The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And Jethro priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heareth all that God hath done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that Jehovah hath brought out Israel from Egypt,

and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents,

and her two sons, of whom the name of the one [is] Gershom, for he said, 'a sojourner I have been in a strange land:'

and the name of the other [is] Eliezer, for, 'the God of my father [is] for my help, and doth deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh.'

And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping — the mount of God;

and he saith unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.'

And Moses goeth out to meet his father-in-law, and boweth himself, and kisseth him, and they ask one at another of welfare, and come into the tent;

and Moses recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver them.

And Jethro rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians;

and Jethro saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh — who hath delivered this people from under the hand of the Egyptians;

now I have known that Jehovah [is] greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly — [He is] above them!'

And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening;

and the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, 'What [is] this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?'

And Moses saith to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come unto me to seek God;

when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.'

And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, 'The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;

thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which [is] with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself.

'Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God;

and thou hast warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do.

'And thou — thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed [these] over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee.

If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.'

And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said,

and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.

In the third month of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in this day they have come into the wilderness of Sinai,

and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encampeth there before the mount.

And Moses hath gone up unto God, and Jehovah calleth unto him out of the mount, saying, 'Thus dost thou say to the house of Jacob, and declare to the sons of Israel,

Ye — ye have seen that which I have done to the Egyptians, and I bear you on eagles' wings, and bring you in unto Myself.

'And now, if ye really hearken to My voice, then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all the peoples, for all the earth [is] Mine;

and ye — ye are to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation: these [are] the words which thou dost speak unto the sons of Israel.'

And Moses cometh, and calleth for the elders of the people, and setteth before them all these words which Jehovah hath commanded him;

and all the people answer together and say, 'All that Jehovah hath spoken we do;' and Moses returneth the words of the people unto Jehovah.

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Lo, I am coming unto thee in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people hear in My speaking with thee, and also believe in thee to the age;' and Moses declareth the words of the people unto Jehovah.

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go unto the people; and thou hast sanctified them to-day and to-morrow, and they have washed their garments,

and have been prepared for the third day; for on the third day doth Jehovah come down before the eyes of all the people, on mount Sinai.

'And thou hast made a border [for] the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, going up into the mount, or coming against its extremity; whoever is coming against the mount is certainly put to death;

a hand cometh not against him, for he is certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man it liveth not; in the drawing out of the jubilee cornet they go up into the mount.'

And Moses cometh down from the mount unto the people, and sanctifieth the people, and they wash their garments;

and he saith unto the people, 'Be ye prepared for the third day, come not nigh unto a woman.'

And it cometh to pass, on the third day, while it is morning, that there are voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud, on the mount, and the sound of a trumpet very strong; and all the people who [are] in the camp do tremble.

And Moses bringeth out the people to meet God from the camp, and they station themselves at the lower part of the mount,

and mount Sinai [is] wholly a smoke from the presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly;

and the sound of the trumpet is going on, and very strong; Moses speaketh, and God doth answer him with a voice.

And Jehovah cometh down on mount Sinai, unto the top of the mount, and Jehovah calleth for Moses unto the top of the mount, and Moses goeth up.

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go down, protest to the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to see, and many of them have fallen;

and also the priests who are coming nigh unto Jehovah do sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.'

And Moses saith unto Jehovah, 'The people [is] unable to come up unto mount Sinai, for Thou — Thou hast protested to us, saying, Make a border [for] the mount, then thou hast sanctified it.'

And Jehovah saith unto him, 'Go, descend, then thou hast come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; and the priests and the people do not break through, to come up unto Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them.'

And Moses goeth down unto the people, and saith unto them: —

'And God speaketh all these words, saying,

I [am] Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants.

'Thou hast no other Gods before Me.

'Thou dost not make to thyself a graven image, or any likeness which [is] in the heavens above, or which [is] in the earth beneath, or which [is] in the waters under the earth.

Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Jehovah thy God, [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third [generation], and on the fourth, of those hating Me,

and doing kindness to thousands, of those loving Me and keeping My commands.

'Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.

'Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it;

six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work,

and the seventh day [is] a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, —

for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.

'Honour thy father and thy mother, so that thy days are prolonged on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

'Thou dost not murder.

'Thou dost not commit adultery.

'Thou dost not steal.

'Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a false testimony.

'Thou dost not desire the house of thy neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant, or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which [is] thy neighbour's.'

And all the people are seeing the voices, and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people see, and move, and stand afar off,

and say unto Moses, 'Speak thou with us, and we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.'

And Moses saith unto the people, 'Fear not, for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your faces — that ye sin not.'

And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God [is].

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel: Ye — ye have seen that from the heavens I have spoken with you;

ye do not make with Me gods of silver, even gods of gold ye do not make to yourselves.

'An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee.

'And if an altar of stones thou dost make to Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over it, then thou dost pollute it;

neither dost thou go up by steps on Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.

'And these [are] the judgments which thou dost set before them:

'When thou buyest a Hebrew servant — six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;

if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he [is] owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;

if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters — the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.

'And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons — I do not go out free;

then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him — to the age.

'And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;

if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.

'And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her.

'If another [woman] he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;

and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money.

'He who smiteth a man so that he hath died, is certainly put to death;

as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee.

'And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.

'And he who smiteth his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

'And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.

'And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death.

'And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;

if he rise, and hath gone up and down without on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he giveth, and he is thoroughly healed.

'And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand — he is certainly avenged;

only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he [is] his money.

'And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges;