Exo_18:1-27; Exo_19:1-25; Exo_20:1-26

SECTION XVII.

YETHRO.

XVIII.AND Jethro, the rabba of Midian, the father-in-law of Mosheh, hadheard of all that the Lord had done for Mosheh and for Israel His people, andthat the Lord had brought Israel out of Mizraim. And Jethro, Mosheh’s father-in-law,took Zipporah the wife of Mosheh, after he had let her go, and his two sons,the name of the one Gershom; For, he said, I have been a sojourner in a strangeland; and the name of the other Eliezer; For (said he) the God of my fathershath been my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharoh. And Jethrothe father-in-law of Mosheh came, and his sons, and his wife, toMosheh in the desert where he had encamped at the mountain upon which wasrevealed the glory of the lord. And he had told Mosheh, I, thy father-in-lawJethro, come to thee with thy wife, and her two sons with her. And Mosheh wentforth to meet his father-in-law, and bowed, and kissed him, andeach saluted the other with peace; and they entered the tabernacle. And Moshehrecounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharohand to Mizraim for Israel’s sake; and all the tribulation that they had foundupon the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro was glad over allthe good which the Lord, who had saved him from the hand of Mizraim, hadwrought for Israel. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath deliveredyou out of the hand of the Mizraee, and out of the hand of Pharoh, and hathdelivered the people from under the domination of the Mizraee. Now know I thatthe Lord is great, and that there is no God but He for by the thing by whichthe Mizraee had thought to punish (judge) Israel, they themselves are punished.And Jethro the father-in-law of Mosheh offered a burnt offering andsacrificed holy things before the Lord. And Aharon came, with all the elders ofIsrael, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Mosheh before theLord.

Andon the day after, Mosheh sat to judge the people, and the people stood aboutMosheh from morn till evening; and the father-in-law of Moshehobserved all that he did to the people. And he said, What thing is this thatthou art doing to the people? Why dost thou sit alone, with all the peoplestanding about thee from morn till evening? And Mosheh said to his father-in-law,Because the people-come to me to ask instruction from before the Lord.When they have (a matter) for judgment they come to me, and I adjudicatebetween a man and his neighbour, and make them to know the statutes of theLord, and His laws. But the father-in-law of Mosheh said to him,The thing thou art doing is not right; with weariness thou wilt be weary, thouand also this people who are with thee; for the thing is too weighty for thee,thou art not able to do it by thyself. Now hearken to me, I will give thee counsel,and the Word of the Lord shall be thy helper. Be thou for the people the seekerof instruction from the presence of the Lord, to bring the matters before theLord: and thou shalt admonish them in the statutes and the laws, and make themknow the way in which to walk, and the work that must be done. And thou, lookout from the whole people men of ability who fear the Lord, men of truth whoabhor to take mammon; and superappoint them chiefs of thousands, and chiefs ofhundreds, and chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens. And they shall judge thepeople at any time, and every great matter they shall bring to thee, but everysmall thing they shall judge; and they will lighten it from thee, and bear itwith thee. If thou wilt do this, and the Lord teach thee, thou wilt be able toendure, and (of) all this people (every one) will go to his place in peace. AndMosheh hearkened to his father-in-law, and did all that he hadsaid. And Mosheh chose men of ability from all Israel, and appointed them headsover the people; chiefs^{[1] <l >} of thousands, chiefs of hundreds,chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens; and they judged the people at all times;a weighty thing they brought to Mosheh, and every minor thing they judgedthemselves. And Mosheh sent his father-in-law away, and he wentunto his land.

XIX. In the third month^{[2] <l >}of the outgoing of the sons of Israel from the land of Mizraim, on that daycame they to the desert of Sinai. And they journeyed from Rephidim, and came tothe desert of Sinai, and dwelt there by the side of the mountain. And Moshehascended before the Lord. And the Lord called to him from the mount, saying, Asthus thou shalt speak to the house of Jakob, and show to the sons of Israel:You have seen what I did to the Mizraee, and how I bare you as on eagles’wings, and brought you nigh to serve Me: and now, if hearkening you willhearken to My Word, and will keep My covenant, you, before Me, shall be morebeloved than all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you, before Me, shallbe kings (and) priests, a holy people. These are the words which thou shaltspeak with the sons of Israel. And Mosheh came, and called the elders^{[3] <l >}of the people, and set all these words in order before them, as the Lord hadinstructed him. And all the people responded together, and said, All that theLord hath spoken we will do. And Mosheh brought back the words of the peoplebefore the Lord. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, I will be revealed tothee in the darkness of the cloud, that the people may hear, in My speakingwith thee, and also that they may confide in thee for ever. And Mosheh showedthe words of the people before the Lord. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Go untothe people and prepare them, to-day and to-morrow, and let thempurify^{[4] <l >} their clothing; and be ready for thethird day; for on the third day the Lord will be revealed in the eyes of allthe people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set a limit for the people roundabout, saying, Beware you of going up on the mountain, or of approaching theborder of it. Whoever approaches the mountain, slain he shall be slain. No handshall touch him; for stoned he shall be stoned, or pierced he shall be pierced;whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet is prolonged theyshall be allowed to go forward to the mount. And Mosheh came down from themountain unto the people, and prepared the people, and they made white theirclothes. And he said to the people, Be ready on the third day, approach not toa woman. And it was the third day^{[5] <l >} at morning; and there were voices,and lightnings, and mighty clouds upon the mountain, and the voice of thetrumpet exceedingly strong; and all the people trembled who were in the camp.And Mosheh led forth the people out of the camp to meet the Word of the Lord;and they stood at the lower parts of the mount. And the mountain of Sinai wasaltogether fuming from before the revelation of the Lord upon it in fire; andthe smoke went up as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount trembledgreatly. But when the voice of the trumpet went forth and became exceedinglystrong, Mosheh spake, and from the presence of the Lord he was answered by avoice. And the Lord was revealed upon mount Sinai, on the head of the mountain;and the Lord called Mosheh unto the head of the mount; and Mosheh went up. Andthe Lord said to Mosheh, Go down, warn the people lest they break throughbefore the Lord to see, and many of them fall. And let the priests also, whoare to minister before the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord slay them.And Mosheh spake before the Lord, The people are not able to come up to mountSinai; for Thou hast warned us, saying, Set a boundary to the mountain, andsanctify it. But the Lord said to him, Go, descend, and come up, thou andAharon with thee; but let not the priests nor the people break through to comeup before the Lord, lest He slay them. And Mosheh went down to the people, andspake with them.

XX.And the Lord spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who havebrought thee out of the land of Mizraim, out of the house of servitude. Thoushalt have no other God beside Me. Thou shalt not make to thee image norlikeness of any thing that is in the heavens above, nor in the earth beneath,nor in the waters under the earth: thou shalt not worship them nor serve them;for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God; visiting the sins of the fathers uponthe rebellious children, unto the third generation and to the fourth generationof those who hate Me; while the children continue (or complete) to sin aftertheir fathers; but doing good to thousands of generations of those who love Meand keep My commandments. Thou shalt not swear in the name of the Lord thy Godvainly; for the Lord will not acquit him who sweareth in His Name with falsity.Remember the day of Shabbatha to sanctify it. Six days shalt thou do serviceand do all thy work; but the seventh day is Shabbath before the Lord thy God.Thou shalt not do every work; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servantnor thy handmaid, nor thy cattle, nor thy sojourner who is in thy city.^{[6] <l >}For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the seas and all thatis in them, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the dayof Shabbatha, and sanctified it. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thydays may be prolonged upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth to thee. Thoushalt not kill life. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thoushalt not testify against thy neighbour a testimony of falsehood. Thou shaltnot covet thy neighbour’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, norhis servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that isthy neighbour’s.

Andall the people saw the thunders, and the flames, and the voice of the trumpet,and the mountain smoking; and the people saw, and trembled, and stood afar off.And they said to Mosheh, Speak thou with us, and we will hearken; but let itnot be spoken to us from before the Lord, lest we die. And Mosheh said to thepeople, Fear not; for that He may prove you He hath revealed to you the gloryof the Lord, and that His fear may be before your face, that you may not sin.And the people stood afar off, but Mosheh drew nigh to the darkness where wasthe glory of the Lord.

Andthe Lord said to Mosheh, Thus shalt thou speak to the children of Israel; Youhave seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. You shall not make beforeMe idols of silver, neither idols of gold shall you make to you. An altar ofearth shalt thou make before Me, and shalt sacrifice upon it thy burntofferings and thy sanctified victims, thy sheep and thy oxen. In every placewhere I may cause My Shekinah to dwell, thither will I send My blessing, andwill bless thee. And if thou wilt make Me an altar of stone before Me, thou shaltnot build it with hewn stones lest thou lift up thy cutting-tool^{[7] <l >} uponit and profane it. And thou shalt not ascend by steps to My altar, that thynakedness may not be discerned upon it.

^{[1] <l >} Sam. Vers., Òscribes.Ó

^{[2] <l >}Sivan ^{[3] <l >} Sam. Vers., Òwise men.Ó

^{[4] <l >} Sam. Vers., Òmake white.Ó

^{[5] <l >} Sixth of Sivan.

^{[6] <l >} Sam. Vers., Òthy cities.Ó

^{[7] <l >} Lit., Òthy sword.Ó