THE BOOK OF EXODUS

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1:1 The following are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt in the company of Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 The total number of persons that were direct descendants of Jacob was seventy, 6 Joseph being already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and likewise all his brothers and all that generation; 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they increased in numbers, and grew greater and greater, so that the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new king rose over Egypt, who knew nothing about Joseph; 9 he said to his people,

"See, the Israelite people have become too numerous and too strong for us; 10 come, let us take precautions against them lest they become so numerous that in the case of a war they should join forces with our enemies and fight against us, and so escape from the land."

11 Accordingly, gang-foremen were put in charge of them, to oppress them with their heavy labor; and they built Pithom and Raamses as 12 store-cities for Pharaoh. But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that they became apprehensive about the Israelites.

13 The Egyptians reduced the Israelites to rigorous slavery; 14 they made life bitter for them in hard work with mortar and bricks, and in all kinds of work in the fields, all the work that they exacted of them being rigorous.

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives attending the Hebrew women, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and that of the other Puah.

16 "When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women," he said, "you are to look at the genitals; if it is a boy, you must kill him, but if it is a girl, she may live."

17 But the midwives stood in awe of God, and so did not do as the king of Egypt told them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives, and said to them,

"Why have you done this, letting the male children live?"

19 The midwives said to Pharaoh,

"Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; but are animals, in that they are delivered before the midwife reaches them!"

20 So God was good to the midwives; the people multiplied and grew very numerous, 21 and because the midwives stood in awe of God, they established families for them.

22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people,

"Every boy that is born to the Hebrews, you must throw into the Nile, but you are to let all the girls live."

2:1 Now a man belonging to the house of Levi went and married the daughter of Levi. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and seeing that he was robust, she hid him for three months. 3 When she could no longer hide him, she procured an ark of papyrus reeds for him, and daubing it with bitumen and pitch, she put the child in it, and placed it among the reeds beside the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister posted herself some distance away to see what would happen to him.

5 Presently Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her maids walked on the bank of the Nile. Then she saw the ark among the reeds and sent her maid to get it. 6 On opening it, she saw the child, and it was a boy crying! She took' pity on him, and said,

"This is one of the Hebrews' children."

7 Thereupon his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter,

"Shall I go and summon a nurse for you from "the Hebrew women, to nurse the child for you?"

8 "Go," said Pharaoh's daughter to her.

So the girl went and called the child's mother, 9 to whom Pharaoh's daughter said,

"Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will pay the wages due you."

So the woman took the child and nursed him; 10 and when the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She called his name Moses [drawn out]; "For," said she, "I drew him out of the water."

11 It was in those days that Moses, now grown up, went out to visit his fellow-countrymen and noted their heavy labor. He saw an Egyptian kill a Hebrew, one of his own countrymen; 12 so, looking this way and that, and seeing that there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 Another day, when he went out, there were two Hebrews fighting! So he said to him that was in the wrong,

"Why do you strike your companion?"

14 He replied,

"Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of murdering me as you did the Egyptian?"

Then was Moses afraid. "The incident must surely be known," he thought.

15 When Pharaoh heard about the matter, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian, and sat down beside a well.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, who came to draw water, and fill the troughs to water their father's flock, 17 but some shepherds came and drove them off. So Moses went to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said,

"How did you come to get home so soon today?"

19 They said,

"An Egyptian protected us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us, and watered the flock."

20 "Then where is he?" he said to his daughters. "Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have a meal."

21 When Moses agreed to live with the man, he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage; 22 and she bore a son, whom he named Gershom [immigrant] ; "For," said he, "I am an immigrant in a foreign land."

23 In the course of this long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites, groaning under their bondage, cried for help, and their cry because of their bondage came up to God. 24 God heard their moaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; 25 God saw the plight of Israel, and took cognizance of it.

3:1 While Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock to the western side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire, rising out of a bush. He looked, and there was the bush burning with fire without being consumed! 3 So Moses said,

"I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned up."

4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look at it, God called to him out of the bush.

"Moses, Moses!" he said.

"Here I am!" said he.

5 "Do not come near here," he said; "take your sandals off your feet; for the place near which you are standing is holy ground." 6 "I am the God of your father," he said, "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Then Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.

7 "I have indeed seen the plight of my people who are in Egypt," the LORD said, "and I have heard their cry under their oppressors; for I know their sorrows, and 8 I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land, fine and large, to a land abounding in milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivvites, and Jebusites. 9 Now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have also seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them; 11 so come now, let me send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

11 But Moses said to God,

"Who am I, to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

12 "I will be with you," he said; "and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. When you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God at this mountain."

13 "But," said Moses to God, "in case I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, 'What is his name?' what am I to say to them?"

14 "I am who I am," God said to Moses. Then he said, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ''"I am" has sent me to you.'"

15 God said further to Moses,

"This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name for all time, and this is my title for age after age. 16 Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have given careful heed to you and your treatment in Egypt, 17 and I have resolved to bring you up out of your tribulation in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivvites, and Jebusites, to a land abounding in milk and honey."' 18 They will heed your appeal; and then you and the elders of Israel shall come to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has paid us a visit; so now, let us make a three days' journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' 19 I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go without the use of force; 20 so I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all the marvels that I shall perform in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that you shall not go away empty-handed when you do leave; 22 each woman must ask her neighbor and the guest in her home for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing, which you are to put on your sons and daughters. Thus shall you despoil the Egyptians."

4:1 "But suppose they will not believe me," answered Moses, "nor heed my plea, but say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.' "

2 The LORD said to him,

"What have you in your hand?"

"A staff," he said.

3 "Throw it on the ground," said he.

He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran away from it, 4 but the LORD said to Moses,

"Stretch out your hand and lay hold of its tail" — stretching out his hand, he seized it, and it became a staff in his hand — 5 "in order that they may be convinced that the LORD, the God of their fathers, did appear to you, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

6 The LORD said further to him,

"Put your hand into your bosom."

He put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, there was his hand leprous, as white as snow!

7 "Put your hand back into your bosom," he said.

He put his hand back into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, there it was, like the rest of his body again.

8 "If they will not believe you, nor accept the evidence of the first sign, they may acknowledge the evidence of the second." 9 If they will not be convinced by even these two signs, nor heed your plea, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you take from the Nile shall become blood on the dry ground."

10 But Moses said to the LORD,

"Pray, O Lord, I have been no speaker, neither in the past nor recently, nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

11 The LORD said to him,

"Who gives man a mouth, or makes him dumb, or deaf, or lame, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you to speak, and will instruct you what to say."

13 But he said,

"Pray, O Lord, commission whom thou wilt."

14 Then the anger of the LORD blazed against Moses, and he said,

"Is there not your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know that he is a ready speaker, and further, he is just coming out to meet you, and will be overjoyed at seeing you. 15 You must speak to him, and put the words in his mouth; I will help both you and him to speak, and I will instruct you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouthpiece for you, and you shall act the part of God to him. 17 You must take this staff in your hand, with which to perform the signs."

18 Then Moses went off, and returning to his father-in-law Jethro, said to him,

"Pray let me go back to my relatives in Egypt, to see whether they are still living."

"Go in peace," said Jethro to Moses.

19 The LORD said to Moses in Midian,

"Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."

20 So Moses took his wife and sons, and mounted them on asses, to return to the land of Egypt; Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

21 The LORD said to Moses,

"When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the portents which I have put in your power; but I will make him obstinate, so that he will not let the people go. 22 You are to say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is my first-born son; 23 so I said to you, 'Let my son go, that he may serve me;' but you refused to let him go; accordingly I am going to slay your first-born son."'"

24 At a camping place in the course of the journey the LORD encountered him, and tried to kill him. 25 So Zipporah took a flint, and cutting off her son's foreskin, she touched his person with it, saying,

"You are my bridegroom in blood."

26 Then he let him alone.

At that time a person when circumcised was spoken of as a bridegroom in blood.

27 The LORD said to Aaron,

"Go into the desert to meet Moses."

So he went; and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron all that the LORD had commissioned him to say and all the signs that he had commanded him to perform. 29 So Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron spoke all the words that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people, 31 so that the people believed. When they heard that the LORD had taken note of the Israelites and had marked their plight, they bowed their heads in homage.

5:1 Following this, Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh,

"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel : 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast for me in the desert.'"

2 But Pharaoh said,

"Who is the LORD that I should heed his plea to let Israel go? I know nothing about the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go."

3 They said,

"The God of the Hebrews has paid us a visit; pray let us make a three days' journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, lest he strike us with pestilence or sword."

4 "Moses and Aaron," said the king of Egypt to them, "why would you draw the people from their work? Mind your own business."

5 "The people of the land are lazy as it is," said Pharaoh, "and yet you would relieve them of their burdens!"

6 So that same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters in charge of the people and their foremen,

7 "You must no longer provide the people with straw for making bricks as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But you must require of them the same quantity of bricks that they have been making in the past, without diminishing it at all; for they are lazy; that is why they are crying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.' 9 Let heavier work be loaded on the men, that they may give their attention to it and not to lying words."

10 So the taskmasters and foremen of the people departed, and said to the people,

"Thus says Pharaoh: 'I am not going to provide you with straw; 11 go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but there is to be no reduction in your output."

12 So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt in search of stubble for straw, 13 while the taskmasters urged them on, saying,

"Complete your quota of work day by day, as when the straw was provided for you."

14 The Israelite foremen were beaten, and Pharaoh's taskmasters took them to task, saying,

"Why have you not completed your prescribed amount of brick-making as usual, today just as previously?"

15 Then the Israelite foremen came and appealed to Pharaoh,

"Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 There is no straw provided for your servants, and yet we are told to make bricks, and your servants get beaten, whereas the fault lies with you."

17 But he said,

"You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, 'Let us go and offer sacrifices to the LORD.' 18 Be off now to your work; straw shall not be provided for you, but you must deliver the set quantity of bricks."

19 Then the Israelite foremen saw that they were in an evil plight in having to say, "You must make no reduction in your daily quota of bricks."

20 On leaving the presence of Pharaoh they met Moses and Aaron who were waiting for them, 21 and said to them,

"May the LORD turn his attention to you, and punish you for giving us an unsavory reputation with Pharaoh and his courtiers, by putting a sword into their hands to slay us!"

22 Then Moses turned again to the LORD, and said,

"O Lord, why hast thou brought evil on this people? Why didst thou ever send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he has ill-treated this people; and thou hast done nothing to deliver thy people!"

6:1 The LORD said to Moses,

"Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; compelled by a mighty power he will not only let them go, but will drive them out of his land."

2 God spoke to Moses, saying to him,

"I am the LORD; 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but did not make myself known to them by my name Yahweh [the LORD]. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they settled as immigrants. 5 And it is I too, who have heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I remember my covenant. 6 Accordingly, say to the Israelites, I am the LORD; I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from their bondage, and will rescue you by an outstretched arm and by mighty acts of judgment; 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that it is I, the LORD your God, who shall free you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which by uplifted hand I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as your very own, I, the LORD.' "

9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to Moses because of their impatience and hard service. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses,

11 "Go in and speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, about letting the Israelites leave his land."

12 But Moses protested to the LORD,

"Seeing that the Israelites have not listened to me, how will Pharaoh ever listen to me, poor speaker that I am?"

13 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a commission to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

14 The following were the heads of their clans: the sons of Reuben, Israel's first-born, Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi, these being the families of Reuben; 15 the sons of Simeon, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman, these being the families of Simeon.

16 The following are the names of the sons of Levi in their genealogical order: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (the length of Levi's life being one hundred and thirty-seven years); 17 the sons of Gershon, arranged by families, Libni and Shimei; 18 the sons of Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel (the length of Kohath's life being one hundred and thirty-three years); 19 the sons of Merari, Mahli and Mushi. These were the families of the Levites in their genealogical order.

20 Now Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses (the length of Amram's life being one hundred and thirty-seven years). 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri; 22 and the sons of Uzziel, Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, who bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these were the families of the Korahites. 25 Aaron's son, Eleazar, married one of the daughters of Putiel, who bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levitical clans, arranged by families.

26 Such were the Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said,

"Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt with their hosts."

27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; it was that Moses and Aaron.

28 The day that the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the LORD said to Moses,

"I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I am telling you."

30 But Moses protested to the LORD,

"Seeing that I am a poor speaker, how will Pharaoh ever listen to me?"

7:1 The LORD said to Moses,

"See, I make you a god to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall serve as your spokesman. 2 You must tell him all that I command you, and then your brother Aaron shall tell it to Pharaoh, to the end that he may let the Israelites leave his land. 3 But I will make Pharaoh obstinate; then I will perform many signs and portents in the land of Egypt, 4 and if Pharaoh will not listen to you, I will lay my hand on Egypt and will bring my hosts, my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt by mighty acts of judgment. 5 Then shall the Egyptians know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites from their midst."

6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

9 "If Pharaoh says to you, 'Produce a portent,' you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh,' and it will become a reptile."

10 So Moses and Aaron obtained audience with Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded them; Aaron threw his staff down in

front of Pharaoh and his courtiers, and it became a reptile. 11 Then Pharaoh on his part summoned the sages and sorcerers, and they too,

the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts; 12 each threw down his staff, and they became reptiles; but Aaron's staff swallowed up theirs. 13 Pharaoh, however, remained obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

14 The LORD said to Moses,

15 "Pharaoh is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, just as he is leaving the water; take your stand on the banks of the Nile so as to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. 16 You shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the desert." Since you have not as yet obeyed, 17 thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD" — "I am going to strike the water in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will turn into blood, 18 so that the fish in the Nile shall die and the Nile itself shall become foul, and the Egyptians shall search in vain for water to drink out of the Nile."'"

19 The LORD said to Moses,

"Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over its rivers, streams, ponds, and all its reservoirs, that they may become blood, so that there may be blood all through the land of Egypt, in both pails and stone jars.'"

20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded; he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and his courtiers, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood, 21 while the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile itself became so foul that the Egyptians could not drink the water from the Nile; there was blood all through the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts, so that Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went home, with no concern even for this. 24 The Egyptians had to dig all around the Nile for water to drink; for they could not drink the water of the Nile itself.

25 When seven days had passed after the LORD had struck the Nile, 8:1 the LORD said to Moses,

"Obtain audience with Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will smite all your country with frogs; 3 the Nile shall swarm with frogs, and they shall come up and enter your palace, your bedroom, your bed, the houses of your courtiers and your people, your ovens, and your kneading-bowls; 4 the frogs shall climb up on you, your people, and all your courtiers."'"

5 The LORD said to Moses,

"Say to Aaron, 'Stretch your hand with your staff over the rivers, the streams, and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.'"

6 So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said,

"Beseech the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and then I will let the people go, to sacrifice to the LORD."

9 So Moses said to Pharaoh,

"Make clear to me when I am to make supplication for you, your courtiers, and your people, that the frogs be removed from you and your houses, and be left only in the Nile."

10 "Tomorrow," he replied.

So he said,

"It shall be as you say, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD, our God. 11 The frogs shall leave you, your houses, your courtiers, and your people, being left only in the Nile."

12 Moses and Aaron then left the presence of Pharaoh; and Moses cried to the LORD in ngard to the promise about the frogs that he had made to Pharaoh, 13 and the LORD did as Moses had promised; the frogs perished from the houses, the courtyards, and the fields; 14 they were gathered into one heap after another, so that the land had a bad smell. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

16 The LORD then said to Moses,

"Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff, and strike the dust of the ground, that it may become mosquitoes all through the land of Egypt.'"

17 They did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the ground, and mosquitoes infested man and beast; all the dust of the ground became mosquitoes all through the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians similarly tried to produce mosquitoes with their secret arts, but they could not. The mosquitoes infested man and beast; 19 so the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God! "

But Pharaoh was obstinate, and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

20 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, just as he leaves the water, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let my people go, that they may serve me; 21 for if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of gnats on you, your courtiers, your people, and into your houses, so that the houses of the Egyptians shall teem with gnats, as well as the ground on which they stand. 22 At that time, however, I will set apart the land of Goshen in which my people are living, so that there shall be no gnats there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the land; 23 thus shall I make a distinction between my people and your people. Tomorrow shall this sign occur."'"

24 The LORD did so; masses of gnats entered the palace of Pharaoh, the houses of his courtiers, and all the land of Egypt, the land being ruined by reason of the gnats.

25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said,

"Go, sacrifice to your God in the land."

26 But Moses said,

"It would not be proper to do so; for we would have to offer to the LORD our God sacrifices abhorrent to the Egyptians; if we were to offer sacrifices abhorrent to the Egyptians before their very eyes, would they not stone us? 27 We wish to travel a three days' journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he tells us."

28 So Pharaoh said,

"I will let you go, that you may offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert; only you must not go very far away; make supplication on my behalf."

29 Moses said,

"I now withdraw from your presence, but I will make supplication to the LORD that the gnats leave Pharaoh, his courtiers, and his people tomorrow; only Pharaoh must not again play false, by not letting the people go, to offer sacrifices to the LORD."

30 After leaving the presence of Pharaoh, Moses made supplication to the LORD, 31 and the LORD did as Moses promised; he removed the gnats from Pharaoh, his courtiers, and his people, not one being left. 32 But this time also Pharaoh became stubborn and would not let the people go.

9:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Obtain audience with Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: "Let my people go, that they may serve me." 2 For if you refuse to let them go and continue to detain them, 3 the hand of the LORD will fall on your live stock in the fields, on horses, asses, camels, herds, and flocks, with a very severe pest. 4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the live stock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.'"

5 Then the LORD fixed a time for it, saying,

"Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land."

6 And next day the LORD did it; the live stock of the Egyptians all died, but of the live stock of the Israelites not one died. 7 Pharaoh sent and found that not so much as a single one of the live stock of Israel had died. But Pharaoh remained stubborn and would not let the people go.

8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

"Take two handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses toss it up to the sky in sight of Pharaoh; 9 it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and produce sores that break into pustules on man and beast all through the land of Egypt."

10 So they took some soot from a kiln, and as they stood in front of Pharaoh, Moses tossed it up to the sky, and it produced sores that break into pustules on man and beast. 11 The magicians could not appear before Moses because of the sores; for the sores attacked the magicians, as well as all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, so that he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

13 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: "Let my people go, that they may serve me; 14 for this time I am going to send all my plagues on you, your courtiers, and your people, in order that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, so that you would have been effaced from the earth; 16 but this is why I have preserved you, to show you my power, and to have my fame recounted throughout all the earth. 17 Since you continue still to make a toy of my people by not letting them go, 18 about this time tomorrow I am going to send down a very heavy fall of hail, such as there has never been in Egypt from the day that it was founded until now. 19 Send therefore, and bring your live stock and everything that helongs to you in the fields, to a place of safety; for the hail shall fall on every man and beast that is found in the fields and is not brought indoors, and they shall die."'"

20 Then those of Pharaoh's courtiers who stood in awe of the word of the LORD made their slaves and live stock hurry indoors, 21 while those that disregarded the word of the LORD left their slaves and live stock out in the fields.

22 The LORD said to Moses,

"Stretch your hand up to the sky, that hail may fall all through the land of Egypt on man and beast, and on all vegetation in the fields throughout the land of Egypt."

23 So Moses stretched his staff up to the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire descended on the earth; the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt, 24 and there was hail with fire darting in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as there had never been in all the land of 25 Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything in the fields throughout all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail struck down all the vegetation in the fields, and shattered every 26 tree in the fields; only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them,

"I have sinned this time; the LORD is in the right, while I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Make supplication to the LORD; for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail; so I will let you go, you need not stay any longer."

29 Moses said to him,

"As soon as I leave the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder shall cease, and there shall be no more hail, in order that you may know that the earth belongs to the LORD. 30 But as for you and your courtiers, I know that you do not yet stand in awe of the LORD God."

31 The flax and barley were ruined, for the barley was in ear, and the flax in bud; 32 but the wheat and spelt were not ruined, for they were still under ground.

33 After retiring from the presence of Pharaoh outside the city, Moses spread out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and hail ceased, and rain was no longer poured on the earth. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and became stubborn, both he and his courtiers. 35 Pharaoh became obstinate, and would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had declared through Moses.

10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Obtain audience with Pharaoh; for I have made him and his courtiers stubborn, that I may perform these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell your sons and grandsons how I made a toy of the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them; so that you may know that I am the LORD."

3 So Moses and Aaron obtained audience with Pharaoh, and said to him,

"Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long are you going to refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, that they may serve me; 4 for if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts on your country; 5 they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that the earth will not be visible; they shall eat up the residue that escaped, that was left to you from the hail; they shall eat up all the trees that you have growing out of the fields; 6 and your palaces, the houses of your courtiers, and the houses of all the Egyptians shall be filled with them, as neither your fathers nor grandfathers have ever seen from the time that they appeared on the earth to this day.' "

Then he turned, and left the presence of Pharaoh.

7 Thereupon Pharaoh's courtiers said to him,

"How long is this fellow going to endanger us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Are you not yet aware that Egypt is ruined? "

8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them,

"Go and serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?"

9 Moses said,

"We would go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters; we would go with our flocks and our herds; for it is the LORD's festival that we have to celebrate."

10 "May the LORD be with you," he said to them, "just as soon as I let you and your dependants go! See, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 Not so; but you that are warriors, go and serve the LORD; for that is what you want."

Whereupon they were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat up all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail has left."

13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD directed an east wind on the land all that day and night. As morning came, the cast wind brought the locusts, 14 and the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt, and settled down on the whole country of Egypt, a great mass of them; never previous to them had there been so many locusts, nor would there ever be after them; 15 they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was dark; they ate up all the vegetation of the land, and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left, so that nothing green was left on tree or shrub in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.

16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron, and said,

17 "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you; pray then, forgive my sin just this once, and make supplication to the LORD your God, that he at least remove from me this deadly thing."

18 After leaving the presence of Pharaoh, Moses made supplication to the LORD, 19 and the LORD changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea, not a single locust being left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 Nevertheless, the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, so that he would not let the Israelites go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Stretch out your hand to the sky, that darkness may fall on the land of Egypt, and people grope in darkness."

22 So Moses stretched out his hand to the sky, and there was thick darkness throughout the whole land of Egypt for three days; 23 people could not see one another, nor could anyone leave his place for three days, although the Israelites all had light in their places of abode.

24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said,

"Go and serve the LORD; your dependants may go with you; it is only your flocks and herds that are to be detained."

25 But Moses said,

"In that case you would have to provide, us with sacrifices and burnt-offerings to make to the LORD our God; 26 so our live stock must also go with us; not a hoof can be left behind; for we will have to take some of them to use in the service of the LORD our God, and we do not know what we shall have to use in the service of the LORD until we arrive there."

27 But the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, so that he would not agree to let them go.

28 "Leave my presence," Pharaoh said to him ; "beware; never come to see me again; for the day that you come to see me you die."

29 "Just as you say," said Moses; "never again, will I come to see you."

11:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"One more plague will I bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here; indeed when he does let you go, he will absolutely drive you out of here. 2 So announce to the people that each man is to ask his neighbor, and each woman her neighbor, for articles of silver and gold."

3 Now the LORD put the people in favor with the Egyptians; besides, the man Moses came to be very greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh's courtiers and by the people.

4 So Moses said,

"Thus says the LORD: 'At midnight I am going to go forth among the Egyptians, 5 when all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from Pharaoh's first-born who is to sit on his throne to the first-born of the slave-girl who sits behind the mill, as well as the first-born of the live stock; 6 all through the land of Egypt there shall be loud wailing, such as there never has been and never will be again.' 7 But against none of the Israelites, either man or beast, shall even a dog bark, in order that you may know that the LORD does make a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 Then shall all these courtiers of yours come down to me and make obeisance to me, saying, 'Depart with all your followers.' Then only will I leave."

Thereupon he left the presence of Pharaoh in hot anger.

9 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Pharaoh does not listen to you, in order that my portents may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

10 So Moses and Aaron performed all these portents before Pharaoh; but the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn, so that he would not let the Israelites leave his land.

12:1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

2 "'This month shall be the first of the months for you; it shall be the first month of the year for you,' 3 announce to the whole community of Israel; 'on the tenth day of this month they must provide for themselves one sheep each for their several families, a sheep per house-hold; 4 if any household is too small for a sheep, it shall provide one along with its neighbor who is nearest to its own household in the number of persons, charging each for the proportionate amount of the sheep that it ate. 5 Your sheep must be a perfect male, a year old; you may take one of the lambs or goats. 6 You must keep it until the fourteenth day of this same month, and then the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight, 7 and taking some of the blood, they shall apply it to the two door-posts and the lintels for the sake of the houses in which they eat it. 8 That same night they must eat the flesh, eating it roasted, along with unleavened cakes and bitter herbs; 9 do not eat any of it raw, nor cooked in any way with water, but roasted, its head as well as its legs and entrails; 10 and you must not leave any of it over until morning; any that might be left over until morning you must burn up. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it in trepidation, since it is a passover to the LORD. 12 This very night I will pass through the land of Egypt, striking down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt, I, the LORD. 13 The blood will serve as a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood, I will pass by you, so that no deadly plague will fall on you when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 This day shall be a memorial for you, and you shall keep it as a festival to the LORD; age after age shall you keep it as a perpetual ordinance. 15 For seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes; on the very first day you must clear your houses of leaven; for if anyone eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a religious assembly, and on the seventh day a religious assembly; no work at all is to be done on these days; only what every person has to have to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 You must observe this command; for it was on this day that I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; so you must observe this day, age after age, as a perpetual ordinance. 18 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month you shall cat unleavened cakes, and so on until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month; 19 for the seven days no leaven must be found in your houses; for if anyone eats anything leavened, that person shall be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is a resident alien or a native of the land; 20 you must not eat anything leavened; in all your places of abode you are to eat unleavened cakes.'"

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel, and said to them,

"Go and provide yourselves with sheep, family by family, and kill it as a passover-sacrifice. 22 Then you are to take a bunch of hyssop, and dipping it in the blood that is in the basin, smear the lintel and the two door-posts with the blood in the basin, and none of you is to go outside his house until morning; 23 for the LORD will be passing through to strike down the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and the two door-posts, the LORD will pass by that door, and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you down. 24 You must observe this as a rite prescribed for you and your descendants forever. 25 And when you enter the land which the LORD shall give you, as he promised, you must observe this service. 26 When your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 you shall say, 'It is the passover-sacrifice to the LORD, who passed by the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians, but spared our houses.'"

Then the people bowed their heads in reverence. 28 The Israelites went and did so; they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from Pharaoh's first-born who was to sit on his throne to the first-born of the captive in the dungeon, as well as all the first-born of the live stock. 30 Then Pharaoh rose in the night, he and his courtiers and all the Egyptians, and there arose a loud cry in Egypt; for there 31 was not a house where there was not someone dead. So he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said,

"Withdraw at once from my people, both you and the Israelites, 32 and go, serve the LORD as you suggested. Take both your flocks and herds as you suggested, and begone; also ask a blessing on me."

33 The Egyptians became urgent with the people in their hurry to get them out of the land; "For," said they, "we shall all be dead." 34 So the people snatched up their dough before it was leavened, and shouldered their kneading-bowls, wrapped up in their cloaks.

35 The Israelites followed the instructions of Moses; they asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, 36 and the LORD had put the people in such favor with the Egyptians that they granted them their requests, and thus they despoiled the Egyptians.

37 So the Israelites set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides the dependants; 38 a great crowd went up with them, as well as very much live stock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough that they brought out of Egypt they baked unleavened cakes; for it was not leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years; 41 and at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that very day all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt; 42 that was a night of vigil on the part of the LORD to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and so this night shall be one of vigil for the LORD on the part of all the Israelites from one generation to another.

43 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

"This is the regulation for the passover: no foreigner may eat of it, 44 but any slave that has been purchased may eat of it after you have circumcised him; 45 no serf or hired laborer may eat of it. 46 It must be eaten in one house; you may not take any of the flesh outside the house; nor may you break a bone in it. 47 The whole community of Israel must offer it. 48 If a resident alien is staying with you and would offer a passover-sacrifice to the LORD, all the male members of his family must be circumcised; then he may draw near to offer it; he shall count as a native of the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it, 49 the law being the same for the alien residing in your midst as for the native."

50 Thus did all the Israelites; they did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt with their hosts.

13:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 "Consecrate to me every first-born, everything that first opens the womb among the Israelites, both man and beast, since it is mine."

3 Moses said to the people,

"Commemorate this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of a state of slavery; for it was by a strong hand that the LORD brought you out of there; so no leavened bread must be eaten. 4 Today you are about to leave, on the new moon of Abib. 5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivvites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land abounding in milk and honey, you must hold this service on this new moon; 6 for seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the LORD; 7 unleavened cakes shall be eaten throughout the seven days; nothing leavened must be seen in your possession, nor any leaven anywhere in your territory. 8 And you must tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.' 9 It shall serve you as a sign on your hand and a memorial on your forehead, in order that instruction about the LORD may be in your mouth, how the LORD with a strong hand brought you out of Egypt. 10 So you must observe this institution at its proper time from year to year.

11 "When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you must make over to the LORD whatever first opens the womb, and all the firstlings of the live stock that you have, that are males, shall go to the LORD. 13 Every firstling ass, however, you may redeem with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck; and every first-born son of yours you must redeem. 14 And if in time to come your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' you must say to him, 'By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of a state of slavery; 15 and when Pharaoh put obstacles in the way of letting us go, the LORD slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of both man and beast; that is why I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but every first-born of my sons I redeem. 16 It shall serve as a sign on your hand, and as a mark on your forehead, that the LORD by a strong hand brought us out of Egypt.'"

17 Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them in the direction of the land of the Philistines, although that was near at hand. "Lest," thought God, " the people be filled with regret when they experience war, and return to Egypt." 18 So God turned the people in the direction of the desert and the Red Sea. And the Israelites went up armed out of the land of Egypt. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him ; for he had made the Israelites take a solemn oath, saying, "God will be sure to take note of you, and then you must take my bones up from here with you."

20 Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 The LORD used to go in front of them, in a column of cloud by day to guide them along the road, and in a column of fire by night to give them light, in order that they might travel by day and night; 22 the column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night never moved from the head of the people.

14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you must camp opposite it, beside the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the desert has shut them in.'

4 Then I will make Pharaoh obstinate, so that he will pursue them, and thus I will gain honor through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD."

They did so.

5 When the news was brought to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his courtiers changed their minds about the people.

"Whatever have we done," they said, "to let Israel leave our service?"

6 So he hitched up his chariot, and took his people with him; 7 he took six hundred chariots, picked from all the chariots of Egypt, with charioteers in charge of them all. 8 The LORD made Pharaoh, king of Egypt, obstinate, so that he pursued the Israelites, as they were going triumphantly out; 9 the Egyptians pursued them, all of Pharaoh's horses and chariots, his cavalry and infantry, and overtook them, camping by the sea, near Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites raised their eyes, and there were the Egyptians setting out in pursuit of them! The Israelites were terribly afraid, and cried to the LORD. 11 And they said to Moses,

"Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What a way to treat us, bringing us out of Egypt! 12 Isn't this what we told you in Egypt would happen, when we said, 'Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians; for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.' "

13 But Moses said to the people,

"Do not be afraid; stand by and see how the LORD is going to save you today; for although you see the Egyptians today, you shall never see them again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, while you have only to keep still."

15 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Why do you cry to me? Tell the Israelites to set forth; 16 and then raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and thus divide it in two, so that the Israelites may proceed on dry ground right into the sea. 17 Then I will make the Egyptians obstinate, so that they will go in after them, and thus I will gain honor through Pharaoh and all his infantry, chariotry, and cavalry, 18 so that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor through Pharaoh, his chariotry and cavalry."

19 Then the angel of God who was accustomed to go in front of the army of Israel left his position and went behind them; the column of cloud also left its position in front of them and took its place behind them, 20 and came between the army of Egypt and that of Israel, so that the cloud was there with its darkness, and the night passed by without the one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD moved the sea away by means of a strong cast wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 so that the Israelites proceeded on dry ground right into the sea, the waters forming a wall for them to right and left of them. 23 Pursuing them, the Egyptians followed them right into the sea, all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariotry and cavalry. 24 At the morning watch the LORD lowered himself toward the Egyptian army in the column of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian army into a panic. 25 He clogged their chariot-wheels, and caused them to proceed with such difficulty that the Egyptians said,

"Let us flee from the Israelites; for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariotry and cavalry."

27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and as morning broke, the sea returned to its steady flow; and as the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD shook the Egyptians right into the sea. 28 The water returned, and covered the chariotry and cavalry belonging to the whole army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not so much as one being left. 29 But the Israelites had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them to right and left of them.

30 Thus did the LORD save Israel that day from the power of the Egyptians. So Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore; 31 and when Israel saw the mighty act which the LORD had performed against the Egyptians, the people stood in awe of the LORD and trusted the LORD and his servant Moses.

15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD; they said,

"I will sing to the LORD, for he has completely triumphed; The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, for he saved me; He is my God whom I shall praise, my father's God whom I shall extol. 3 The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea, And the best of his charioteers were engulfed in the Red Sea; 5 The floods covered them, they sank into the depths like a stone. 6 It was thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, It was thy right hand, O LORD, that shattered the foe. 7 By the greatness of thy majesty thou didst overthrow thy adversaries; Thou didst let loose thy wrath, it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up; The streams stood up like a heap, the floods were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The foe said, 'I will pursue them, I will overtake them, I will divide the spoil, I will work my will on them; I will unsheath my sword, my hand shall conquer them.' 10 Thou didst blow with thy breath, the sea covered them; They sank like lead into the mighty waters. 11 Who is there like thee among the gods, O LORD? Who is there like thee, so glorious in holiness, So awe-inspiring in renown, such a wonder worker? 12 Thou didst stretch out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 In thy grace thou didst lead the people whom thou didst redeem; In thy strength thou didst guide them to thy holy abode. 14 When the nations heard of it, they trembled, Agony seized the inhabitants of Philistia; 15 Then were the chieftains of Edom dismayed, The lords of Moab — trembling seized them; All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away, 16 Terror and dread fell upon them; Because of the greatness of thy arm they became as dumb as a stone, Until thy people, O LORD, passed over; Until the people whom thou didst acquire passed over. 17 Thou hast brought them and planted them in the highlands of thy own, The place of thy abode which thou, O LORD, hast made, The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever!"

19 For the horses of Pharaoh, with his chariotry and cavalry, entered the sea, and the LORD made the waters of the sea flow back on them, while the Israelites had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground.

20 Then the prophetess Miriam, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing, 21 while Miriam responded to them in song,

"Sing to the LORD, for he has completely triumphed; The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."

22 Then Moses had Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they proceeded to the desert of Shur; they journeyed for three days in the desert without finding water. 23 Then they reached Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was so bitter. That was how it came to be named Marah [bitterness]. 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying,

"What are we to drink?"

25 So he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree, which he threw into the water, so that the water became sweet.

It was there that he made a statute and ordinance for them, and put them to the test.

26 "If you will but heed the injunction of the LORD your God," he said, "and do what is right in his eyes, and pay attention to his commands, and observe all his statutes, I will inflict none of the diseases on you which I inflicted on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, make you immune to them."

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm-trees; and they camped there beside the water.

16:1 Setting out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

2 Then the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the desert.

3 "O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of flesh and had plenty of food to cat," the Israelites said to them; "for you have brought us into this desert, to make this whole crowd die of famine."

4 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"I am going to rain food out of the sky for you, but the people are to go out and gather only a day's ration each day, in order that I may test them to see whether they will follow my instructions or not. 5 On every sixth day, however, when they measure what they bring home, it shall be twice as much as what they gather from day to day."

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,

"At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, since he has heard your grumbling against the LORD; for what are we that you should grumble against us?"

8 "This shall be," said Moses, "when the LORD gives you flesh to eat in the evening, and plenty of bread to satisfy you in the morning, since the LORD has heard the grumbling that you have muttered against him; for what are we? Your grumbling has really not been against us, but against the LORD."

9 Then Moses said to Aaron,

"Say to the whole Israelite community, 'Present yourselves before the LORD; for he has heard your grumbling.'"

10 When Aaron said this to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, whereupon the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

11 Then the LORD said to Moses,

12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall have flesh to eat, and in the morning plenty of bread to satisfy you; and thus shall you know that I am the LORD your God.'"

13 So it came about at evening that quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a fall of dew around the camp; 14 when the fall of dew evaporated, there, on the surface of the desert, was a fine scaly substance, as fine as hoar-frost on the ground! 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,

"What is it?" — for they did not know what it was.

Then Moses said to them,

"That is the bread which the LORD is giving you to eat. 16 This is the command which the LORD has given: 'Each of you gather as much of it as he can use, an omer apiece, according to the number of your members, each taking it for those in his tent.'"

17 The Israelites did so; they gathered it, some a large amount, some a small amount; 18 but when they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much did not have too much, and he who had gathered little did not have too little, each having gathered only as much as he could use.

19 Then Moses said to them,

"No one is to leave any of it over until morning."

20 But they did not obey Moses; certain ones left some of it over until morning, and it bred maggots and became foul. So Moses became angry with them.

21 Morning after morning they gathered it, each as much as he could use; and when the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece; and when the leaders of the community all came and told Moses, 23 he said to them,

"That is what the LORD meant; tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a sabbath sacred to the LORD; bake what you need to bake, and boil what you need to boil, and all that is left over put aside as a reserve until tomorrow morning."

24 So they put it aside until next morning, as Moses had commanded them, and it did not become foul, nor did maggots appear in it. 25 Then Moses said to them,

"Eat this today; for today is a sabbath to the LORD; you will not find any in the fields today. 26 It is only for six days that you are to gather it; on the seventh day which is a sabbath there will be none."

27 On the seventh day, however, some of the people did go out to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"How long are you going to refuse to keep my commands and instructions? 29 Mark this: since the LORD has given you the sabbath, he will accordingly give you enough food on the sixth day for two days; stay everyone of you in his place; let no one leave his home on the seventh day."

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The Israelites called it manna; it was as white as coriander seed, and its taste was like that of wafers made with honey.

32 "This is the command," said Moses, "which the LORD has given: 'Keep an omerful of it for your descendants, that they may see the food with which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt."

33 So Moses said to Aaron,

"Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and deposit it before the LORD, to be kept for your descendants."

34 As the LORD had commanded Moses, Aaron deposited it in front of the decrees for safe keeping.

35 For forty years the Israelites ate manna, until they reached an inhabited land; they ate manna until they reached the outskirts of the land of Canaan.

36 (Now an omer is the tenth of an ephah.)

17:1 From the desert of Sin the whole Israelite community traveled by stages, in accord with the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim. As there was no water for the people to drink, 2 the people found fault with Moses.

"Give us water to drink," they said.

"Why do you find fault with me?" Moses said to them. "Why do you put the LORD to the test?"

3 The people became so thirsty for water there that they grumbled against Moses, and said,

"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to have us and our children and live stock die of thirst?"

4 So Moses cried to the LORD,

"What am I to do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."

5 The LORD said to Moses,

"Pass on ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel; take the staff in your hand with which you struck the Nile, and go on. 6 I will station myself there before you on the rock at Horeb, and when you strike the rock, water will gush out of it, so that the people may drink."

Moses did so, in sight of the elders of Israel.

7 So he called the name of the place Massah [testing], as well as Meribah [finding fault], because of the fault-finding of the Israelites, and their testing of the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD in our midst, or not?"

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua,

"Pick out some men for us, and hurry out to fight with Amalek, while I will take my stand on the top of the hill, with the staff of God in my hand."

10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and went out to fight against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascended to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 When Moses' hands became tired, they took a stone and put it under him to sit on, while Aaron and Hur held his hands up, the one on one side, and the other on the other side. Thus it was that his hands were kept stationary until sunset, 13 so that Joshua put Amalek and his people to the sword.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Write this as a memorandum in a book, and recite it to Joshua; for I will blot out the very memory of Amalek from under the heavens."

15 Then Moses built an altar, and called its name Yahweh-nissi [the LORD is my banner],

16 "Because a hand has been raised against the throne of the LORD," he said, "the LORD has had war with Amalek from age to age."

18:1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that God had done for Moses and his people Israel, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, had taken Moses' wife, Zipporah, after her dismissal, 3 along with her two sons, of whom the name of the one was Gershom [immigrant] ("For," said he, "I am an immigrant in a foreign land"), 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer [My God is a help] ("For the God of my father has been my help, in delivering me from the sword of Pharaoh"). 5 Then Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came with his sons and his wife to Moses, to the place in the desert where he was camped, namely the mountain of God. 6 When Moses was told, "Here is your father-in-law Jethro coming to see you, accompanied by your wife and her two sons," 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed before him, and kissed him, and when they had asked after each other's health, they entered the tent. 8 Moses then told his father- in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that they had encountered on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had shown Israel, in delivering them from the power of the Egyptians.

10 "Blessed be the LORD," said Jethro, "who delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and the power of Pharaoh, who delivered the people from under the power of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, in that his power prevailed over them."

12 So Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, procured a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God, whereupon Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to participate with Moses' father-in-law in the meal before God.

13 Next day Moses held court for the people, and the people stood about Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he had to do for the people, he said,

"What ever is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you hold court all alone, with the people all standing about you from morning until evening?"

15 "Because the people come to me to inquire of God," said Moses to his father-in-law. 16 "Whenever they have a dispute, they come to me, that I may decide between one man and another, and let them know the statutes of God and his decisions."

17 "You are not doing right," said Moses' father-in-law to him. 18 "You will wear yourself out, both you and the people here with you; for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 Now listen to me; let me advise you, that God may be with you: You be the people's advocate with God, and bring the cases to God; 20 instruct them in the statutes and decisions, and let them know the way in which they are to walk and what they are to do; 21 but do you yourself select out of all the people some capable, God-fearing, honest men, with an aversion to improper gain, and set them over them as captains of divisions of a thousand, of a hundred, of fifty, and of ten; 22 let them act as judges for the people on ordinary occasions; all important cases they shall bring to you, but all ordinary cases they shall judge themselves. Thus it will be lighter for you, since they will share the burden with you. 23 If you do this — and God so commands you — you will be able to stand it, and also, this whole people can then have their cases settled near home."

24 Moses agreed with the suggestion of his father-in-law, and did all that he said; 25 Moses chose capable men out of all Israel, and set them as chieftains over the people, as captains of divisions of a thousand, of a hundred, of fifty, and of ten; 26 they acted as judges for the people on ordinary occasions; the difficult cases they brought to Moses, but all ordinary cases they judged themselves. 27 Then Moses saw his father-in-law off, and he betook himself to his own land.

19:1 On the third new moon after leaving the land of Egypt, on that very day the Israelites entered the desert of Sinai. 2 Setting out from Rephidim, they entered the desert of Sinai, and camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. Then the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying,

"Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 'You have seen for yourselves what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now then, if you will but heed my injunctions, and keep my covenant, you shall be my very own out of all the peoples (for all the earth is mine), 6 and you shall be a kingdom of priests to me, and a holy nation.' These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites."

7 So Moses came and summoned all the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him.

8 Then the people all answered together,

"Whatever the LORD says we will do."

And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

9 The LORD said to Moses,

"See, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear me speaking with you, and may then always trust you too."

When Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD, 10 the LORD said to Moses,

"Go to the people, and have them go through a period of consecration today and tomorrow; let them wash their clothes, 11 and be ready by the day after tomorrow; for on the day after tomorrow the LORD is going to descend on Mount Sinai in sight of all the people. 12 You must mark off the mountain all around, saying, 'Take care not to ascend the mountain, nor even to touch the edge of it; whoever touches the mountain must be put to death, 13 having no hand touch him, but stoned or shot through; whether it is man or beast, he shall not be allowed to live. When a long blast is blown on the ram's horn, they may come up to the mountain."

14 So Moses descended from the mountain to the people; he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes.

15 "Be ready by the day after tomorrow," he said to the people; "approach no woman."

16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet-blast, so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like the smoke from a kiln, so that the people all trembled violently. 19 As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a thunder-peal. 20 The LORD descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; the LORD then summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and when Moses went up, 21 the LORD said to Moses,

"Go down and warn the people not to break through to the LORD to see him, or many of them will fall. 22 The priests, also, whose place it is to approach the LORD, are to sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break loose upon them."

23 Moses said to the LORD,

"The people may not come up to Mount Sinai; for thou thyself didst charge us, saying, 'Mark off the mountain, and make it taboo.'"

24 The LORD said to him,

"Go down, and then come up again, accompanied by Aaron; but the priests and the people are not to break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break loose upon them."

25 So Moses went down to the people, and told them.

20:1 God spoke all these words, saying,

2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods beside me.

4 "You must not carve an image for yourself in the shape of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth; 5 you must not pay homage to them, nor serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing children for the sins of their fathers, to the third or fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commands.

7 "You must not invoke the name of the LORD your God to evil intent; for the LORD will not excuse anyone who invokes his name to evil intent.

8 "Remember to keep the sabbath day holy. 9 Six days you are to labor 10 and do all your work, but on the seventh day, the sabbath of the LORD your God, you must not do any work at all, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female slave, nor your cattle, nor the alien in your employ residing in your community; 11 for in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, and the sea, together with all that is in them, but rested on the seventh day; that is how the LORD came to bless the seventh day and to hallow it.

12 "Honor your father and mother, that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13 "You must not commit murder.

14 "You must not commit adultery.

15 "You must not steal.

16 "You must not bring a false charge against your fellow.

17 "You must not covet your neighbor's home; you must not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything at all that is your neighbor's."

18 As the people all perceived the thunder and lightning, the blast of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, the people became afraid, and fell back, standing off at a distance.

19 "If you yourself will speak to us," they said to Moses, "we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."

20 "Fear not," said Moses to the people ; "for it is only to test you that God has come, and in order that the fear of him may be present with you to keep you from sinning."

21 The people, however, stood off at a distance, while Moses approached the dense darkness where God was.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Thus shall you say to the Israelites: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have been talking with you out of the heavens. 23 You must not make gods of silver along with me, nor must you make gods of gold for yourselves. 24 You must construct an altar of earth for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt-offerings, your thank-offerings, your sheep, and your oxen; at every sanctuary where I record my name, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If, however, you construct an altar of stones for me, you must not build it of dressed stones; for if you were to use your tools on it, you would pollute it. 16 Further, you must never ascend my altar on steps, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.'

21:1 "The following are the ordinances which you are to lay before them:

2 " 'When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to work for you for six years, but in the seventh year he is to go free without paying anything. 3 If he came in single, he shall go out single; if he was married, his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife with her children shall belong to her master, while he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave declares, "I am fond of my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free," 6 his master shall bring him up to God; he shall bring him up to the door or the door-post, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; he shall then be his slave permanently.

7 " 'If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as the male slaves do. 8 If she is displeasing to her master, who acquired her for himself, he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has treated her unfairly. 9 If he acquires her for his son, he must treat her like a daughter. 10 If he marries another, he must not diminish her food, nor her clothes, nor her conjugal rights; 11 if he does not observe these three duties to her, she shall go free without any money payment whatsoever.

12 "'Whoever strikes another, so that he dies, must be put to death; 13 if, however, he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into is hands, I will designate a place for you to which he may flee. 14 If a man wilfully plans to murder another treacherously, even from my altar you must take him, that he may be put to death.

15 "'Whoever strikes his father or mother must be put to death.

16 "'Whoever kidnaps a man, and sells him, or if he is found in his possession, must be put to death.

17 "'Whoever reviles his father or mother must be put to death.

18 "'If men get into a quarrel, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, so that he does not die, but is laid up in bed, 19 if he gets up again, and can go out walking on his staff, the one who struck him shall be let off, except that he must pay for his loss of time, and have him thoroughly restored to health.

20 "'If a man strikes his male or female slave with a stick, so that he dies under his hand, he must be avenged. 21 If, however, he survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged; for he is his own property.

22 "'If men get into a fight, and hurt a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage, without further harm, he must pay such fine as the woman's husband imposes on him, and so pay for the miscarriage; 23 but if there is further harm, you must give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.

26 "'If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye; 27 if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.

28 "'If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned to death, but its flesh is not to be eaten; the owner of the ox is blameless. 29 If, however, the ox has been in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned, but still does not keep it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. 30 If only a fine is imposed on him, he must pay in redemption of his life whatever amount is imposed on him. 31 Whether it is a free man or a free woman that it gores, he is to be dealt with in accordance with this same ordinance. 32 If the ox gores a male or a female slave, he must pay their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned.

33 "'If a man opens a cistern, or if a man digs a cistern and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, 34 the owner of the cistern must make restitution by reimbursing its owner with money, but the carcass is to be his.

35 "'If a man's ox hurt another's ox, so that it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide its price between them, and the dead animal as well. 36 Or, if the ox is known to have been in the habit of goring, and its owner has not been keeping it in, he must make restitution with an ox for the ox, but the dead animal is to be his.

22:1 "'If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he must pay an indemnity of five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for the sheep; 3^b he simply must make restitution; if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for what he stole. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox, an ass, or a sheep, he must make two-fold restitution.

2 "'If the thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and is struck a fatal blow, there is no guilt of blood in his case; 3^b if the sun has risen on him, then there is guilt of blood.

5 "'If a man in burning over a field or vineyard lets the fire spread so that it burns in another man's field, he must make restitution with the very best of his own field or vineyard. 6 If fire breaks out and catches in a thorn-hedge, so that the shocks of grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who lit the fire must make restitution.

7 "'If a man gives money or other articles to another to keep, and it is stolen from the latter's house, if the thief is found, he must make two-fold restitution; 8 if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must be brought into the presence of God to determine whether he himself has not laid hands on the other's property.

9 "'In every case of breach of trust, whether it concerns ox, or ass, or sheep, or clothing, or any article at all that has disappeared, concerning which claim is made, "This is it," the case of both parties shall come before God; he whom God convicts must make two-fold restitution to the other.

10 "lf a man gives an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any kind of animal to another to keep, and it dies, or is injured, or is taken as booty when no one was looking, 11 there must be an oath by the LORD between the two of them as to whether one did not lay hands on the other's property; the owner must then accept it, and no restitution shall be made. 12 But if it is really stolen from him, he must make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is torn in pieces, Jet him bring it as evidence; he need not make good what has been torn.

14 "'If a man borrows an animal from another, and it is injured or dies, its owner not being employed with it, he must make restitution; 15 if the owner is employed with it, he need not make restitution; if it was hired, the owner is to receive the price of its hire.

16 "lf a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he must pay the marriage-price for her, and marry her; 17 if her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay money equivalent to the marriage-price of virgins.

18 "'You must not let a sorceress live.

19 "'Whoever lies with an animal must be put to death.

20 "'He who sacrifices to any god except the LORD alone must be destroyed.

21 "'You must not ill-treat a resident alien, nor oppress him; for you were once resident aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 22 You must not wrong any widow or orphan. 23 If you ever wrong them and they cry aloud to me, I will be sure to hear their cry, 24 and my anger will blaze, and I will slay you with the sword; thus shall your own wives become widows and your children orphans.

25 "'If you lend money to my people, to any poor person among you, you must not behave like a creditor toward him; you must not charge him any interest. 26 If you ever take another's cloak in pledge, you must return it to him by sunset; 27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else could he sleep in? And if he should cry to me, I would respond; for I am kind.

28 "'You must not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

29 "'You must not be dilatory with your offering, whether much or little. 30 You must give me the first-born of your sons; you must do the same with your oxen and your sheep; for seven days it may remain with its dam; on the eighth day you must give it to me.

31 "'Since you are men sacred to me, you must not eat flesh that has been torn in the field; you must throw it to the dogs.

23:1 " 'You must not give false, hearsay evidence; do not join hands with a wicked person by being a malicious witness. 2 You must not follow the majority by doing wrong, nor give evidence in a suit so as to pervert justice, by turning aside with the majority. 3 Neither must you favor a poor man in his case.

4 "'If you come across your enemy's ox or ass going astray, you must be sure to take it home to him.

5 "'If you see the ass of one who hates you lying prostrate under its load, you must refrain from deserting him; you must be sure to help him get it up.

6 "'You must not pervert the justice due your poor in his case. 7 Avoid false charges; do not have innocent and guiltless people put to death, nor acquit the wicked. 8 You must never take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the open-eyed, and subverts even a just case.

9 "'You must not oppress a resident alien, since you know the feelings of an alien; for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.

10 "'For six years you may sow your land and gather in its crops, 11 but during the seventh year you must leave it alone and let it lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat of it, and what they leave the wild animals may cat. You must do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.

12 "'On six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must desist, in order that your ox and ass may rest, and that your slave's son and the resident alien may refresh themselves.

13 "'Give heed to all that I have told you; never mention the names of alien gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

14 "'Three times a year you are to hold a festival for me. 15 You must keep the festival of unleavened cakes, eating unleavened cakes for seven days, as I commanded you, at the appointed time, the new moon of Abib ( for it was then that you came out of Egypt); none may come to see me empty-handed. 16 There is also the harvest festival, that of the first-fruits of your labor, of what you sowed in the field; and the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the fruit of your labor from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord GOD.

18 "'You must not offer the blood of any sacrifice to me with leaven, nor may the fat of my festivals be left over night until morning.

19 "'The very first of the first-fruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the LORD your God.

"'You must not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

20 "'See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and heed his injunctions; do not oppose him, because he will not pardon your offence; for I will manifest myself in him. 22 But if you do heed his injunctions, and do just what I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 When my angel goes before you, and brings you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivvites, and Jebusites, and I exterminate them, 24 you must not pay homage to their gods, nor serve them, nor make anything like them ; but you must be sure to overthrow them, and smash their sacred pillars. 25 You must serve the LORD your God, and then I will bless your food and water, and I will free you from disease; 26 there shall be none in your land who miscarries or is barren; I will bring to completion the full number of your days. 23 I will send my terror before you, and will throw all the peoples to whom you come into a panic; I 28 will make all your enemies turn their backs to you; I will send leprosy ahead of you to drive the Hivvites, Canaanites, and Hittites out of your way; 29 I will not drive them out of your way in a single year, lest the land become desolate, and the wild beasts become too numerous for you; 30 I will drive them out of your way little by little, until you grow in numbers and can take full possession of the land. 31 I will make your domain the region from the Red Sea as far as the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert as far as the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your power, and drive them out of your way. 32 You must make no covenant with them, nor with their gods; 33 they must not remain in your land lest they make you sin against me; for if you were to serve their gods, it would endanger you.'"

24:1 "Come up to the LORD," he said to Moses, "you, and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance; 2 Moses alone is to come near the LORD; the others are not to come near, nor are the people to go up with him."

3 Then Moses came, and recounted to the people all the regulations of the LORD and all the ordinances; and the people all answered with one voice,

"All the regulations that the LORD has given we will observe."

4 So Moses wrote down all the regulations of the LORD, and rising early next morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, along with twelve sacred pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent the young men of the Israelites to offer burnt-offerings and to sacrifice oxen as thank-offerings to the LORD, 6 while Moses himself took half of the blood, and put it in basins, dashing the other half on the altar. 7 He then took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people, who said,

"All that the LORD has directed we will obediently do."

8 Then Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, saying,

"That is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you on the basis of all these regulations."

9 Moses then went up, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel, with something like a sapphire pavement under his feet, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And God did not lay hands on the leaders of the Israelites, but they beheld God, and ate and drank.

12 The LORD said to Moses,

"Ascend the mountain to me, and be present there, that I may give you the stone tablets, with the instructions and commands that I have written on them for their instruction."

13 So Moses, with his attendant Joshua, rose; and Moses ascended the mountain of God, 14 saying to the elders,

"Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you ; whoever has a dispute may bring it to them."

15 So Moses ascended the mountain, while the cloud covered the mountain, 16 and the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai; for six days the cloud covered it, but on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 The glory of the LORD looked to the Israelites like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. 18 Moses penetrated the cloud, and ascended the mountain; Moses remained on the mountain for forty days and nights.

25:1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Tell the Israelites to procure a contribution for me; get the contribution for me from everyone whose heart makes him willing. 3 And this is the contribution that you are to procure from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat's hair, 5 tanned rams' skins, porpoise skins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and set stones for the sacred apron and pouch.

8 "They must also make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them; 9 you must make it exactly as I have shown you, after the plan for the dwelling and all its fittings.

10 "They must also make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high; 11 you must overlay it with pure gold, overlaying it both inside and outside, and run a molding of gold around it. 12 You must cast four rings of gold for it, and fasten them on its four feet, with two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it; 13 then you must make poles of acacia wood, overlaying them with gold, 14 and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, with which to carry the ark; 15 the poles are to remain in the rings of the ark, never to be removed from it. 16 Inside the ark you must place the decrees which I give you. 17 You must also make a propitiatory of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide; 18 and make two cherubs of gold at the two ends of the propitiatory, making them of beaten work, 19 making one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end, and making the cherubs of one piece with the propitiatory at its two ends; 20 and the cherubs are to have their wings spread out on high, overshadowing the propitiatory with their wings and facing each other, with the faces of the cherubs directed toward the propitiatory. 21 You must place the propitiatory on top of the ark, and inside the ark you must place the decrees that I give you. 22 I will meet you there; from the place above the propitiatory, between the two cherubs on the ark of the decrees, I will communicate to you all the commands that I have to give you for the Israelites.

23 "You must also make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high; 24 you must overlay it with pure gold, and run a molding of gold around it; 25 you must make a rail around it a handbreadth wide, and run a molding of gold around its rail; 26 you must make four rings of gold for it, and fasten the rings on the four corners of its four feet; 27 the rings are to lie close to the rail as holders for the poles for carrying the table. 28 You must make the poles of acacia wood, overlaying them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. 29 You must also make its plates, its cups, its flagons, and its bowls with which libations are made, making them of pure gold. 30 You must always have presence-bread set out on the table before me.

31 "You must also make a lampstand of pure gold; the base and shaft of the lampstand are to be made of beaten work, its cups, each with its calyx and petals, to be of one piece with it; 32 six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it; 33 there are to be three cups, shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three cups, shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on another branch, and so for the six branches extending from the lampstand; 34 and on the lampstand itself there are to be four cups, shaped like almond-blossoms, each with its calyx and petals; 35 there is to be a calyx of one piece with it under two branches, another calyx of one piece with it under two branches, and another calyx of one piece with it under two branches, for the six branches extending from the lampstand; 36 their calyxes and branches are to be of one piece with it, the whole of it forming a single piece of beaten work of pure gold. 37 You must then make the seven lamps for it; and its lamps are to be put up so as to shed light on the space in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and snuffdishes are to be of pure gold. 39 A talent of pure gold is to be used to make it, with all these fittings. 40 And see that you make them after the model for them that was shown you on the mountain.

26:1 "The dwelling itself you must make out of ten curtains, making them of fine twisted linen, violet, purple, and scarlet material, with cherubs, the work of artists; 2 the length of each curtain is to be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits, all the curtains to have the same measurements. 3 Five of the curtains are to be joined to one another, and the other five curtains joined to one another; 4 and on the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set you are to make loops of violet, and you are to make the same on the edge of the outermost curtain in the other set, 5 making fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the- edge of the curtain in the other set, the loops to be opposite each other. 6 You must then make fifty gold clasps, and join the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the dwelling may be a unit.

7 "Further, you must make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the dwelling, making eleven curtains in all, 8 the length of each curtain to be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits, the eleven curtains to have the same measurements. 9 You must join five of the curtains by themselves, and the other six curtains by themselves, doubling the sixth curtain to hang in front of the tent. 10 Then you must make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of that in the other set, 11 and you must also make fifty bronze clasps, and put the clasps into the loops, thus joining the tent together so that it becomes a unit. 12 The overhanging part that is left over in the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over, is to hang over the rear of the dwelling, 13 while the cubit left over on each side in the length of the tent curtains is to hang over each side of the dwelling to cover it. 14 Also, you must make a covering for the tent of tanned rams' skins, and above that a covering of porpoise skins.

15 "You must make the frames for the dwelling of durable acacia wood, 16 ten cubits to be the length of the frames, and a cubit and a half the width of each frame; 17 each frame is to have two arms, joined to each other by cross rungs; you are to do the same with all the frames for the dwelling. 18 You must make the frames for the dwelling as follows: twenty frames for the side toward the Negeb to the south, 19 making forty silver pedestals as bases for the twenty frames, two pedestals as bases for one frame with its two arms, and two pedestals as bases for another frame with its two arms; 20 twenty frames for the second side of the dwelling, the northern side, 21 with their forty silver pedestals, two pedestals as bases for one frame, and two pedestals as bases for another frame; 22 and you must make six frames for the rear of the dwelling to the west, 23 as well as two frames for the corners of the dwelling at the rear; 24 they are to be double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top of it, up to the first ring, and so with both of them; they are to form the two corners; 25 thus there shall be eight frames, with their sixteen silver pedestals, two pedestals as bases for one frame, and two pedestals as bases for another frame. 26 You must also make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on the one side of the dwelling, 27 and five bars for the frames on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the frames on the side of the dwelling at the rear to the west; 28 the middle bar in the centre of the frames is to run through from end to end. 29 You must overlay the frames with gold, and make the rings on them of gold as holders for the bars, and also overlay the bars with gold. 30 So you must erect the dwelling after the plan for it that was shown you on the mountain.

31 "You must also make a veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, and it is to be made with cherubs, the work of artists; 32 you must fasten it on four columns of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with their hooks of gold, standing on four silver pedestals; 33 you must hang the veil from the clasps, and you must bring the ark of the decrees in there, inside the veil, so that the veil shall divide the sacred place from the most sacred place for you. 34 You must put the propitiatory on the ark of the decrees in the most sacred place, 35 and place the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table at the south side of the dwelling, placing the table at the north side. 36 You must also make a screen for the doorway of the tent of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, in variegated work; 37 and for the screen you must make five columns of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks are to be gold, and you must cast five bronze pedestals for them.

27:1 "You must make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide; the altar is to be square, and its height three cubits; 2 you must make the horns for it on its four corners, its horns to be of one piece with it; and you must overlay it with bronze. 3 You must make its ash-pans, its shovels, its basins, its forks, and its firepans, making all its utensils of bronze. 4 You must make a bronze grating of network for it, and on the net you must make four bronze rings at its four corners; 5 you must then place it under the ledge around the altar, that the net may reach half-way up the altar. 6 You must also make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze; 7 its poles are to be put through the rings, with the poles resting on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You are to make it hollow, with boards; it is to be made just as it was shown you on the mountain.

9 "Then you must make the court of the dwelling: for the southern side toward the Negeb there are to be hangings for the court of fine twisted linen, extending one hundred cubits along the one side, 10 with twenty columns for them, and twenty bronze pedestals for these, the hooks of the columns and their bands to be silver. 11 Similarly, for the north side there are to be hangings, extending to a length of one hundred cubits, and twenty columns for them, with twenty bronze pedestals for these, the hooks of the columns and their bands to be silver. 12 For the west side, the width of the court, there are to be hangings ex- tending for fifty cubits, ten columns for them, and ten pedestals for these; 13 and the width of the court at the front, the cast side, is to be fifty cubits, 14 with hangings on the one wing for fifteen cubits, three columns for them, and three pedestals for these, 15 and hangings on the other wing for fifteen cubits, three columns for them, and three pedestals for these; 16 while the gate of the court is to have a screen measuring twenty cubits, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, in variegated work, with four columns for it, and four pedestals for these. 17 All the columns around the court are to be bound with silver, their hooks also to be silver, but their pedestals bronze. 18 The length of the court is to be one hundred cubits, the width fifty cubits, and the height five cubits, hung with fine twisted linen. 19 All the utensils of the dwelling, used in all its service, as well as all its pegs, and all the pegs for the court are to be bronze.

20 "You must order the Israelites to provide you with pure oil from crushed olives for the lights, so that there may always be a lamp to lift in place; 21 in the tent of meeting, outside the veil which screens the decrees, Aaron and his sons are to keep it supplied from evening until morning before the LORD; it is to be a perpetual statute with the Israelites, age after age.

28:1 "From among the Israelites have your brother Aaron, accompanied by his sons, present himself to you to serve as priest to me, Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 You must make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron to his honor and adornment; 3 you must tell all the skilful persons, whom I have endowed with skill, to make vestments for Aaron, to consecrate him to serve as priest to me. 4 The following are the vestments that they must make: a pouch, an apron, a robe, a tunic in checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They must make the sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons, that he may serve as priest to me; 5 and they must use gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen.

6 "They must make the apron of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, in skilled work; 7 it must have two shoulder-straps joined to it at the two ends, and thus be joined. 8 The skilfully made girdle on it must be made like it, of one piece with it, of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. 9 You must then procure two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the Israelites, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their origin; 11 with seal engravings, the work of a jeweler, you must engrave the two stones with the various names of the Israelites, setting them in filigree work of gold; 12 and you must fasten the two stones on the shoulder-straps of the apron, as memorial stones for the Israelites, and so Aaron shall carry their names on his shoulders in the presence of the LORD as a memorial.

13 "You must also make filigree objects of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold, making them of twisted material, of cordage-work, and you must fasten the corded chains to the filigree objects.

15 "Further, you must make an oracle pouch in skilled work; you must make it in the same way as the apron, making it of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; 16 it is to be square, and folded double, a span long, and a span wide; 17 and you must insert in it a setting of stones, four rows of stones, the first row to be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald, 18 the second row a ruby, a sapphire, and a crystal, 19 the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst, 20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; they are to be inclosed with gold in their settings. 21 The stones, corresponding to the names of the Israelites, are to he twelve in number, as their names are, each to be engraved like a seal with its proper name for the twelve tribes. 22 On the pouch you must make chains of twisted material, of cordage-work of pure gold; 23 you must then make two rings of gold on the pouch, 24 fastening the two rings at the two ends of the pouch; 25 you must fasten the two gold cords to the two rings at the ends of the pouch, while the other two ends of the two cords you must fasten to the two filigree objects, fastening them to the shoulder-straps of the apron on the front of it. 26 You must make two rings of gold, and attach them to the two ends of the pouch, on its inner edge next to the apron. 27 You must then make two rings of gold, and fasten them to the shoulder-straps in front of the apron, underneath, close to the place where it is joined, above the skilfully made girdle; 28 and the pouch is to he tied by its rings to the rings of the apron with a violet cord, so as to lie on the skilfully made girdle, so that the pouch may not swing loose from the apron. 29 Aaron shall carry the names of the Israelites on the oracle pouch over his heart whenever he enters the sacred place, as a memorial before the LORD always. 30 You must put the Urim and Thummim in the oracle pouch, that they may lie over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD, that Aaron may always carry the oracle of the Israelites over his heart in the presence of the LORD.

31 "You must make the robe belonging to the apron entirely of violet material; 32 and it must have an opening at the top, in the middle of it; its opening is to have a binding of woven work around it; it is to have an opening like that of a corselet, so that it may not he torn. 33 On its skirts you must make pomegranates of violet, purple, and scarlet material, all around its skirts, with gold bells among them all around, 34 a gold bell alternating with a pomegranate all around the skirts of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it in ministering, that the tinkling of it may be heard when he enters the sacred place in the presence of the LORD, and when lie leaves it, and then he will not die.

36 "You must also make a diadem of pure gold, and with seal engravings you must engrave on it, 'Sacred to the LORD;' 37 you must attach it to a violet cord, and it is to rest on the turban; at the front of the turban shall it be; 38 it is to rest on Aaron's forehead, so that Aaron himself shall bear any guilt connected with the sacred offerings which the Israelites may ever make as their sacred gifts; it must always be on his forehead to win acceptance for them before the LORD.

39 "You must weave the tunic of fine linen; and make a turban of fine linen, and a sash in variegated work.

40 "For Aaron's sons, too, you must make tunics; you must make sashes for them, and you must also make caps for them, to their honor and adornment. 41 You must dress your brother Aaron in these, and his sons along with him, anointing them, installing them, and consecrating them to serve as priests to me. 42 You must also make linen breeches for them, to cover their bare flesh, reaching from the loins to the thighs; 43 and Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting, or approach the altar to minister in the sacred place, lest they incur guilt, and so die; it is to be a perpetual statute for him and his descendants.

29:1 "The following is what you must do with them in consecrating them to serve as priests to me: take a young bullock, two perfect rams, 2 unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, making them of fine wheat flour; 3 you must put them in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bullock and the two rams. 4 Then you must have Aaron and his sons come up to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water; 5 and taking the vestments, you must dress Aaron in the tunic, the robe belonging to the apron, the apron itself, and the pouch, and gird him with the skilfully made girdle; 6 you must set the turban on his head, and place the sacred crown on the turban; 7 you must then take the anointing oil, and pouring it on his head, anoint him. 8 You must also have his sons come up, and then dress them in tunics, 9 gird them with sashes, namely Aaron and his sons, and fasten caps on them; they are to have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. Thus shall you install Aaron and his sons.

10 "You must then bring the bullock to the front of the tent of meeting; Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the head of the bullock, 11 and then you must slaughter the bullock before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting; 12 you must take some of the bullock's blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, pouring out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar; 13 you must take all the fat covering the entrails, the lobe on the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar; 14 but the flesh of the bullock, with its hide and offal, you must burn up outside the camp; it is a sin-offering. 15 You must then take one of the rams; Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and then you must slaughter the ram, and taking its blood, dash it all around the altar; 17 you must cut the ram into pieces, and washing its entrails and legs, put them with its other pieces and its head, 18 and then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt-offering to the LORD, a soothing odor, a sacrifice to the LORD. 19 You must then take the other ram; Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and then you must slaughter the ram, and taking some of its blood, put it on the tip of Aaron's ear, on the tips of his sons' right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the great toes of their right feet, dashing the rest of the blood all around the altar; 21 you must then take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his vestments, as well as on his sons and the vestments of his sons with him, so that he and his vestments may be consecrated, as well as his sons and the vestments of his sons with him. 22 You must also take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is an installation ram), 23 together with a loaf of bread, a cake made with oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened cakes which lies before the LORD; 24 you must lay all this in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and present them as a wave-offering before the LORD; 25 then you must take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar for burnt-offerings, as a soothing odor to the LORD; it is a sacrifice to the LORD. 26 You must take the breast of Aaron's installation ram, and wave it as a wave-offering before the LORD, after which it is to become your share. 27 You must consecrate the waved breast of the ram used for the installation of Aaron and his sons, which was waved, and the thigh which was contributed; 28 it must go to Aaron and his sons as their due for all time from the Israelites; for it is a contribution; it is a contribution from the Israelites out of their thanksgiving sacrifices, their contribution to the LORD.

29 "The sacred vestments of Aaron shall pass to his sons after him, that they may be anointed and installed in them; 30 for seven days shall that one of his sons who is to be priest in his place wear them when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sacred place.

31 "Taking the installation ram, you must boil its flesh at a sacred place, 32 and then Aaron and his sons must eat the flesh of the ram and the bread in the basket at the doorway of the tent of meeting; 33 they may eat these things for whose installation and consecration atonement was made by them, but no layman may eat them; for they are sacred. 34 If any of the flesh used in the installation, or any of the bread is left over until morning, you must burn up what is left; it is not to be eaten, because it is sacred.

35 "This, then, is what you must do with Aaron and his sons, just as I have commanded you. You must spend seven days installing them; 36 each day you must offer a bullock as a sin-offering to make atonement; you must make a sin-offering on the altar when you make atonement for it, and then anoint it to make it sacred; 37 you must spend seven days making atonement for the altar in order to make it sacred; the altar will then be completely taboo, so that everyone touching the altar will become taboo.

38 "This is what you are to offer on the altar: two yearling lambs regularly each day, 39 offering one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb at twilight, 40 and with the former lamb a tenth of an ephah of fine meal mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil from crushed olives, and a libation of a fourth of a hin of wine; 41 and the other lamb you must offer at twilight as a soothing odor, a sacrifice to the LORD, accompanying it with the same cereal-offering and libation as the offering in the morning — 42 a regular burnt-offering to be made by you from generation to generation at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak to you there.

43 "I will meet the Israelites there, and it shall be consecrated by my glory; 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, and I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as priests to me; 45 I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites, and will be their God; 46 they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell in the midst of them, I, the LORD their God.

30:1 "You must also make an altar for burning incense, making it of acacia wood; 2 it is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, while its height is to be two cubits, with its horns of one piece with it; 3 you must overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns; and you must run a gold molding around it. 4 You must make two gold rings for it underneath its molding, on its two sides, making them on the two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles by which to carry it. 5 You must make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 You must then place it in front of the veil which screens the ark of the decrees, in front of the propitiatory that lies over the decrees, where I will meet you. 7 On it Aaron must burn spices as incense, burning it from morning to morning when he trims the lamps; 8 also when Aaron puts up the lamps at twilight, he must burn it, as a regular incense-offering before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 You must not offer improper incense on it, nor burnt-offerings, nor cereal-offerings, nor pour libations on it. 10 Once a year Aaron must make atonement on its horns; with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement he must make atonement on it once a year throughout your generations, since it is most sacred to the LORD."

11 The LORD said to Moses,

12 "When you take a census of the Israelites, each of them must pay a ransom for himself to the LORD at the time that they are numbered, that no plague may fall on them when they are numbered. 13 And this is what every one must pay as he joins those already numbered, a half-shekel, in terms of the sacred shekel, the shekel of twenty gerahs, a half-shekel as a contribution to the LORD; 14 every one from twenty years old and upward, as he joins those already numbered, must make this contribution to the LORD; 15 the rich are not to give more, nor the poor less than a half-shekel in making the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. 16 On taking the atonement money from the Israelites you must use it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be for the Israelites a memorial before the LORD to make atonement for yourselves."

17 The LORD said to Moses,

18 "You must make a bronze laver with a bronze base for washing, and place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, putting water in it, 19 so that Aaron and his sons may wash their hands and feet from it; 20 whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they must wash themselves with water, that they die not; or whenever they approach the altar to minister, by burning a sacrifice to the LORD. 21 So they must wash their hands and feet, that they die not, and it is to be a perpetual statute for them, for him and his descendants from generation to generation."

22 The LORD said to Moses,

23 "Procure the finest spices, five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, half that amount of fragrant cinnamon, namely two hundred and fifty shekels, two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, in terms of the sacred shekel, and a hin of olive oil; 25 you must then make it into a sacred anointing oil, a compound made according to the art of the compounder of oils; it is to be a sacred anointing oil, 26 and with it you must anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the decrees, 27 the table and all its fittings, the lampstand and its fittings, the incense altar, 28 the altar for burnt-offerings and all its fittings, the laver and its base, 29 and thus make them sacred, so that they become completely taboo, with everyone touching them becoming taboo. 30 You must also anoint Aaron and his sons, consecrating them to serve as priests to me. 31 You must then say to the Israelites, 'This is to be a sacred anointing oil for me throughout your generations; 32 it is not to be used for anointing the body of an ordinary person, nor are you to make anything like it in composition for yourselves; being sacred, it is taboo to you. 33 Whoever compounds anything like it, or puts any of it on a layman, shall be cut off from his people.''"

34 The LORD said to Moses,

"Procure spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum, spices, and pure frankincense, the same amount of each, 35 and make it into incense, a compound made by the compounder's art, clarified, pure and sacred. 36 You must pulverize some of it very fine, and place some of it in front of the decrees in the tent of meeting, where I will meet you; it is to be completely taboo to you. 37 The incense which you are to make according to its formula, you must never make for yourselves; you must regard it as sacred to the LORD; 38 whoever makes anything like it just to smell shall be cut off from his people."

31:1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "See, I have specifically chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah, 3 filling him with the spirit of God, in skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every craft, 4 to devise ingenious things in working with gold, silver, and bronze, 5 and in the cutting of stones to be set, and in wood carving, that he may work at every craft. 6 However, along with him I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan, and I have endowed all those of skilful mind with skill to make all that I have commanded you, 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the decrees, and the propitiatory on it, all the fittings of the tent, 8 the table and its fittings, the lampstand of pure gold and its fittings, the incense altar, 9 the altar for burnt-offerings and all its fittings, the laver and its base, 10 the woven vestments, the sacred vestments for Aaron, the priest, and the vestments for his sons, to serve as priests, 11 the anointing oil, and the incense made of spices for the sacred place; they shall make them just as I have commanded you."

12 The LORD said to Moses,

13 "Say to the Israelites, 'You must be sure to keep my sabbaths; for that will be a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that it may be known that I, the LORD, am consecrating you. 14 So you must keep the sabbath; for it is to be sacred to you; anyone desecrating it must be put to death; if there is anyone who does work on it, that person is to be cut off from his people. 15 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is to be the sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the LORD; anyone who does work on the sabbath day must be put to death. 16 So the Israelites must keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath from generation to generation as a perpetual covenant; 17 it is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested and refreshed himself.'"

18 As soon as he had finished talking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the decrees, the stone tablets, inscribed by God's own finger.

32:1 When the people saw that Moses was Jong in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered about Aaron, and said to him,

"Come, make us a god to go ahead of us; for this is the way it is with Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, — we do not know what has become of him."

2 So Aaron said to them,

"Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

3 So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron, 4 who took the material from them, and pouring it into a mold, made it into a molten bull, whereupon they said,

"Here is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"

5 On seeing this, Aaron built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made proclamation,

"Tomorrow a festival shall be held to the LORD."

6 So next day the people rose early, and offered burnt-offerings, and presented thank-offerings; the people sat down to eat and drink, after which they rose to make merry.

7 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Go down at once; for your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt have acted perniciously, 8 in that they have been quick to swerve from the path that I appointed them, by making themselves a molten bull, doing homage to it, sacrificing to it, and saying, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"

9 Further, the LORD said to Moses,

10 "I have watched this people, and it is indeed a stiff-necked people. Now then, let me alone, that my anger may blaze against them, and that I may consume them; and then I will make a great nation of you."

11 But Moses tried to mollify the LORD his God.

"O LORD," he said, "why does thy anger blaze against thy own people whom thou didst bring out of the land of Egypt by great power and a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was at a bad time that he brought them out, slaying them in the highlands and obliterating them from the face of the earth?' Turn from thy fierce anger, and change thy mind about doing evil to thy people. 13 Remember concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, that thou didst swear by thyself to them, saying to them, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of, I will give to your descendants to have as their own forever.' "

14 So the LORD changed his mind about the evil that he said he would do to his people.

15 Moses then turned and descended from the mountain, with the two tablets of the decrees in his hand, tablets written on both their sides, being written on one side and on the other. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses,

"There is the sound of war in the camp."

18 But he said,

"It is not the sound of the cry of might, nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear."

19 As soon as he came near the camp, he saw the bull and the dancing, whereupon Moses' anger blazed, and he flung the tablets from his hands, and broke them at the foot of the mountain; 20 then he took the bull which they had made, and burned it up, and grinding it to powder, he scattered it on the surface of the water, and made the Israelites drink it. 21 Then Moses said to Aaron,

"What did this people do to you, that you have let them incur such great guilt?"

22 Aaron said,

"Let not my lord's anger blaze; you know yourself how bad the people are. 23 They said to me, 'Make us a god to go ahead of us; for this is the way it is with Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, — we do not know what has become of him.' 24 So I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off'; and when they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this bull!"

25 When Moses saw that the people had become unruly (for Aaron had let them get unruly, to be a derision among their assailants) 26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp, and said,

"To me, whoever is for the LORD!"

Whereupon all the Levites gathered to him. 27 Then he said to them,

"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Let each fasten his sword on his hip, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, slaying each his kinsman, his friend, and his neighbor.'"

28 The Levites followed Moses' instructions, so that about three thousand of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said,

"You have installed yourselves today as priests to the LORD, each at the cost of his son and his kinsman, that he may bestow a blessing on you today."

30 Next day Moses said to the people,

"You have committed a great sin; so now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I may make atonement for your sin."

31 So Moses returned to the LORD, and said,

"Alas, this people has committed a great sin, in that they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, . . .; but if not, pray blot me out of thy book which thou hast written."

33 But the LORD said to Moses,

"Whoever sins against me, him only I blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people when.1 I told you; see, my angel shall go ahead of you; but on the day that I do punish, I will punish them for their sin."

35 So the LORD smote the people for having had the bull made which Aaron made.

33:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Depart, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, go up from here to the land which I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when I said, 'To your descendants I will give it' 2 (I will send an angel ahead of you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivvites, and Jebusites), 3 to a land abounding in milk and honey; for I will not go up with you myself, lest I destroy you on the way; for you are a stiff-necked people."

4 When the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and none of them wore his ornaments.

5 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Say to the Israelites, 'You are such a stiff-necked people that if I were to go up with you for a single moment, I would destroy you; take off your ornaments then, that I may know what to do to you.'"

6 So the Israelites stripped off their Mount Horeb ornaments.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, at a distance from the camp. It was called the tent of meeting; if there was anyone who wanted to consult the LORD, he would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand, each at the door- way of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent; 9 and as soon as Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would descend, and stand at the doorway of the tent while he conversed with Moses; 10 and whenever the people saw the column of cloud standing at the doorway of the tent, the people would all rise, and make obeisance, each at the doorway of his tent. 11 The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man would speak to another; and then he would return to the camp; but his attendant, Joshua, the son of Nun, as servant was not accustomed to leave the tent.

12 Moses said to the LORD,

"See, thou sayest to me, 'Lead this people up,' but thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, 'I know you by name, and you have found favor with me too.' 13 Now then, if I have really found favor with thee, pray let me know thy ways, and so know thee, that I may continue to find favor with thee. Consider, too, that this nation is thy own people."

14 "I will go along myself," he said, "and lead you."

15 He said to him,

"If thou art not to go along thyself, do not make us go up from here. 16 For how then could it be known that I and thy people have found favor with thee? Is it not by thy going with us, so that we may be distinguished, I and thy people, from all other people that are on the face of the ground?"

17 So the LORD said to Moses,

"This request also, which you have just made, I will carry out; for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name."

18 Then he said,

"Show me thy glory."

19 But he said,

"I will make all my goodlincss pass before your view, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you, and how I am gracious to those to whom I am gracious, and compassionate with those with whom I am compassionate." 20 "But you may not see my face," he said; "for man cannot see me, and live."

21 However, the LORD said,

"Here is a place by me; station yourself on the rock; 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and cover you with my hand until I pass by; then I will take away my hand, 23 so that you may see my back, while my face shall not be seen."

34:1 The LORD said to Moses,

"Cut two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you broke.

2 Be ready by morning, and in the morning ascend Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to ascend with you, nor is anyone to be seen anywhere on the mountain, nor must the flocks and herds graze in front of that mountain."

4 So Moses cut two stone tablets like the former ones, and rising early next morning, he ascended Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, taking the two stone tablets in his hand. 5 Then the LORD descended in a cloud, and took up a position with him there, while he called upon the name of the LORD. 6 The LORD passed in front of him, proclaiming,

"The LORD, the LORD, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, rich in grace and fidelity, 7 showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, without leaving it unpunished however, but avenging the iniquity of fathers upon their children and grandchildren down to the third or even the fourth generation."

8 Then Moses quickly bowed his head to the ground, and made obeisance.

9 "If I have really found favor with thee, O Lord," he said, "pray let the Lord go with us; for this is a stiff-necked people; but do thou pardon our iniquity and our sin, and make us thy very own."

10 So he said,

"I hereby make a covenant: before all your people I will perform such wonders as have never occurred anywhere on the earth nor in any nation, so that all the people among whom you are living shall see that it is an awful deed that I, the LORD, am going to do along with you. 11 Mark what I command you today. I am going to drive the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivvites, and Jebusites out of your way; 12 so you must take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land which you are about to enter, lest they become a snare among you; 13 but you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their sacred poles 14 (for you must not pay homage to any other god, because the LORD, being jealous by nature, is a jealous God), 15 lest in making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land you run wantonly after their gods, sacrificing to their gods, and whenever anyone invites you, partaking of his sacrifice, 16 and you marry your sons to their daughters, which daughters will run wantonly after their gods, and make your sons run wantonly after their gods.

17 "You must not make any molten gods for yourselves.

18 "You must keep the festival of unleavened cakes, eating unleavened cakes for seven days, as I commanded you, at the appointed time, the new moon of Abib; for it was on the new moon of Abib that you came out of Egypt.

19 "Whatever first opens the womb belongs to me, in the case of all your live stock that are male, the firstlings of oxen and sheep; 20 a firstling ass, however, you may redeem with a sheep, but if .you do not redeem it, you must break its neck; any first-born son of yours you may redeem.

"None may come to see me empty-handed.

21 "Six days you are to labor, but on the seventh day you must rest, resting at ploughing-time and at harvest.

22 "You must observe the festival of weeks, that of the first-fruits of the wheat harvest, and also the festival of ingathering at the close of the year; 23 three times a year must all your males come to see the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive nations out of your way, and enlarge your territory; and no one shall covet your land when you go up to see the LORD your God three times a year.

25 "You must not offer the blood of any sacrifice to me with leavened bread, nor must the sacrifice of the passover festival be left over night until morning.

26 "The very first of the first-fruits of your land you must bring to the house of the LORD your God.

"You must not boil a kid in its mother's milk."

27 Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Write down these words; for it is on the basis of these words that I have made a covenant with you and Israel."

28 So he remained there with the LORD for forty days and nights, without eating bread or drinking water; and he wrote on the tablets the terms of the covenant, the decalogue.

29 When Moses descended from Mount Sinai (the two tablets of the decrees being in Moses' hand as he descended from the mountain), Moses himself did not know that the skin on his face was in a glow after conversing with God; 30 but Aaron and the Israelites all saw that the skin on Moses' face was in a glow, and they were afraid to approach him. 31 But Moses called to them, and then Aaron and all the leaders of the community rejoined him, and Moses talked to them. 32 After that all the Israelites came up, and he enjoined on them all the things about which the LORD had conversed with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished conversing with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him, he used to remove the veil until he came out again; and whenever he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 and the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses' face was in a glow, so Moses would replace the veil on his face until he came again to converse with him.

35:1 Then Moses assembled the whole Israelite community, and said to them,

"These are the things which the LORD has commanded to be done. 2 For six days work may be done, but the seventh day you are to keep sacred as a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it must be put to death; 3 you must not even light a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day."

4 Further, Moses said to the whole Israelite community,

"This is the command that the LORD has given: 5 'Procure from your company a contribution for the LORD; everyone whose heart is willing is to bring it, the LORD's contribution, gold, silver, and bronze,

6 violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats' hair, 7 tanned rams' skins, porpoise skins, acacia wood, 8 oil for the lights, spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, 9 onyx stones, and set stones for the sacred apron and pouch. 10 Also every skilful person among you is to come, and make all that the LORD has commanded, 11 the dwelling with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its. bars, its columns, and its pedestals, 12 the ark with its poles, the propitiatory, and the veil for the screen, 13 the table with its poles and all its fittings, and the presence-bread, 14 the lampstand for the lights with its fittings, its lamps, and the oil for the lights, 15 the incense altar with its poles, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the screen for the doorway to the dwelling, 16 the altar for burnt-offerings with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its fittings, the laver with its base, 17 the hangings for the court, with its columns and pedestals, and the screen for the gate of the court, 18 the pegs for the dwelling, the pegs for the court and their ropes, 19 the woven vestments for ministering in the sacred place, the sacred vestments for Aaron, the priest, and his sons' vestments, when they serve as priests.'"

20 The whole assembly of Israelites then left the presence of Moses; 21 and everyone who had confidence in his ability, and everyone whose mind made him willing came, bringing the contributions for the LORD, for the construction of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred vestments. 22 They came, both men and women, all whose hearts were willing, bringing brooches, earrings, signet-rings, necklaces, and all sorts of gold objects — everyone who could make an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 Everyone who possessed violet, purple, or scarlet material, fine linen, goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, or porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as a contribution to the LORD; and everyone who possessed acacia wood, suitable for any of the construction work, brought it. 25 All the skilled women spun with their own hands, and brought the material that was spun, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen; 26 and all the women who had confidence in their ability spun the goats' hair. 27 The rulers brought the onyx stones, and the set stones for the sacred apron and pouch, 28 the spices, and the oil for the lights, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The Israelites brought voluntary offerings to the LORD, every man and woman what his heart prompted him to bring for all the work which the LORD through Moses had commanded to be done.

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has specifically chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah, 31 filling him with the spirit of God, in skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every craft, 32 to devise ingenious things in working with gold, silver, and bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones to be set, and in wood carving, that he may work at every craft; 34 and he has given him ability to instruct others. Both him and Olmliab, the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan, 35 he has endowed with skill to do all kinds of work, that of the engraver, the artisan, the worker in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen, and the weaver, makers of all kinds of work, and devisers of ingenious things. 36:1 Bezalel and Oholiab are to do the work, along with every skilled person whom the LORD has endowed with skill and intelligence to know how to carry out all the work of construction on the sanctuary, just as the LORD has commanded."

2 So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skilled person whom the LORD had endowed with skill, everyone who felt that he had the ability to ability take the work, to carry it out. 3 Under the supervision of Moses they received all the contributions which the Israelites had brought for the work of construction on the sanctuary, to carry it out, while they still continued to bring him voluntary offerings from morning to morning; 4 so much so that all the craftsmen who were earning out the construction of the sanctuary left every man the work that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses,

"The people are bringing much more than is necessary for the work of construction that the LORD gave command to carry out."

6 So Moses issued a command which was proclaimed throughout the camp,

"Neither man nor woman must make anything more for the contribution to the sanctuary."

Thus the people were stopped from bringing any more, 7 since the material in hand was sufficient to carry out all the work; indeed there was too much.

8 All the skilled persons among those engaged in the work made the dwelling out of ten curtains, making them of fine twisted linen, and violet, purple and scarlet material, with cherubs, the work of artist. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits, all the curtains having the same measurements. 10 They joined five of the curtains to one another, and the other five curtains they joined to one another; 11 and on the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set they made loops of violet, and they made the same on the edge of the outermost curtain in the other set, 12 making fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the other set, the loops being opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps, and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the dwelling was a unit.

14 Further, they made curtains of goats' hair, for a tent over the dwelling, making eleven of these curtains, 15 the length of each curtain being thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits, the eleven curtains having the same measurements. 16 They joined five of the curtains by themselves, and the other six by themselves; 17 and they made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of that in the other set; 18 and they made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together to become a unit. 19 They also made a covering for the tent itself of tanned rams' skins, and above that a covering of porpoise skins.

20 Then they made the frames for the dwelling of durable acacia wood, ten cubits being the length of the frames, 21 and a cubit and a half the width of each frame; 22 each frame had two arms, joined to each other by cross rungs; they did the same with all the frames for the dwelling. 23 They made the frames for the dwelling: twenty frames for the side toward the Negeb to the south, 24 making forty silver pedestals as bases for the twenty frames, two pedestals as bases for one frame with its two arms, and two pedestals as bases for another frame with its two arms; 25 for the second side of the dwelling, the northern side, they made twenty frames, 26 with their forty silver pedestals, two pedestals as bases for one frame, and two pedestals as bases for another frame; 27 and for the rear of the dwelling to the west they made six frames, 28 and they also made two frames for the corners of the dwelling at the rear; 29 they were double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top of it, up to the first ring; they did the same with both of them for the two corners; 30 thus there were eight frames, and their silver pedestals were sixteen in number, two pedestals as bases for each frame. 31 They also made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on the one side of the dwelling, 32 and five bars for the frames on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the frames of the dwelling at the rear to the west; 33 and they made the middle bar in the centre of the frames run through from end to end. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold, and they made the rings on them of gold as holders for the bars, and also overlaid the bars with gold.

35 They also made a veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, making it with cherubs, the work of artists. 36 They made four columns of acacia wood for it, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and they cast four silver pedestals for them. 37 They also made a screen for the doorway of the tent of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, in variegated work, 38 as well as five columns for it, with their hooks; they overlaid their capitals and bands with gold, and their five pedestals were bronze.

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high; 2 he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and ran a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it on its four corners, two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 4 He also made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold; 5 and he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark. 6 He made a propitiatory of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide. 7 He made two cherubs of gold, making them of beaten work, at the two ends of the propitiatory, 8 one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end; he made the cherubs of one piece with the propitiatory at the two ends of it; 9 and the cherubs had their wings spread out on high, overshadowing the propitiatory with their wings and facing each other, with the faces of the cherubs directed toward the propitiatory.

10 Then he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high; 11 he overlaid it with pure gold, and ran a gold molding around it; 12 he made a rail around it a handbreath wide, and ran a gold molding around its rail; 13 he cast four gold rings for it, and fastened the rings on the four corners of its four feet, 14 with the rings lying close to the rail as holders for the poles for carrying the table. 15 He made the poles for carrying the table of acacia wood, overlaying them with gold; 16 and he made the dishes that were to be used on the table of pure gold, its plates, its cups, its flagons, and its bowls for pouring libations.

17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold, making the lampstand itself and its base and shaft of beaten work, with its cups, each with calyx and petals, of one piece with it; 18 there were six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it; 19 there were three cups, shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on another branch, and so for the six branches extending from the lampstand; 20 there were four cups, shaped like almond-blossoms, each with its calyx and petals, on the lampstand itself; 21 and there was a calyx of one piece with it under two branches, another calyx of one piece with it under two branches, and another calyx of one piece with it under two branches, for the six branches extending from it; 22 their calyxes and branches were of one piece with it, the whole of it forming a single piece of beaten work of pure gold. 23 He then made the seven lamps for it, with its snuffers and snuff-dishes, 24 of pure gold, using a talent of gold to make it and all its fittings.

25 He made the incense altar of acacia wood, square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, while its height was two cubits, with its horns of one piece with it; 26 he overlaid it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns; 27 and he ran a gold molding around it. He made two gold rings for it underneath its molding, on its two sides, on the two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles, with which to carry it. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. 29 By the compounders' art he made the anointing oil sacred, and the incense of fragrant spices pure.

38:1 He made the altar for hurnt-ofFenngs of acacia wood, square, five cubits long, and five cubits wide, while its height was three cubits; 2 he made the horns for it on its four corners, with its horns of one piece with it; and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils for the altar, the ash-pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans, making all its utensils of bronze. 4 He made a bronze grating of network for the altar, underneath the ledge around it, reaching half-way up it. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze; 7 and he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar with which to carry it, making it hollow, with boards.

8 He made the laver of bronze, and its base of bronze, out of the mirrors of the serving-women who served at the door of the tent of meeting.

9 He then made the court; for the southern side toward the Negeb there were hangings for the court of fine twisted linen, extending for one hundred cubits, 10 with twenty columns for them, and twenty bronze pedestals for these, the hooks of the columns and their bands being of silver; 11 so for the north side, extending for one hundred cubits, with twenty columns for them, and twenty bronze pedestals for these, the hooks of the columns and their bands being of silver; 12 for the west side there were hangings, extending for fifty cubits, ten columns for them, and ten pedestals for these, the hooks of the columns and their bands being of silver; 13 and so for the front, the east side, extending for fifty cubits, 14 with hangings on the one wing for fifteen cubits, three columns for them, and three pedestals for these, 15 and so for the other wing; on each side of the gate of the court there were hangings extending for fifteen cubits, with three columns for them, and three pedestals for these. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twisted linen; 17 the pedestals for the columns were of bronze; the hooks on the columns and their bands of silver; the plating on the capitals of silver; and all the columns of the court were bound with silver. 18 The screen for the gate of the court was variegated work, in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, twenty cubits long, and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court; 19 there were four columns for it, and four bronze pedestals for these; their hooks were, silver, and the plating on their capitals and bands silver; 20 while all the pegs for the dwelling and the court around it were bronze.

21 The following are the reckonings for the dwelling, the dwelling of the decrees, which were made by command of Moses as the work of the Levites under the supervision of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (It was Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah, who made all that the LORD commanded Moses; 23 and associated with him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan, an engraver, an artisan, and a worker in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of gold that was used for the work in the complete construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the contributions, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, in terms of the sacred shekel, 25 while the silver from those of the community that were numbered amounted to one hundred talents, and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, in terms of the sacred shekel, 26 a beka per head (that is, a half-shekel, in terms of the sacred shekel), for all that joined those already numbered, from twenty years old and upward, namely, six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty persons; 27 the hundred talents of silver were used for casting the pedestals of the sanctuary and the pedestals for the veil, the hundred talents for the hundred pedestals, a talent per pedestal; 28 and out of the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels the hooks for the columns were made, the capitals overlaid, and their bands made. 29 The bronze from the contributions amounted to seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels, 30 with which the pedestals for the doorway of the tent of meeting were made, the bronze altar with its bronze grating, all the fittings of the altar, 31 the pedestals around the court, the pedestals for the gate of the court, all the pegs for the dwelling, and all the pegs for the court around it.

39:1 From the violet, purple, and scarlet material were made the woven vestments for ministering in the sanctuary, as well as the sacred vestments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

2 The apron was made of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; 3 the gold was heaten into thin plates, and then cut into wires, to he worked into the violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine linen, the work of artists. 4 Shoulder-straps were made for it, joined to it, being joined to it at its two ends; 5 and the skilfully made girdle on it was of one piece with it, and like it worked in gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6 The onyx stones were made, set in filigree work of gold, engraved with seal engravings, with the various names of the Israelites; 7 and they were fastened on the shoulder-straps of the apron, as memorial stones for the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

8 Then the pouch was made, the work of artists, like that of the apron, in gold, violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; 9 the pouch was square, being made double, a span long, and a span wide, folded double; 10 and on it were set four rows of stones, the first row a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald, 11 the second row a ruby, a sapphire, and a crystal, 12 the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst, 13 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; they were inclosed in gold filigree in their settings. 14 The stones, corresponding to the names of the Israelites, were twelve in number, as their names are, each engraved like a seal with its proper name for the twelve tribes. 15 On the pouch were made chains of twisted material, of cordage-work of pure gold. 16 Then two gold filigree objects and two gold rings were made; the two rings were fastened to the two ends of the pouch, 17 and the two gold cords were fastened to the two rings at the ends of the pouch, 18 while the other two ends of the two cords were fastened to the two filigree objects, being fastened to the shoulder-straps of the apron, on the front of it. 19 Two gold rings were made, and attached to the two ends of the pouch, on its inner edge next to the apron. 20 Two gold rings were then made, and fastened to the two shoulder-straps in the front of the apron, underneath, close to the place where it was joined, above the skilfully made girdle; 21 and the pouch was tied by its rings to the rings of the apron with a violet cord, so as to lie on the skilfully made girdle, so that the pouch might not swing loose from the apron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

22 The robe belonging to the apron was woven entirely of violet material, 23 with an opening in the middle of the robe like that of a corselet, with a binding around the opening in it, so that it might not be torn. 24 On the skirts of the robe pomegranates were made of violet, purple, scarlet, and twisted material; 25 bells of pure gold were also made, and the hells were placed among the pomegranates all around the skirts of the robe, 26 a bell alternating with a pomegranate all around the skirts of the robe, for use in ministering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

27 The tunics were woven of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, 28 the turban of fine linen, the ornamental caps of fine linen, the linen breeches of fine twisted linen, 29 and the sashes of fine twisted linen and violet, purple, and scarlet material in variegated work, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

39 [sic] The diadem, the sacred crown, was made of pure gold, and with seal engravings there was engraved on it the inscription, "Sacred to he LORD;" 31 and a violet cord was attached to it, to fasten it to the top of the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

32 So all the work on the dwelling of the tent of meeting was finished, and the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 They brought the dwelling to Moses, the tent and all its fittings, its clasps, its frames, its bars, its columns, and its pedestals, 34 the covering of tanned rams' skins, the covering of porpoise skins, the veil for the screen, 35 the ark of the decrees with its poles and the propitiatory, 36 the table with all its dishes and the presence-bread, 37 the lampstand of pure gold with its lamps (the lamps all fitted out) and all its fittings and the oil for the lights, 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, the screen for the doorway of the tent, 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its fittings, the laver with its base, 40 the hangings for the court with its columns and pedestals, the screen for the gate of the court with its ropes and pegs, all the utensils for the service of the dwelling of the tent of meeting, 41 the woven vestments for ministering in the sacred place, the sacred vestments for Aaron, the priest, and his sons' vestments, when serving as priests. 42 The Israelites carried out all the work, just as the LORD had commanded Moses; 43 and when Moses saw that they had carried out all the work and that they had done exactly as the LORD had commanded, Moses blessed them.

40:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 "On the first day of the first month you must erect the dwelling of the tent of meeting; 3 you must put the ark of the decrees in it, screening the ark with the veil; 4 you must bring the table in, and get it ready; you must bring the lampstand in, and put up its lamps. 5 You must place the gold incense altar in front of the ark of the decrees, and put up the screen for the doorway of the dwelling. 6 You must place the altar for burnt-offerings in front of the doorway of the dwelling of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You must set up the court all around, and put up the screen for the gate of the court. 9 You must take the anointing oil, and anoint the dwelling and everything in it, thereby consecrating it and all its fittings, so that it becomes sacred; 10 you must anoint the altar for burnt-offerings and all its fittings, thus consecrating the altar, so that the altar becomes most sacred; 11 and you must anoint the laver and its base, and thus consecrate it. 12 You must then bring Aaron and his sons up to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water, 13 and then put the sacred vestments on Aaron; you must anoint him, and so consecrate him to serve as priest to me. 14 You must also bring his sons up, put tunics on them, 15 and anoint them as you did their father, to serve as priests to me; and their anointing shall qualify them as a priesthood for all time, from one generation to another."

16 Moses did so; he did just as the LORD had commanded him. 17 On the first day of the first month, in the second year, the dwelling was erected; 18 Moses erected the dwelling, putting up its pedestals, setting up its frames, inserting its bars, and erecting its columns. 19 He spread the tent over the dwelling, and put the covering for the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 Taking the decrees, he put them inside the ark, placed the poles on the ark, and put the propitiatory on top of the ark; 21 then he brought the ark into the dwelling, and set up the veil for the screen, thus screening the ark of the decrees, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the northern side of the dwelling, outside the veil, 23 and set out the proper supply of bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the southern side of the dwelling, 25 and he put up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 He placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil, 27 and burned incense of fragrant spices on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He set up the screen for the doorway of the dwelling, 29 and placed the altar for burnt-offerings at the doorway of the dwelling in the tent of meeting, offering on it the burnt-offerings and the cereal-offerings, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing. 31 It was from it that Moses and Aaron and his sons used to wash their hands and feet, 32 washing whenever they entered the tent of meeting, or approached the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 He erected the court around the dwelling and the altar, and set up the screen for the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the dwelling; 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud hung over it and the glory of the LORD filled the dwelling. 36 Whenever the cloud was lifted from the dwelling, the Israelites always used to set out on their journey, 37 but if the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the clay that it was lifted; 38 for the cloud of the LORD hung over the dwelling by day, while there was fire in it by night, in sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.