual by which you are to ◄dedicate them/set them apart► to be priests. Aaron and his male descendants must serve me by being priests forever.

10“Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the Sacred Tent. Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the young bull. 11Then, while they do that, kill the young bull by slitting its throat, and catch/drain the blood in a bowl. 12Take some of that blood with your finger and smear it on the projections of the altar. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the base of the altar. 13Take all the fat that covers the inner organs of the young bull, the best part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn all these on the altar as an offering to me. 14But the meat of the young bull and its hide and intestines must be burned outside the camp. That will be an offering to forgive the guilt of your sins.

15“Then select one of the rams, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the ram. 16Then kill the ram by slitting its throat. Catch/Drain some of the blood and splash it against all four sides of the altar. 17Then cut the ram into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its rear legs and put those with the head 18and burn those pieces completely on the altar with the rest of the ram. That will be an offering to me, Yahweh, and the smell will please me.

19“Take the other ram that was selected for these rituals, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the ram’s head. 20Then kill the ram by slitting its throat, and drain the blood into a bowl. Smear some of the blood on the lobe of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar. 21Wipe up some of the blood that is on the altar, mix it with some of the oil for anointing, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. By doing that, you will dedicate them and their clothes to me.

22“Also, cut off the ram’s fat and its fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs, the best part of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. 23Take also one of each of the kinds of bread that was baked —one made with no oil, one with oil, and one thin wafer. 24Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then tell them to lift them up high to dedicate them to me. 25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar, on top of the other things that were placed there. That also will be an offering to me, and its smell will please me. 26Then take the meat of the ribs of the second ram that was killed, and lift it up high as an offering to me. But then this part of the animal will be for you to eat. 27Then take the meat of the ribs, the other thigh of the first ram that was sacrificed to ◄dedicate/set apart► the priests, and the ram whose other parts were lifted high to show that they were an offering to me; and set the meat of the ribs and thigh apart for Aaron and his sons, for them to eat. 28In the future, whenever the Israeli people present to me, Yahweh, offerings to maintain fellowship with me, the ribs and the thigh of animals that they sacrifice will be for Aaron and his male descendants to eat.

29“After Aaron dies, the special clothes that he wore will belong to his sons. They are to wear those clothes when they are ◄set apart/dedicated► to become priests. 30Aaron’s son who becomes The Supreme Priest and enters the Sacred Tent and performs rituals in the Holy Place must stay in the Sacred Tent, wearing these special clothes, for seven days.

31“Take the meat of the other ram that was sacrificed to ◄set apart/dedicate► Aaron and his sons, and boil it in the courtyard. 32After it is cooked, Aaron and his sons must eat it, along with the bread that is left in the basket, at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. 33They must eat the meat of the ram that was sacrificed to forgive them for their sins when they were dedicated to do this work. They are the only ones who are permitted to eat this meat. Those who are not priests are not allowed to eat it, because it is dedicated to me. 34If any of this meat or some of the bread is not eaten that night, no one is permitted to eat any of it the next day. It must be completely burned, because it is sacred/dedicated to me.

35“Those are the rituals that you(sg) must perform during those seven days when you dedicate Aaron and his sons for this work. You must do everything that I have commanded you. 36Each of those seven days you must also sacrifice a young bull as an offering to me, in order that I may forgive sins. Also, you must make another offering ◄to make the altar pure in my sight/in order that I will consider the altar to be pure►. You must also anoint the altar with olive oil, to ◄set it apart/dedicate it►. 37Perform these rituals every day for seven days, to ◄set apart/dedicate► the altar and make it pure. If you do not do that, anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.

38“You must also sacrifice lambs and burn them on the altar. Each of those seven days you must sacrifice two lambs. 39One lamb must be sacrificed in the morning, and one must be sacrificed in the evening. 40With the first lamb, also offer ◄2 pounds/1 kilogram► of finely-ground wheat flour mixed with one quart/liter of the best kind of olive oil, and one quart/liter of wine as an offering. 41In the evening, when you sacrifice the other lamb, offer the same amounts of flour, olive oil, and wine as you did in the morning. This will be an offering to me, Yahweh, that will be burned, and its smell will please me. 42You and your descendants must continue making these offerings to me, Yahweh, throughout all future generations. You must offer them at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. That is where I will meet with you and speak to you. 43That is where I will meet with the Israeli people, and the brilliant light of my presence will cause that place to be holy/sacred. 44I will dedicate the Sacred Tent and the altar. I will also dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me by being priests. 45I will live among the Israeli people, and I will be their God. 46They will know that I, Yahweh their God, am the one who brought them out of Egypt in order that I might live among them.”

30

Instructions for the incense altar

1“Tell the skilled workers to make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense. 2It is to be square, ◄18 in./45 cm.► on each side. It is to be ◄3 feet/90 cm.► high. Tell them to make a projection that looks like a horn on each of the top corners. The projections must be carved from the same block of wood that the altar is made from. 3They must cover the top and the four sides, including the projections, with pure gold. Put a gold border around the altar, near the top. 4They must make two gold rings for carrying the altar. They must attach them to the altar below the border, one on each side of the altar. These rings are for the poles for carrying the altar. 5Tell them to make these two poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. 6They must put this altar outside the curtain that hangs in front of the sacred chest and its lid. That is the place where I will talk with you. 7Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar. He must burn some every morning when he takes care of the lamps, 8and he must burn some in the evening when he lights the lamps. The incense must be burned continually, throughout all future generations. 9The priests must not burn on the altar any incense that I have not told you to burn, or burn any animal on it, or any grain offering for me, or pour any wine on it as an offering. 10One time every year Aaron must perform the ritual for making this altar pure. He must do it by putting on its four projections some of the blood from the animal that was sacrificed ◄to remove the guilt of the people’s sins/so that the people would no longer be guilty for sins►. This ritual is to be done by Aaron and his descendants throughout all future generations. This altar must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.”

Instructions for the money to take care of the Sacred Tent

11Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 12“When your leaders ◄take a census of/count► the Israeli people, each man who is counted must pay to me a price to save his life. They must do this in order that no disaster will happen to them while the people are being counted. 13Every man who is counted must pay to me ◄0.2 ounces/5.7 grams► of silver. They must use the official standard when they weigh the silver. 14All the men who are at least 20 years old must pay this amount to me when the people are counted. 15Rich men must not pay more than this amount, and poor men must not pay less than this amount, when they pay this money to save their lives. 16Your leaders must collect this money from the Israeli people and give it to those who will take care of the Sacred Tent. This money is the payment for the lives of those who take care of the Sacred Tent, ◄to enable me not to forget them/and then I will remember to protect them►.”

Instructions for the washbasin

17Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 18“Tell the skilled workers to make a bronze washbasin and a bronze base for it. They must put it between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water. 19Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water 20before they enter the Sacred Tent and before they come to the altar to sacrifice offerings that will be burned on it. If they do that, they will not die because of disobeying my instructions. 21They must wash their hands and their feet, in order that they will not die. They and the males descended from them must obey this ritual throughout all generations.”

Instructions for the oil for anointing

22Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 23“Tell the people to collect some of the finest spices— ◄12 pounds/6 kg.► of ◄liquid myrrh/sweet-smelling sap named myrrh►, ◄6 pounds/3 kg.► of sweet-smelling cinnamon, ◄6 pounds/3 kg.► of a sweet-smelling cane/reed, 24and ◄12 pounds/6 kg.► of ◄cassia/a sweet-smelling bark named cassia►. Be sure that they use the official standard when they weigh these things. Tell an expert perfumer to mix these with ◄one gallon/four liters► of olive oil 25to make sacred oil for anointing. 26Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest, 27the table and all the things that are used with it, the lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar for burning incense, 28and the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned, along with its bases and the washbasin and all the things that are used with it. 29Dedicate them by anointing them, in order that they will be completely holy/sacred. Anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo. 30And anoint Aaron and his sons. By doing that, you will dedicate them to serve me by being priests. 31And tell the Israeli people, ‘This oil will be my sacred anointing oil that must be used throughout all future generations. 32You must not pour it on the bodies of people who are not priests, and you must not make other oil to be like it by mixing the same amount of those things. This oil is sacred, and you must consider it to be sacred.’ 33I will consider that anyone who makes ointment like this for any other purpose, and anyone who puts any of this ointment on someone who is not a priest, no longer be allowed to associate with my people.”

34Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Tell the people to take equal parts of several sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense— 35and tell an expert perfumer to mix them together to make some perfume. Add some salt to keep it pure and make it holy. 36Beat some of it into a fine powder. Then take some of it into the Sacred Tent and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest. You must all consider this incense to be very holy. 37The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh. 38I will consider that anyone who makes incense like this to use it for perfume will no longer be allowed to associate with my people.”

31

Instructions for the work to be done by Bezalel and Oholiab

1-2Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Note that I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, for special tasks. 3I have caused him to be completely controlled/empowered by my Spirit, and I have given him special ability to make things and have enabled him to know how to do very skilled work. 4He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze. 5He can cut ◄jewels/valuable stones► and enclose them in tiny gold settings/frames. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work. 6Note that I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given special ability to other men, in order that they can make all the things that I have commanded you to be made. 7That includes the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest and its lid, all the other things that will be inside the Sacred Tent, 8the table and all the things that are used with it, the pure gold lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar for burning incense, 9the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base, 10all the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron and his sons to wear when they work as priests, 11the oil for anointing, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. The skilled workers must make all these things exactly as I have told you to do.”

Instructions for the day of rest

12Yahweh also said to Moses/me, 13“Tell the Israeli people, ‘Obey my instructions regarding the ◄rest days/Sabbath days►. Those days will remind you and your descendants, throughout all future generations, that I, Yahweh, have ◄set you apart/chosen you► to be my people. 14You must obey my rules about the Sabbath days because they are holy/sacred. Those who treat those days in an irreverent way by working on those days must be executed to show that I no longer consider them to belong to my people. 15You may work for six days each week, but the seventh day of each week is a solemn day of rest, dedicated to me, Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on a day of rest is to be executed because I no longer want them to be able to associate with my people. 16You Israeli people must respect the rest day, and you and your descendants must ◄celebrate it/keep it holy► throughout all future generations. It will remind you of the agreement that I have made with you that will last forever. 17It will remind you Israeli people and remind me of that agreement because I, Yahweh, created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped doing that work and relaxed.’”

18When Yahweh finished talking with Moses/me on the top of Sinai Mountain, he gave him/me the two stone slabs on which he had engraved his commandments with his own fingers.

32

The Israelis made a golden calf to worship

1◄Moses/I► stayed on top of the mountain a long time. When the people realized that he/I was not returning quickly, they gathered near Aaron and said to him, “We do not know what has happened to that man Moses who brought us here out of Egypt. So quickly, make us ◄an idol/a statue of a god► who will lead us!” 2Aaron replied to them, “All right, I will do that, but tell your wives and your sons and your daughters to take off all their gold earrings and bring them to me.” 3So the people did that. They took off all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4He took all those gold earrings and melted them in a fire. He poured the gold into a mold and made a statue that looked like a young bull. The people saw it and said, “This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt!”

5When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the statue of the young bull. Then he announced, “Tomorrow we will have a festival to honor Yahweh!” 6So the people got up early the next morning and brought animals to kill and burn as sacrifices on the altar. They also brought sacrifices to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then they sat down to eat and drink wine. Then they got up and started dancing in a very immoral way.

Yahweh threatened to destroy the Israeli people

7Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back down from the mountain, because your people, the ones that you brought up here from Egypt, have already ◄become very depraved/wicked►! 8They have already ◄left the road that I showed them/stopped obeying me►! They have made a statue of a young bull from melted gold. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. And they are saying, ‘This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from Egypt!’”

9Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I have seen that these people are very stubborn. 10I am very angry with them, and so I am going to get rid of them. Do not try to stop me! Then I will cause you and your descendants to become a great nation.”

11But Moses/I pleaded with his/my God, Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, ◄you should not be very angry with your people!/why are you so angry with your people[RHQ]?► These are the people whom you rescued from Egypt with very great power [MTY, DOU]! 12Do not do anything that would allow the people of Egypt to say, ‘Their god led them out from our country, but he did that only because he wanted to kill them in the mountains and get rid of them completely[RHQ]!’ Stop being so angry! ◄Change your mind/Do not do what you have told me that you will do►! Do not do to your people this terrible thing that you have just said that you will do13Think about your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You solemnly promised them, ‘I will enable you to have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.’ You said to them, ‘I will give to your descendants all the land that I am promising to give them. It will be their land forever.’”

14So Yahweh changed his mind. He did not do to his people the terrible thing that he said he would do.

15Moses/I turned away from God and went down the mountain, carrying in his hands the two stone slabs on which Yahweh had engraved his commandments. He had written on both sides of the slabs. 16God himself had made the slabs, and he was the one who had engraved the commandments on them.

17Joshua heard the very loud noise of the people shouting. So when he and I got near the camp, Joshua said, “There is a noise in the camp that sounds like the noise of a battle!” 18But Moses/I replied, “No, that is not the shouting that people do when they have won a victory or when they have been defeated in a battle What I hear is the sound of loud singing!”

19As soon as Moses/I came close to the camp and saw the statue of the young bull and saw the people dancing, he/I became extremely angry. He/I threw the stone tablets that he/I was carrying down onto the ground, there at the base of the mountain. 20Then he/I took the statue of the young bull that they had made and melted it in the fire. When it cooled, he/I ground it into fine powder. Then he/I mixed the powder with water and forced the Israeli people to drink it. 21Then he/I said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, with the result that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?” 22Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, sir. You know that these people are very determined to do evil things. 23They said to me, ‘As for that man Moses, the one who brought us up here from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. So make for us an idol that will lead us!’ 24So I said to them, ‘Everyone who is wearing gold earrings should take them off.’ So they took them off and gave them to me. I threw them into the fire, and out came this statue of a young bull!”

25Moses/I saw that Aaron had allowed the people to become completely out of control and to do things that would make their enemies think the Israeli people were foolish. 26So he/I stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is loyal to Yahweh should come closer to me!” So the descendants of Levi gathered around him/me. 27Then he/I said to them, “Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people, commands that every one of you should fasten your sword to your side, and then go through the camp from this entrance to the other one, and kill some of your relatives and your companions and your neighbors.” 28The descendants of Levi did what Moses/I told them to do, and they killed 3,000 men on that day. 29Moses/I said to the descendants of Levi, “Today you have dedicated yourselves to serving Yahweh by ◄killing/not sparing► even your own sons and brothers, and as a result Yahweh will bless you.”

30The next day, Moses/I said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But I will now climb up the mountain again to talk with Yahweh. Perhaps I can persuade him to forgive you for sinning like this.” 31So Moses/I went back up the mountain and said to Yahweh, “I am sorry to admit that these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made for themselves a gold idol and have worshiped it. 32But now I ask you to please forgive them for having sinned. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.” 33But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “It is only those who have sinned against me whose names I will erase from that book. 34Now you go back down and lead the Israeli people to the place that I told you about. Keep in mind that my angel will go in front of you. But, at the time that I determine, I will punish them for their sin.”

35Later Yahweh caused a plague to strike the people because they had told Aaron to make the gold statue of a young bull.

33

Yahweh further rebuked and warned the Israeli people

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Leave this place and go with the people whom you led out of Egypt. Go to the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. 2I will send my angel ahead of you all, and I will expel from that land the Canaan, Amor, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups. 3You will go to a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [IDM]. But I will not go with you myself, because if I did that, I might get rid of you while you are traveling, because you are very stubborn [IDM] people.”

4-5Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the Israeli people, ‘You are very stubborn [IDM]. If I would go with you for even a moment, I would completely ◄get rid of you/wipe you out►. Now take off your jewelry to show that you are sorry for having sinned. Then I will decide how I will punish you (OR, if I should punish you).’” So when Moses/I told to the people what God said, they started to mourn, and they all took off their jewelry. 6After the Israeli people left Sinai Mountain, they did not wear jewelry anymore.

7When the Israeli people traveled, whenever they stopped and set up their tents, Moses/I had them set up a tent outside the camp, far from the camp. I called it ‘the Sacred Tent where God and I talk together’. Everyone who wanted Yahweh to decide something for them would go out of the camp to the Sacred Tent. 8Whenever Moses/I went out to the Sacred Tent, all the people would stand at the entrances of their tents and watch him/me until he/I had entered the Sacred Tent. 9When Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent, the tall cloud that looked like a fire would come down and stay at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and then Yahweh would talk with Moses/me. 10When the people saw the tall cloud at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, they would all prostrate themselves on the ground and worship Yahweh. 11Yahweh would speak to Moses/me directly, like someone speaks to his friend. Then Moses/I would return to the camp. But his/my young helper, Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed in the Sacred Tent.

Yahweh promised to be with his people and to let Moses see his glory

12Moses/I said to Yahweh, “It is true that you have told me, ‘Lead the people to the land that I will show you,’ and you have said that you know me well and that you are pleased with me, but you have not told me whom you will send with me! 13So now, if you are truly pleased with me, I ask you, tell me the things that you intend/plan to do, in order that I will know you better and continue to please you. Also, do not forget that the Israeli people are the people whom you chose to belong to you.” 14Yahweh replied, “I will go with you, and I will give you inner peace.” 15Moses/I replied, “If you do not go with me, do not force us to leave this place. 16The only way that other people will know that you are pleased with me and with your people is if you go with us [RHQ]! ◄If you go with us, that will show that we are different from all the other people on the earth./If you do not go with us, what will show that we are different from all the other people on the earth?►” [RHQ] 17Yahweh replied to Moses/me, “What you have asked is exactly what I will do, because I know you well and I am pleased with you.”

18Then Moses/I said, “Please let me see your glorious presence!” 19Yahweh replied, “I will let you see how great and glorious I am, and I will tell you clearly that my name is Yahweh. I will act very kindly and be merciful to all those whom I choose. 20But you are not allowed to see my face, because anyone who sees my face will ◄die/not continue to stay alive►. 21But look! Here is a place close to me where you can stand on a large rock. 22When my glorious presence comes past you, I will put you in a large crevice/opening in the rock, and I will cover your face with my hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but you will not see my face.”

34

Yahweh gave Moses another copy of his commandments

1Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Cut two slabs of stone that will be like the first slabs, the ones that you broke. Then I will engrave on them the words that were on the first slabs. 2Get ready tomorrow morning, and come up to the top of Sinai Mountain again to talk with me there. 3Do not allow anyone to come up with you. I do not want anyone else to be anywhere on the mountain. Do not allow any sheep or cattle to graze ◄at the base of/near► the mountain.” 4So Moses/I cut two slabs of stone that were like the first ones. He/I arose early the next morning. He/I took the slabs and carried them in his/my hands up to the top of Sinai Mountain, as Yahweh had commanded. 5Then Yahweh descended in the tall cloud and stood with Moses/me there. He proclaimed that it was he, Yahweh, who was going to speak to Moses/me. 6Then Yahweh passed in front of him/me and proclaimed, “I am Yahweh God. I always act mercifully and kindly toward people. I do not get angry quickly. I truly love people and I do what I promise to do for them, without changing. 7I love people for thousands of generations. I forgive people for all kinds of sins [TRI]. But I will certainly punish [LIT] those who are guilty. I will punish not only them, but I will punish ◄their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren►.”

8Moses/I quickly prostrated himself/myself on the ground and worshiped Yahweh. 9He/I said, “Yahweh, if you are now pleased with me, I ask that you go with us. These people are very stubborn [IDM], but forgive us for all our sins [DOU], and accept us to be people who belong to you forever.”

10Yahweh replied, “Note this: I am going to make a solemn agreement with the Israeli people. As they are watching, I will perform great miracles. They will be miracles that no one has ever done on the earth in any nation. All the people who are near you will see the great things that I, Yahweh, will do. I will do awesome things for you all. 11-12Each Israeli person must obey what I am commanding you this day. Do not forget that if you obey me, I will expel the Amor, Canaan, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups from the land. But be careful that you do not make any peace agreements with any of the people who live in the land into which you are going, because if you do that, you will begin to do the evil things that they do. It will be like falling into a trap. 13You must tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down the poles that they use to worship their female goddess Asherah. 14You must worship only me, and not worship any other god, because I, Yahweh, cannot endure any rivals. 15Do not make peace agreements with any group that lives in that land. When they worship their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you to join them, do not join them. If you join them, you will eat the food that they sacrifice to their gods, and you will not be faithful to me. You will be like people who commit adultery, who are not being faithful to their spouses [MET]. 16If you take some of their women to be wives for your sons, and these women worship their own gods, they will persuade your sons also to worship their gods.

17Do not pour melted metal into molds to make statues for you to worship.

18Each year, during the month of/named Abib, celebrate the Festival of Eating Bread Made Without Yeast. During that festival, for seven days you must not eat bread made with yeast, as I commanded you, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.

19Your firstborn sons and the firstborn male animals of your cattle and sheep and goats belong to me. 20The firstborn of your male donkeys also belong to me. But you may buy them back by offering to me lambs in their place. If you do not do that, you must kill these animals by breaking their necks. You must also buy back your firstborn sons. You must bring an offering to me [LIT] each time you come to worship me.

21Each week you may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even during the times when you plow the ground and harvest your crops, you must rest on the seventh day.

22Each year celebrate the Harvest Festival, when you begin to harvest the first crop of wheat, and also celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters, when you finish harvesting the grain and fruit.

23Three times each year all the men must come to worship me, Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people. 24I will expel the people-groups that live in the land where you will be, and I will cause your territory to become very large. As a result, no group will try to conquer your country if you come to worship me each year during those three festivals.

25When you sacrifice an animal [MTY] to me, do not offer with it bread that is made with yeast. And during the Passover Festival, when you sacrifice lambs, do not keep any of the meat until the next morning.

26I am Yahweh God. You must bring to my Sacred Tent the first part of the grain that you harvest each year. When you kill a young animal/kid either a lamb or a calf, do not prepare to eat it by boiling it in its mother’s milk.”

27Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Write down the words that I have told you. By giving you these commands, I have made a solemn agreement with you and with the other Israeli people.”

28Moses/I was there on the top of the mountain with Yahweh for 40 days and nights. During that time he/I did not eat or drink anything [SYN]. He/I engraved on the stone slabs the words of the Ten Commandments, which were part of Yahweh’s solemn agreement.

Moses’ face was shining as he returned to the people

29When Moses/I came back down the mountain, carrying in his/my hand the two stone slabs on which were written the Ten Commandments, his/my face was shining because he/I had been talking with Yahweh, but he/I did not know that his/my face was shining. 30When Aaron and the other Israeli people saw Moses/me, they were amazed/surprised that his/my face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him/me. 31But Moses/I called to them. Then Aaron and the other Israeli leaders came to him/me, and he/I talked with them. 32Afterwards, all the other Israeli people came near, and he/I told them all the laws that Yahweh had given to him/me on Sinai Mountain. 33When Moses/I finished talking to the people, he/I put a veil over his/my face. 34But whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I removed the veil. When he/I came back out, he/I would always tell to the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me to tell them. 35The Israeli people would see that Moses’/my face was still shining. Then he/I would put the veil back on his/my face again until the next time that he/I went into the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh.

35

Regulations for the day of rest

1Moses/I gathered all the Israeli people together and said to them, “This is what Yahweh has commanded you to do: 2Each week you may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. It is a sacred day, dedicated to Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on the seventh day must be executed. 3Do not even light a fire in your homes on days of rest.”

Gifts for constructing the Sacred Tent

4Moses/I also said to all the Israeli people, “This is also what Yahweh has commanded: 5Make offerings to Yahweh. Everyone who wants to should bring to Yahweh an offering. These are the things that they may offer: Gold, silver, bronze, 6fine white linen, blue or purple or red cloth, cloth made from goats’ hair, 7rams’ skins that are ◄tanned/dyed red►, fine leather made from goatskins, wood from acacia trees, 8oil for the lamps, spices to put in the olive oil for anointing and in the sweet-smelling incense, 9valuable onyx stones or other valuable stones to fasten onto the priest’s sacred apron and put on his sacred chest pouch.

10“All the skilled workers among you should come and make all the things that Yahweh has commanded: 11The Sacred Tent and its covering, its fasteners and its frames, its crossbars, its posts, its bases, 12the sacred chest with its poles and its lid, the curtain that will separate the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place, 13the table with the poles for carrying it and all the things that will be used with the table, the sacred bread that will be offered to God, 14the lampstand for the lamps with all the things that will be used to take care of them, the oil for the lamps, 15the altar for burning incense, and the poles for carrying that altar, the oil for anointing and the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance of the Sacred Tent, 16the altar for offering sacrifices that will be completely burned and its bronze grating, the poles for carrying that altar and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base, 17the curtains to surround the courtyard and the posts and bases for the posts from which to hang the curtains, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, 18the pegs and ropes for the Sacred Tent and for the courtyard, 19and the beautiful clothes that Aaron and his sons are to wear when they do their work in the Holy Place.”

20Then all the Israeli people returned to their tents. 21Everyone who wanted to brought an offering to Yahweh. They brought some of the things that would be used to make the Sacred Tent and all the other items that would be used in the rituals, and the materials to make the sacred clothes for the priests. 22All the men and women who wanted to brought gold ornaments, earrings, rings, necklaces, and many other kinds of things made of gold, and they dedicated them to Yahweh. 23And many [HYP] people who had blue, purple, or red cloth or fine white linen or cloth made from goats’ hair or rams’ skins that were ◄tanned/dyed red► or leather made from goatskins brought some of these things. 24All those who had silver or bronze brought them as offerings to Yahweh. All those who had some acacia wood that could be used for any of the work brought it. 25All the women who were skilled to make cloth brought fine linen thread and blue, purple, or red yarn/thread that they had made/spun. 26And all the women who wanted to made/spun thread from goats’ hair. 27All the leaders brought valuable onyx stones and other valuable stones to be fastened to Aaron’s sacred apron and his sacred chest pouch. 28They also brought spices to put in the sweet-smelling incense, and they brought olive oil for the lamps and for the oil for anointing and for putting in the sweet-smelling incense. 29All the Israeli men and women who wanted to brought these things to offer them to Yahweh, for doing the work that he had commanded Moses/me to do.

Moses’ instructions regarding Bezalel and Oholiab

30Moses/I said to the Israeli people, “Listen carefully. Yahweh has chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 31Yahweh has enabled his Spirit to completely control Bezalel and has given him ability and enabled him to know how to do very skilled work. 32He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze. 33He can cut ◄jewels/valuable stones► and enclose them in tiny gold frames. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work. 34Yahweh has also given to him and to Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. 35He has given to them the ability to do all kinds of work that is done by craftsmen—those who create artistic things, those who make fine white linen, those who embroider designs using blue or purple or red yarn/thread, and those who make other cloth. They are able to do many [HYP] kinds of skillful work.

36

1“Bezalel and Oholiab, and all the other men to whom Yahweh has given ability and enabled them to understand how to do all the work to make the Sacred Tent, must make everything just as Yahweh has commanded.”

2So Moses/I summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the other skilled men to whom Yahweh had given special ability and who wanted to do some of the work. 3Moses/I gave them all the things that the people had brought as offerings to Yahweh for making the Sacred Tent. But the people continued bringing more things every morning. 4As a result, the skilled men who were doing various things to make the Sacred Tent came to Moses/me 5and said, “The people are bringing more than we need to do the work that Yahweh has commanded us!” 6So Moses/I gave the skilled men this message that was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No one should bring anything more as an offering to make the Sacred Tent!” When the people heard that, they did not bring anything more. 7What they had already brought was enough to do all the work. In fact, it was more than was needed!

They made the curtains and coverings for the Sacred Tent

8All the most skilled men among the workmen made the Sacred Tent. They made it from ten strips of fine linen, and carefully embroidered it using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make figures that resembled the winged creatures. 9Each strip was ◄14 yards/twelve meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide. 10They sewed five strips together to make one set, and they sewed the other five strips together to make the other set. 11For each set, they made loops of blue cloth and fastened them on the outer edge of the strip, at the end of each set. 12They put 50 loops on the edge of the first set, and 50 loops on the edge of the second set. 13They made 50 gold clasps/fasteners, to fasten both of the sets together. In that way, the inside of the Sacred Tent was as though it was one piece. 14They made a cover for the Sacred Tent from eleven pieces of cloth made from goats’ hair. 15Each piece of cloth was ◄15 yards/13.5 meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide. 16They sewed five of these pieces of cloth together to make one set, and they sewed the other six pieces of cloth together to make another set. 17They made 100 loops of blue cloth. They fastened 50 of them to the outer edge of the one set and they fastened 50 to the outer edge of the other set. 18They made 50 bronze clasps/fasteners and joined the two sets together with them. In that way it formed one cover. 19They made two more covers for the Sacred Tent. They made one from rams’ skins that had been ◄tanned/dyed red►, and they made the top cover from goatskin leather. 20They made 48 frames from acacia wood and set them up to support the covers for the Sacred Tent. 21Each frame was ◄15 feet/4.5 meters► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide. 22They made two projections at the bottom of each frame. These were for fastening the frames to the bases underneath them. Each frame had these projections. 23The skilled workmen made twenty frames for the south side of the Sacred Tent. 24They made 40 silver bases to go underneath them. Two bases went under each frame. The projections on each frame fit into these bases. 25Similarly, they made 20 frames for the north side of the Sacred Tent. 26They made 40 silver bases for them also, with two bases for under each frame. 27For the rear of the Sacred Tent, on the west side, they made six frames. 28They also made two extra frames, one for each corner of the rear of the Sacred Tent, to provide extra support. 29The two corner frames were joined from the bottom to the top (OR, joined at both the bottom and the top). At the top of each of the two corner frames they fastened a gold ring for holding the crossbar. 30In that way, for the rear of the Sacred Tent there were eight frames, and there were 16 bases, two bases under each frame. 31The workmen made 15 crossbars from acacia wood. 32Five of them were for the frames on the north side of the Sacred Tent, five for the south side, and five for the frames at the rear of the Sacred Tent, the west side. 33The crossbars on the north, south, and west sides of the Sacred Tent were fastened to the middle of the frames. The two long crossbars extended from one end of the Sacred Tent to the other, and the crossbar on the west side extended from one side of the Sacred Tent to the other side. 34The workmen covered the frames with gold and fastened gold rings to the poles. The crossbars were put into the rings. The crossbars were also covered with gold.

35They made a curtain from fine white linen. Skilled craftsmen embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, making designs that resembled the winged creatures. 36They suspended/hung the curtain from four posts that were made from acacia wood and covered with gold. They set each post in a silver base. 37They made a curtain to cover the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They made it from fine linen, and a skilled weaver embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. 38To support this curtain, they also made five posts from acacia wood and fastened gold clasps/fasteners to them. They completely covered the posts with gold. They also made a bronze base for each of those posts.

37

Bezalel made the altar for burning sacrifices

1Then Bezalel made the sacred chest from acacia wood. It was ◄45 in./110 cm.► long, ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high. 2He covered it with pure gold inside and outside the chest, and he made a gold border around the top of it. 3He made/cast four rings from gold and fastened them to the legs of the chest. He put two rings on each side of the chest. 4He made two poles from acacia wood, and covered them with gold. 5He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest, in order that the chest could be carried by means of the poles. 6He made a lid for the chest. That was the place where Yahweh would forgive people’s sins. It also was ◄45 in./110 cm.► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide. 7He made two winged creatures from hammered gold. 8One of these was put at each end of the chest. The gold with which they were made was joined to the gold from which the lid was made. 9He placed the winged creatures facing each other so that their wings touched each other and spread out over the lid.

Bezalel made the table

10Bezalel made a table from acacia wood. It was ◄36 in./88 cm.► long, ◄18 in./44 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high. 11He covered it with pure gold, and he put a gold border around it. 12He made a rim all around it, ◄3 in./7 cm.► wide. He put a gold border around the rim. 13He made/cast four rings from gold and fastened the rings to the four corners of the table, one ring close to each leg of the table. 14The rings were fastened to the table near the rim. 15He made two poles from acacia wood and covered them with gold. These poles for carrying the table were then inserted into the rings. 16He also made from pure gold all the things to be put on the table. He made the plates, the cups, and the jars and bowls to be used when the priests poured out wine as an offering to Yahweh. 17He made the lampstand from pure gold. Its base and its shaft were hammered from one large lump of gold. The branches of the lampstand, the cups for holding the oil, the flower buds and the petals that decorated the branches of the lamp, the base, and the shaft were all hammered from one big lump of gold. 18There were six branches on the lampstand, three on each side of the shaft. 19Each of the branches had on it three gold decorations that looked like almond blossoms. These decorations also had flower buds and flower petals. 20On the shaft of the lampstand there were four gold decorations that also looked like almond blossoms, each one with flower buds and flower petals. 21On each side, beneath and extending from each of the branches, there was one flower bud. 22All these flower buds and branches, along with the shaft, were hammered from one large lump of pure gold. 23Bezalel also made seven small cups for holding oil. He put one cup on top of the shaft and he put the others on top of the branches. He made from pure gold the tongs for removing the burned wicks and the trays in which to put the burned wicks. 24He used ◄75 pounds/35 kg.► of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the things that were used to take care of it.

Bezalel made the altar for burning incense

25From acacia wood, Bezalel made the altar for burning incense. It was square, ◄18 in./45 cm.► on each side. It was ◄3 ft./90 cm.► high. He made a projection that looked like a horn on each of the top corners. The projections were carved from the same block of wood that the altar was made of. 26He covered the top and the four sides, including the projections, with pure gold. He put a gold border around the altar, near the top. 27He made two gold rings for carrying the altar. Then he attached them to the altar below the border, one on each side of the altar. The poles by means of which the altar was to be carried were to be inserted into those rings. 28He made those two poles from acacia wood and covered them with gold. 29He also made the sacred oil for anointing and the pure sweet-smelling incense. He mixed the incense together as a skilled perfumer would.

38

They made the altar for burning sacrifices, and they made the washbasin

1Several men helped Bezalel to make the altar for burning sacrifices. They made it from acacia wood. It was square, ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► on each side, and it was ◄4-1/2 feet/1.3 meters► high. 2They made a projection that looked like a horn on each of the top corners. The projections were carved from the same block of wood that the altar was made of. They covered the whole altar with bronze. 3They made the pans in which to put the greasy ashes from the animal sacrifices. They also made the shovels for cleaning out the ashes. They made the basins and forks for turning the meat as it cooked, and buckets for carrying hot coals/ashes. All of those things were made from bronze. 4They also made a bronze grating to hold the wood and burning coals. They put the grating under the rim that went around the altar. They made it so that it was inside the altar, halfway down. 5They made bronze rings in which to put the poles for carrying the altar, and fastened one of them to each of the corners of the altar. 6They made the poles from acacia wood and covered them with bronze. 7They put the poles through the rings on each side of the altar. The poles were for carrying the altar. 8The altar was hollow like an empty box. It was made from boards of acacia wood.

They made/cast the washbasin and its base from bronze. The bronze was from the mirrors that belonged to the women who worked at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

They made curtains to surround the courtyard

9Around the Sacred Tent Bezalel and his helpers made a courtyard. To form the courtyard, they made curtains of fine white linen. On the south side, the curtain was ◄150 feet/46 meters► long. 10To hang the curtain, they made 20 bronze posts and 20 bronze bases, one for under each post. To fasten the curtains to the posts, they made silver hooks, and they made metal rods covered with silver. 11They made the same kind of curtains, posts, bases, and hooks for the north side of the courtyard. 12On the west side of the courtyard, they made a curtain ◄75 feet/23 meters► long. They also made ten posts on which to hang the curtains, and ten bases, with silver hooks and metal rods covered with silver. 13On the east side, where the entrance is, the courtyard was ◄75 feet/23 meters► wide. 14-15On each side of the entrance, they made a curtain ◄22-1/2 feet/6.6 meters► wide. On each side they were hung from three posts, and one base was under each post. 16All the curtains around the courtyard were made from fine white linen. 17All the posts around the courtyard were made of bronze, but the tops were covered with silver. The posts were connected with metal rods covered with silver. The clasps/fasteners and hooks were made of silver. 18For the entrance of the courtyard, they made a curtain from fine white linen, and a skilled weaver embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. The curtain was ◄30 feet/9 meters► long and ◄7-1/2 feet/2.3 meters► high, just like the other curtains around the courtyard. 19All the curtains were made of fine white linen. They were supported by four posts, and under each post was a base made of bronze. All the posts around the courtyard were connected with metal rods covered with silver. The clasps/fasteners were made of silver, and the tops of the posts were covered with silver. 20All the tent pegs to support the Sacred Tent and the curtains around the courtyard were made of bronze.

A list of the materials used

21Here is a list of the amounts of metal used to make the Sacred Tent. Moses/I told some men from the tribe of Levi to count all the materials used and write down the amounts. Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, supervised those men. 22Bezalel the son of Uri and grandson of Hur made all the things that Yahweh commanded Moses/me to be made. 23Bezalel’s helper was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Oholiab was a skilled engraver who made artistic things. He made fine white linen, and he embroidered designs using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. He also made other cloth. 24All the gold that was used to make the Sacred Tent weighed ◄2,195 pounds/1,000 kg.►. They used the official standard when they weighed the gold. 25All the silver that the people contributed when the leaders ◄took the census/counted the men► weighed ◄7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.►. They also used the official standard when they weighed the silver. 26All the men who were at least 20 years old were counted, and they each paid the required amount. That was a total of 603,550 men. 27They used ◄75 pounds/34 kg.► of silver for making/casting each of the 100 bases to put under the posts to support the curtains of the Sacred Tent. 28Bezalel and his helpers used the ◄50 pounds/30 kg.► of silver that was not used for the bases to make the rods and the hooks for the posts, and to cover the tops of the posts. 29The bronze that the people contributed weighed ◄5,310 pounds/2,425 kg.►. 30With the bronze, Bezalel and his helpers made the bases for under the posts at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They also made the altar for burning sacrifices, the grating for it and the tools used with it, 31the bases for the posts that supported the curtains that surrounded the courtyard and the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, and the pegs for the Sacred Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard.

39

They made the sacred clothes for Aaron

1Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled workmen made the beautiful clothes for Aaron to wear while he did his work as a priest in the Holy Place. They made them from blue, purple, and red cloth, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 2They made the sacred apron from fine white linen and from blue, purple, and red cloth. 3They hammered some thin sheets of gold and cut them into thin strips which they embroidered into the fine linen and into the blue, purple, and red cloth. 4The apron had two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part at the shoulders. 5A carefully-woven sash, which was made from the same materials as the sacred apron, was sewn onto the sacred apron. This was made exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 6They cut two valuable onyx stones and enclosed them in a tiny gold frame, and a skilled gem-cutter engraved on the stones the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. 7They fastened the stones to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron, to represent the twelve Israeli tribes, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 8They made the sacred chest pouch. They made it of the same materials as the sacred apron and embroidered it in the same way. 9It was square, and the material was folded double, so that it was ◄9 in./22 cm.► long and ◄9 in./22 cm.► wide. 10They fastened four rows of valuable stones onto the pouch. In the first row, they put a red ruby, a yellow topaz, and a red garnet. 11In the second row, they put a green emerald, a blue sapphire, and a clear/white diamond. 12In the third row they put a red jacinth, a white agate, and a purple amethyst. 13In the fourth row, they put a yellow beryl, a red carnelian, and a green jasper. They set each of the stones in tiny gold frames. 14On each of the twelve stones they engraved the name of one of the sons of Jacob, to represent one of the twelve Israeli tribes. 15They made two chains from pure gold and braided them like cords, to attach the sacred pouch to the sacred apron. 16They made two gold rings, and they attached them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch. 17They fastened one end of each cord to one of the rings. 18They fastened the other end of each cord to the two ◄settings/tiny frames► that enclosed the stones. Then they attached the sacred pouch to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron. 19Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower corners of the sacred pouch, on the inside edges, next to the sacred apron. 20They made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower part of the front of the shoulder straps, near to where the shoulder straps were joined to the sacred apron, just above the carefully-woven sash/waistband. 21They tied the rings on the sacred pouch to the rings on the sacred apron with a blue cord, so that the sacred pouch was above the sash/waistband and would not come loose from the sacred apron.

They made other special clothes for the priests

22They made the robe that is to be worn underneath the priest’s sacred apron, using only blue cloth. 23It had an opening through which the priest would put his head. They sewed a border around this opening, to prevent the material from tearing. 24At the lower edge on the robe, they fastened decorations that resembled pomegranate fruit. The decorations were woven from blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. 25Between each of these decorations, they fastened a tiny bell made from pure gold, so there was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, alternating all around the hem of the robe 26for Aaron to wear while he did his work as a priest. They made all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

27They wove long-sleeved tunics/gowns from fine white linen, for Aaron and his sons. 28They also made a turban of fine linen for Aaron to wear around his head. They made the caps and the undershorts for Aaron’s sons from fine linen. 29They made the embroidered sash/waistband for Aaron from fine linen and from blue, purple, and red cloth, and they embroidered designs on it using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 30They also made the tiny ornament of pure gold and had a skilled workman engrave on it the words, ‘Dedicated to Yahweh’. 31They fastened this to the front of the turban by a blue cord, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

32Finally they finished all the work to make the Sacred Tent. They brought to Moses/me all the things that they had made. They had made them exactly as Yahweh had commanded me. 33They brought to him/me the Sacred Tent and all the things that were used with it: the hooks, the frames, the crossbars, the posts and their bases, 34the coverings for the Sacred Tent that were made of tanned/dyed rams’ skins and goatskins, the curtains, 35the sacred chest that contained the stone slabs on which the commandments were written, the poles, the lid for the chest, 36the table with all the things that were used with it, the sacred bread that was offered to God, 37the lampstand made of pure gold and all its lamps and all the things that were to be used to take care of it, the oil for the lamps, 38the golden altar for burning incense, the oil for anointing, the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance to the Sacred Tent, 39the bronze altar for burning sacrifices and its bronze grating, the poles for carrying it, and all the other things that were used with it, the washbasin and its base, 40the curtains that surrounded the courtyard, the posts and bases that supported them, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard and its ropes, the tent pegs, and all the other things that would be used in the Sacred Tent, 41the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron to wear when he did his work in the Holy Place, and the special clothes for his sons to wear as they did their work as priests. 42The Israeli people had done all this work exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 43Then Moses/I saw all the work that they had done. Truly, they had done everything exactly as Yahweh had commanded that it should be done. Then Moses/I asked God to bless them.

40

They set up the Sacred Tent

1Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, 2“On the first day of the first month next year, tell the people to set up the Sacred Tent. 3Put inside it the sacred chest that contains the stone slabs on which are engraved the Ten Commandments, and hang the curtain in front of it. 4Bring the table into the Sacred Tent, and place on it all the things that are to be used with it. Bring in the lampstand and fasten the lamps to it. 5Put the gold altar for burning incense in front of the sacred chest, and set up the curtain at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. 6Put the altar for burning sacrifices in front of the Sacred Tent. 7Put the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water. 8Hang the curtains that will surround the courtyard, and hang the curtain at its entrance. 9Then take the oil for anointing, and anoint the Sacred Tent and everything that is in it, to ◄set it apart/dedicate it► to me. Then it will be holy/sacred. 10Also anoint the altar for offering sacrifices that will be completely burned, and all the things that will be used with it, and set it apart. Then it also will be holy/sacred. 11Also anoint the washbasin and its base, to set it apart. 12Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them ritually with water. 13Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to ◄set him apart/dedicate him►, in order that he can serve me as a priest. 14Also bring his sons there. Put their sacred tunics/gowns on them 15and anoint them just as you anointed their father, in order that they also may serve me by working as priests. By anointing them and their descendants, you will cause them and their descendants to be priests throughout all coming generations.”

16Moses/I did all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me. 17On the first day of the first month of the next year (OR, second year after they/we left Egypt), the people set up the Sacred Tent. 18Following Moses’/my instructions, they set up the Sacred Tent and its bases, set up the frames, attached the crossbars, and put up the posts for the curtains. 19Then they spread out the coverings over the Sacred Tent, exactly as Yahweh had commanded. 20Then he/I took the two stone slabs on which the commandments were written and put them in the sacred chest. He/I put the carrying poles in the rings on the chest and put the lid on top of the chest. 21Then he/I took the chest into the Very Holy Place inside the Sacred Tent and hung the curtain. In that way, he/I prevented the people who were outside from seeing the chest. He/I did all this exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me. 22He/I set the table inside the Sacred Tent, on the north side, outside the curtain. 23He/I placed on the table the bread that was offered to Yahweh, exactly as Yahweh had commanded. 24He/I set the lampstand inside the Sacred Tent, on the south side, opposite the table. 25Then he/I fastened the lamps to the lampstand in Yahweh’s presence, exactly as Yahweh had commanded. 26He/I set the golden altar for burning incense inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place, 27and he/I burned some sweet-smelling incense on it, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me. 28He/I hung the curtain at the entrance to the Sacred Tent. 29At the entrance to the Sacred Tent, he/I set the altar for offering sacrifices that were to be burned completely. Then he/I offered on it the meat that was to be burned completely and the grain offering, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me. 30He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the bronze altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water. 31-32Every time Moses/I and Aaron and his sons went into the Sacred Tent or went to the altar, they/we washed their/our hands and feet ritually, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. 33Following Moses’/my instructions, they hung the curtains that surrounded the courtyard and the altar, and they hung the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses/I finished that work.

Yahweh’s brilliant light filled the Sacred Tent

34Then the tall bright cloud covered the Sacred Tent, and Yahweh’s ◄glory/brilliant light► filled the Sacred Tent. 35Because that light was very bright, Moses/I was not able to enter the Sacred Tent. 36From that day, whenever the Israeli people wanted to move to another place, they went only when the bright cloud rose from above the Sacred Tent. 37If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose. 38Wherever they traveled, the bright cloud that indicated Yahweh’s presence was above the Sacred Tent during the day, and a bright fire was inside the cloud at night, with the result that all the Israeli people [MTY] could see it at any time.