New King James Version

New Living Translation

Israel Affirms the Covenant

Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

1

Israel Accepts the LORD’s Covenant

Then the LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance.

2

And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

2

Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”

3

So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the [a]judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”

3

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.”

4

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

4

Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

5

Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.

5

Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.

6

And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

6

Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.

7

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”

7

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded. We will obey.”

8

And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

8

Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the LORD has made with you in giving you these instructions.”

9

On the Mountain with God

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

9

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain.

10

and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very[b] heavens in its clarity.

10

There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.

11

But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not [c]lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

11

And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

12

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

12

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”

13

So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

13

So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God.

14

And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”

14

Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.”

15

Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

15

Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it.

16

Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

16

And the glory of the LORD settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from inside the cloud.

17

The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

17

To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the LORD appeared at the summit like a consuming fire.

18

So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

18

Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Exodus 24

Exodus 24