People Affirm Their Covenant with God

¹Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. ² Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

³ Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ^[a]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” ⁴ Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar ^[b]at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” ⁸ So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has ^[c]made with you ^[d]in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses went up ^[e]with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet ^[f]there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, ^[g]as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.

¹² Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and ^[h]remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets ^[i]with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” ¹³ So Moses arose ^[j]with Joshua his ^[k]servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. ¹⁴ But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever ^[l]has a legal matter, let him approach them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The glory of the Lord ^[m]rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. ¹⁸ Moses entered the midst of the cloud ^[n]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.