1The LORD said to Moses, ‘You and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel must come to worship the LORD. Do not come close when you worship.2Only Moses can come close to me. The others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.’3Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws. They answered with one voice. They said, ‘We will do everything the LORD has told us to do.’4Then Moses wrote down everything the LORD had said. Moses got up early the next morning. He built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up 12 stone pillars. They stood for the 12 tribes of Israel.5Then he sent young Israelite men to sacrifice burnt offerings. They also sacrificed young bulls as friendship offerings to the LORD.6Moses put half of the blood in bowls. He splashed the other half against the altar.7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They answered, ‘We will do everything the LORD has told us to do. We will obey him.’8Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people. He said, ‘This is the blood that puts the covenant into effect. The LORD has made this covenant with you in keeping with all these words.’9Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up.10They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a street made out of lapis lazuli. It was as bright blue as the sky itself.11But God didn’t destroy those Israelite leaders when they saw him. They ate and drank.12The LORD said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here. I will give you the stone tablets. They contain the law and commandments I have written to teach the people.’13Then Moses and Joshua, his helper, started out. Moses went up on the mountain of God.14He said to the elders, ‘Wait for us here until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. Anyone who has a problem can go to them.’15Moses went up on the mountain. Then the cloud covered it.16The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. The cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called out to Moses from inside the cloud.17The people of Israel saw the glory of the LORD. It looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain.18Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.
Exodus 24
English Standard Version
The Covenant Confirmed
1Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. (Ex 6:23; Ex 28:1; Nu 11:16)2Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” (Ex 24:13; Ex 24:15; Ex 24:18)3Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.[1] And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Ex 19:8; Ex 21:1; De 5:27)4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Ge 28:18; Ge 31:45; Ex 23:24; De 31:9)5And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.6And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. (Heb 9:18)7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” (Ex 24:3)8And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Heb 9:19; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 1:2)9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, (Ex 24:1; Nu 11:16)10and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. (Ge 32:30; Ex 33:20; Ex 33:23; Jud 13:22; Isa 6:1; Isa 6:5; Eze 1:26; Eze 10:1; Joh 1:18; 1Ti 6:16; 1Jo 4:12; 1Jo 4:20)11And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Ge 31:54; Ex 18:12)12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” (Ex 24:2; Ex 24:15; Ex 24:18; Ex 31:18; Ex 32:15; De 5:22)13So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. (Ex 3:1; Ex 17:9; Ex 33:11)14And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” (Ex 17:10; Ex 17:12; Ex 31:2)15Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. (Ex 19:9; Ex 19:16; Mt 17:5)16The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. (Ex 16:10; Le 9:23; Nu 14:10; Nu 16:42)17Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. (Ex 3:2; Ex 19:18; De 4:36; Heb 12:18; Heb 12:29)18Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Ex 34:28; De 9:9; De 9:18; De 9:25; De 10:10)