Exodus 17 - 20 — Legacy Standard Bible

Water from the Rock

17Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by ¹stages from the wilderness of ^aSin, according to the ²command of Yahweh, and they camped at ^bRephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. ²Therefore the people ^acontended with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “^bWhy do you contend with me? ^cWhy do you test Yahweh?” ³But the people thirsted there for water; and ¹they ^agrumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to put ²us and ³our children and ⁴^,^bour livestock to death with thirst?” ⁴So Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A ^alittle more and they will stone me.” ⁵Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of ^athe elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which ^byou struck the Nile, and go. ⁶“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at ^aHoreb; and ^byou shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷So he named the place ¹^,^aMassah and ²^,^bMeribah because of the contending of the sons of Israel, and because they ^ctested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?”

Israel Overwhelms Amalek

⁸Then ^aAmalek came and fought against Israel at ^bRephidim. ⁹So Moses said to ^aJoshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on the top of the hill with ^bthe staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰And Joshua did as Moses ¹told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ^aHur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹So it happened when Moses raised his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand ¹down, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur ^asupported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³So Joshua ¹overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴Then Yahweh said to Moses, “^aWrite this in ¹a book as a memorial and ²recite it in Joshua’s hearing, ³that ^bI will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵And Moses built an ^aaltar and named it ^bYahweh is My Banner; ¹⁶and he said, “^aBecause He has sworn with a hand upon the throne of Yah, Yahweh will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro’s Counsel

18Now ^aJethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife ^aZipporah, after he had sent her away, ³and her ^atwo sons, of whom ¹one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been ^ba ²sojourner in a foreign land.” ⁴¹And the other was named ²^,^aEliezer, for he said, “^bThe God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses ¹in the wilderness where he was camped, at ^athe mount of God. ⁶And he ¹sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” ⁷Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and ^ahe bowed down and ^bkissed him; and they ^casked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. ⁸And Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians ^afor Israel’s sake, all the ^bhardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how ^cYahweh had delivered them. ⁹And Jethro rejoiced over all ^athe goodness which Yahweh had done to Israel, that He had delivered ¹them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰So Jethro said, “^aBlessed be Yahweh who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹“Now I know that ^aYahweh is greater than all the gods; ¹for ^bin this matter they acted presumptuously against ²the people.” ¹²^aThen Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat ¹a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³Now it happened the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. ¹⁴And Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, so he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me ^ato inquire of God. ¹⁶“When they have a ^amatter, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” ¹⁷And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. ¹⁸“^aYou will surely wear out, both yourself and ¹these people who are with you, for the ²task is too heavy for you; ^byou cannot do it alone. ¹⁹“Now listen to my voice: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. ¹You be the people’s representative before God, and you ^abring the matters to God; ²⁰^athen warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them ^bthe way in which they shall go and the work they shall do. ²¹“But you shall ¹select ^aexcellent men out of all the people, ^bthose who fear God, men of truth, those who ^chate greedy gain; and you shall place these men over them as leaders of thousands, ²of hundreds, ³of fifties, and ⁴of tens. ²²“And they will judge the people at all times. And it will be ^athat every major matter they will bring to you, but every minor matter they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and ^bthey will bear the burden with you. ²³“If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to ¹endure, and all ²these people also will go to ³their place in peace.”

²⁴So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵And Moses chose ^aexcellent men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, ¹of hundreds, ²of fifties, and ³of tens. ²⁶And they judged the people at all times; ^athe difficult matter they would bring to Moses, but every minor matter they themselves would judge. ²⁷Then Moses ¹^,^alet his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.

Israel at Sinai

19^aIn the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of ^bSinai. ²Then they set out from ^aRephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of ^bthe mountain.

³Now Moses went up to God, and ^aYahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ⁴‘^aYou yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on ^beagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵‘So now then, ^aif you will indeed listen to My voice and ^bkeep My covenant, then you shall be ^cMy treasured possession among all the peoples, for ^dall the earth is Mine; ⁶and you shall be to Me ^aa kingdom of priests and ^ba holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

⁷^aSo Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words which Yahweh had commanded him. ⁸^aAnd all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh. ⁹Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in ^aa thick cloud, so that the ^bpeople may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

¹⁰Yahweh also said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^aset them apart as holy today and tomorrow, and let them ^bwash their garments; ¹¹and let them be ready for the third day, for on ^athe third day Yahweh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²“And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘¹Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; ^awhoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³‘No hand shall touch him, but ^ahe shall surely be stoned or surely ¹shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to ^bthe mountain.” ¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart as holy, and they washed their garments. ¹⁵And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶^aSo it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were ¹thunder and lightning flashes and a ²thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the ¹foot of the mountain.

Yahweh Descends on Mount Sinai

¹⁸^aNow Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it ^bin fire; and its smoke ascended like ^cthe smoke of a furnace, and ^dthe whole mountain trembled violently. ¹⁹And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder; then Moses spoke and ^aGod answered him with ¹thunder. ²⁰^aAnd Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go down, ¹warn the people, lest ^athey break through to Yahweh to see, and many of them ²perish. ²²“Also let the ^apriests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them.” ²³And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You ¹warned us, saying, ‘^aSet bounds about the mountain, and set it apart as holy.’” ²⁴Then Yahweh said to him, “¹Go down and come up again, ^ayou and Aaron with you; but do not let the ^bpriests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest He break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Commandments of Yahweh

20Then God spoke all these words, saying,

²“^aI am Yahweh your God, ^bwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of ¹slavery. ³“^aYou shall have no other ^bgods ¹before Me. ⁴“^aYou shall not make for yourself ¹an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵“^aYou shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a ^bjealous God, ^cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

⁶but showing lovingkindness to ^athousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷“^aYou shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not ¹leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. ⁸“Remember ^athe sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹“^aSix days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; in it ^ayou shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹“^aFor in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²“^aHonor your father and your mother, that your ^bdays may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. ¹³“^aYou shall not murder. ¹⁴“^aYou shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵“^aYou shall not steal. ¹⁶“^aYou shall not bear false witness against your ^bneighbor. ¹⁷“^aYou shall not covet your neighbor’s house; ^byou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸^aAnd all the people perceived the ¹thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived it, and they shook and stood at a distance. ¹⁹^aThen they said to Moses, “Speak ¹to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak ²to us, lest we die.” ²⁰And Moses said to the people, “^aDo not be afraid; for God has come in order ^bto test you, and in order that ^cthe fear of Him may ¹be with you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹So the people stood at a distance, but Moses came near ^athe dense gloom where God was.

²²Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that ^aI have spoken ¹to you from heaven. ²³‘^aYou shall not make other gods besides Me; ^bgods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴‘You shall make ^aan altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your ^bburnt offerings and your ^cpeace offerings, ^dyour sheep and your oxen; in every place ^ewhere I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵‘And if you make an altar of stone for Me, ^ayou shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. ²⁶‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that ^ayour nakedness will not be exposed on it.’