The Living Bible (26 page)

Exodus
19

The Israelis arrived in the Sinai peninsula three months after the night of their departure from Egypt.
^2-3
 After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp there. Moses climbed the rugged mountain to meet with God, and from somewhere in the mountain God called to him and said, “Give these instructions to the people of Israel. Tell them,
⁴
 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I brought you to myself as though on eagles’ wings.
⁵
 Now if you will obey me and keep your part of my contract with you, you shall be my own little flock from among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth is mine.
⁶
 And you shall be a kingdom of priests to God, a holy nation.’”

    
⁷
 Moses returned from the mountain and called together the leaders of the people and told them what the Lord had said.

    
⁸
 They all responded in unison, “We will certainly do everything he asks of us.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

    
⁹
 Then he said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud, so that the people themselves can hear me when I talk with you, and then they will always believe you.
¹⁰
 Go down now and see that the people are ready for my visit. Sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothes.
¹¹
 Then, the day after tomorrow, I will come down upon Mount Sinai as all the people watch.
¹²
 Set boundary lines the people may not pass, and tell them, ‘Beware! Do not go up into the mountain or even touch its boundaries; whoever does shall die—
¹³
 no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot to death with arrows, whether man or animal.’ Stay away from the mountain entirely until you hear a ram’s horn sounding one long blast; then gather at the foot of the mountain!”

    
¹⁴
 So Moses went down to the people and sanctified them and they washed their clothing.

    
¹⁵
 He told them, “Get ready for God’s appearance two days from now, and do not have sexual intercourse with your wives.”

    
¹⁶
 On the morning of the third day there was a terrific thunder and lightning storm, and a huge cloud came down upon the mountain, and there was a long, loud blast as from a ram’s horn; and all the people trembled.
¹⁷
 Moses led them out from the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
¹⁸
 All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because Jehovah descended upon it in the form of fire; the smoke billowed into the sky as from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake.
¹⁹
 As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God thundered his reply.
²⁰
 So the Lord came down upon the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended to God.

    
²¹
 But the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to cross the boundaries. They must not come up here to try to see God, for if they do, many of them will die.
²²
 Even the priests on duty
*
must sanctify themselves, or else I will destroy them.”

    
²³
 “But the people won’t come up into the mountain!” Moses protested. “You told them not to! You told me to set boundaries around the mountain and to declare it off limits because it is reserved for God.”

    
²⁴
 But Jehovah said, “Go down and bring Aaron back with you, and don’t let the priests and the people break across the boundaries to try to come up here, or I will punish them.”

    
²⁵
 So Moses went down to the people and told them what God had said.

Exodus
20

Then God issued this edict:

    
²
 “I am Jehovah your God who liberated you from your slavery in Egypt.

    
³
 “You may worship no other god than me.

    
⁴
 “You shall not make yourselves any idols: no images of animals, birds, or fish.
⁵
 You must never bow or worship it in any way; for I, the Lord your God, am very possessive. I will not share your affection with any other god!

    
“And when I punish people for their sins, the punishment continues upon the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who hate me;
⁶
 but I lavish my love upon thousands of those who love me and obey my commandments.

    
⁷
 “You shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently,
*
nor use it to swear to a falsehood. You will not escape punishment if you do.

    
⁸
 “Remember to observe the Sabbath as a holy day.
⁹
 Six days a week are for your daily duties and your regular work,
¹⁰
 but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest before the Lord your God. On that day you are to do no work of any kind, nor shall your son, daughter, or slaves—whether men or women—or your cattle or your house guests.
¹¹
 For in six days the Lord made the heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them, and rested the seventh day; so he blessed the Sabbath day and set it aside for rest.
*

    
¹²
 “Honor your father and mother, that you may have a long, good life in the land the Lord your God will give you.

    
¹³
 “You must not murder.

    
¹⁴
 “You must not commit adultery.

    
¹⁵
 “You must not steal.

    
¹⁶
 “You must not lie.
*

    
¹⁷
 “You must not be envious of your neighbor’s house, or want to sleep with his wife, or want to own his slaves, oxen, donkeys, or anything else he has.”

    
¹⁸
 All the people saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, and heard the thunder and the long, frightening trumpet blast; and they stood at a distance, shaking with fear.

    
¹⁹
 They said to Moses, “You tell us what God says and we will obey, but don’t let God speak directly to us, or it will kill us.”

    
²⁰
 “Don’t be afraid,” Moses told them, “for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power, so that from now on you will be afraid to sin against him!”

    
²¹
 As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was.

    
²²
 And the Lord told Moses to be his spokesman to the people of Israel. “You are witnesses to the fact that I have made known my will to you from heaven.
²³
 Remember, you must not make or worship idols made of silver or gold or of anything else!

    
²⁴
 “The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth. Offer upon them your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings of sheep and oxen. Build altars only where I tell you to, and I will come and bless you there.
²⁵
 You may also build altars from stone, but if you do, then use only uncut stones and boulders. Don’t chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for my altar.
²⁶
 And don’t make steps for the altar, or someone might look up beneath the skirts of your clothing and see your nakedness.

Exodus
21

“Here are other laws you must obey:

    
²
 “If you buy a Hebrew slave,
*
he shall serve only six years and be freed in the seventh year, and need pay nothing to regain his freedom.

    
³
 “If he sold himself as a slave before he married, then if he married afterwards, only he shall be freed; but if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife shall be freed with him at the same time.
⁴
 But if his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they have sons or daughters, the wife and children shall still belong to the master, and he shall go out by himself free.

    
⁵
 “But if the man shall plainly declare, ‘I prefer my master, my wife, and my children, and I would rather not go free,’
⁶
 then his master shall bring him before the judges and shall publicly bore his ear with an awl, and after that he will be a slave forever.

    
⁷
 “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
⁸
 If she does not please the man who bought her, then he shall let her be bought back again; but he has no power to sell her to foreigners, since he has wronged her by no longer wanting her after marrying her.
⁹
 And if he arranges an engagement between a Hebrew slave girl and his son, then he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but must treat her as a daughter.
¹⁰
 If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing, or fail to sleep with her as his wife.
¹¹
 If he fails in any of these three things, then she may leave freely without any payment.

    
¹²
 “Anyone who hits a man so hard that he dies shall surely be put to death.
¹³
 But if it is accidental—an act of God—and not intentional, then I will appoint a place where he can run and get protection.
¹⁴
 However, if a man deliberately attacks another, intending to kill him, drag him even from my altar, and kill him.

    
¹⁵
 “Anyone who strikes his father or mother shall surely be put to death.

    
¹⁶
 “A kidnapper must be killed, whether he is caught in possession of his victim or has already sold him as a slave.

    
¹⁷
 “Anyone who reviles or curses his mother or father shall surely be put to death.

    
¹⁸
 “If two men are fighting, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and injures him so that he must be confined to bed, but doesn’t die,
¹⁹
 if later he is able to walk again, even with a limp,
*
the man who hit him will be innocent except that he must pay for the loss of his time until he is thoroughly healed, and pay any medical expenses.

    
²⁰
 “If a man beats his slave to death—whether the slave is male or female—that man shall surely be punished.
²¹
 However, if the slave does not die for a couple of days, then the man shall not be punished—for the slave is his property.

    
²²
 “If two men are fighting, and in the process hurt a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage, but she lives, then the man who injured her shall be fined whatever amount the woman’s husband shall demand, and as the judges approve.
²³
 But if any harm comes to the woman and she dies, he shall be executed.

    
²⁴
 “If her eye is injured, injure his; if her tooth is knocked out, knock out his; and so on—hand for hand, foot for foot,
²⁵
 burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.

    
²⁶
 “If a man hits his slave in the eye, whether man or woman, and the eye is blinded, then the slave shall go free because of his eye.
²⁷
 And if a master knocks out his slave’s tooth, he shall let him go free to pay for the tooth.

    
²⁸
 “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner shall not be held—
²⁹
 unless the ox was known to gore people in the past, and the owner had been notified and still the ox was not kept under control; in that case, if it kills someone, the ox shall be stoned and the owner also shall be killed.
³⁰
 But the dead man’s relatives may accept a fine instead, if they wish. The judges will determine the amount.
*

    
³¹
 “The same law holds if the ox gores a boy or a girl.
³²
 But if the ox gores a slave, whether male or female, the slave’s master shall be given thirty pieces of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

    
³³
 “If a man digs a well and doesn’t cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
³⁴
 the owner of the well shall pay full damages to the owner of the animal, and the dead animal shall belong to him.

    
³⁵
 “If a man’s ox injures another, and it dies, then the two owners shall sell the live ox and divide the price between them—and each shall also own half of the dead ox.
³⁶
 But if the ox was known from past experience to gore, and its owner has not kept it under control, then there will not be a division of the income; but the owner of the living ox shall pay in full for the dead ox, and the dead one shall be his.