1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

2For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

3And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.

5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

9And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

10And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

13There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

16And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that wasin the camp trembled.

17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

20And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

21And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

22And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

23And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

24And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.

25So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

1 In the third moneth when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wildernesse of Sinai.

2For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wildernesse, and there Israel camped before the mount.

3And Moses went vp vnto God: and the Lord called vnto him out of the mountaine, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Iacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4Ye haue seene what I did vnto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on Eagles wings, and brought you vnto my selfe.

5Now therfore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keepe my couenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure vnto me aboue all people: for all the earth is mine.

6And ye shall be vnto me a kingdome of Priestes, and an holy nation. These are the wordes which thou shalt speake vnto the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called for the Elders of the people, and layd before their faces all these wordes which the Lord commanded him.

8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will doe. And Moses returned the wordes of the people vnto the Lord.

9And the Lord said vnto Moses, Loe, I come vnto thee in a thicke cloud, that the people may heare when I speake with thee, and beleeue thee for euer: And Moses told the wordes of the people vnto the Lord.

10 And the Lord saide vnto Moses, Goe vnto the people, and sanctifie them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes.

11And be ready against the thirde day: for the third day the Lord will come downe in the sight of all the people, vpon mount Sinai.

12And thou shalt set bounds vnto the people round about, saying, Take heed to your selues, that ye goe not vp into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoeuer toucheth the mount, shall be surely put to death.

13There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot thorow, whether it be beast, or man, it shall not liue: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come vp to the mount.

14 And Moses went downe from the mount vnto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15And hee said vnto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wiues.

16 And it came to passe on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thicke cloud vpon the mount, and the voyce of the trumpet exceeding lowd, so that all the people that was in the campe, trembled.

17And Moses brought foorth the people out of the campe to meete with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended vpon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

19And when the voyce of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed lowder and lowder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voyce.

20And the Lord came downe vpon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses vp to the top of the mount, and Moses went vp.

21And the Lord said vnto Moses, Goe downe, charge the people, lest they breake thorow vnto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.

22And let the Priestes also which come neere to the Lord, sanctifie themselues, lest the Lord breake foorth vpon them.

23And Moses said vnto the Lord, The people cannot come vp to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst vs, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctifie it.

24And the Lord said vnto him, Away, get thee downe, and thou shalt come vp, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the Priestes and the people breake through, to come vp vnto the Lord, lest hee breake foorth vpon them.

25So Moses went downe vnto the people, and spake vnto them.

I == Num 33:15

III == Ex 3:4 ; 20:21 ; Acts 7:38

IV == Deut 29:2 ; 32:11 ; Isa 63:9 ; Rev 12:14

V == Deut 5:2

VI == 1st Cor 3:17 ; 1st Thess 5:27 ; 1st Peter 2:5 , 9 ; Rev 1:6 ; 5:10 ; 20:6

VIII == Ex 24:3 , 7 ; Deut 5:27 ; 26:17

IX == Ex 19:16 ; Deut 4:11-12 , 36

X == Gen 35:2 ; Ex 19:14 ; Lev 11:44-45 ; 15:5 ; Heb 10:22

XI == Ex 19:16 , 18 ; 34:5 ; Deut 33:2

XII == Heb 12:20

XV == Ex 19:11 ; 1st Sam 21:4-5 ; Zech 7:3 ; 1st Cor 7:5

XVI == Ex 19:19 ; 40:34 ; 2nd Chr 5:14 ; Ps 77:18 ; Rev 1:10 ; 4:1 , 5 ; 8:5 ; 11:19

XVIII == Ex 3:2 ; 24:17 ; 2nd Chr 7:1-3 ; Heb 12:26 ; Rev 15:8

XIX == Ex 19:13 ; Neh 9:13 ; Ps 81:7 ; Heb 12:21

XXI == Ex 3:5 ; 1st Sam 6:19

1 In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai.

2 After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,

3 Moses went up the mountain to God. Then the LORD called to him and said, "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;

4 tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.

5 Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.

6 You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites."

7 So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people. When he set before them all that the LORD had ordered him to tell them,

8 the people all answered together, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do." Then Moses brought back to the LORD the response of the people.

9 The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people,

10 the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments

11 and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.

12 Set limits for the people all around the mountain, and tell them: Take care not to go up the mountain, or even to touch its base. If anyone touches the mountain, he must be put to death.

13 No hand shall touch him; he must be stoned to death or killed with arrows. Such a one, man or beast, must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram's horn resounds may they go up to the mountain."

14 Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and had them sanctify themselves and wash their garments.

15 He warned them, "Be ready for the third day. Have no intercourse with any woman."

16 On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

17 But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.

18 Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

19 The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder.

20 When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.

21 Then the LORD told Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through toward the LORD in order to see him; otherwise many of them will be struck down.

22 The priests, too, who approach the LORD must sanctify themselves; else he will vent his anger upon them."

23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us to set limits around the mountain to make it sacred."

24 The LORD repeated, "Go down now! Then come up again along with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD; else he will vent his anger upon them."

25 So Moses went down to the people and told them this.

v 1,2. After about six weeks of travel, the people would camp here at Mt Sinai for about eleven months. Wilderness doesn’t necessarily mean desert, but uninhabited, or simply pasture land. It was surely more productive in that day. Some take this to mean they have been on the road two or three months, but I am with scholars of a different opinion. “In the third month” and “the same day” in Jewish usage would mean and emphasize the first day of the month, which was 45 days after Egypt. One day was spent on the mount, verse 3, and one day returning the people’s answer, verses 7 and 8. Then there were three days of preparation, or a total of fifty days from the passover to the proclamation of the law. Hence, the Feast of Pentecost, that is, the fiftieth day, was the inauguration of the Old Testament Church. Divine wisdom is apparent in the selection of the same reason for the institution of the New Testament Church, Jn. 1:17; Acts 2:1.

v 3.4. The Lord is giving Moses a new revelation. The Lord had redeemed His people, but now he is going to propose a way of living, not a way of salvation.

v 5,6. Moses was to offer the people this wonderful position as God’s special people. All they had to do was obey His proposal.

v 7,8. The word was first given to the elders and they passed it on to the people. The people all answered affirmatively, but they failed to take into account their moral and spiritual weaknesses, which would make them unable to be obedient. The law merely condemns. Grace enables us “both to will and do His good pleasure, Phil. 2:13.

v 9-13. God speaking to Moses out of the thick cloud would cause the people to realize that Moses’ instructions were truly coming from God. The wording of verse 10 very clearly indicates that the “third day” is “day after tomorrow”. They would be put to death if they touched the mount, but were to come up to it.

v 14, 15. Part of their purification was abstinence from sexual activity. In Lev. 15: 16-18, they were unclean after sexual activity till they washed and until evening.

v 16-19. The mountain quaking is further described in Ps. 68:8 and 114:4. The granite mountain on fire and smoking like a furnace would be frightening without the earth quaking. Then the increasing loudness of the trumpet would strike more fear, and it must have been awesome to hear God answer Moses.

v 20-25. Presumably the flames receded as Moses advanced upwards, otherwise he advanced into the midst of them. The first command to Moses was to go back down and charge the people not to approach the mountain in their curiosity to gaze, or (v 25) the Lord Himself would strike them dead. Moses thought it unnecessary because he had already set bounds for them not to cross, but the Lord knows the frailty of man, and that he would be inclined to disobey. In some places the assumed mountain rose up perpendicularly, so it would be easy to reach out and touch. The first time I partook of the Lord’s Table after being saved and baptized, younger kids peeked in the church windows to see what I was doing. Moses and Aaron could go up, but no one else. Again the warning of death for others trying to come up where the Lord was. Moses obeyed the Lord’s command. Much of these chapters is repeated in Deuteronomy.