And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came and his sons and his wife to Moses, to the desert where he was camping there [at] the mountain of God.

And he said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, [am] coming to you and your wife and her two sons with her."

And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed, and he kissed him, and {they each asked about the other's welfare}, and they came into the tent.

And Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt on account of Israel, all the hardship that had found them on the way, and [how] Yahweh delivered them.

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

{And} the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.

And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to seek God.

When {they have an issue}, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known God's rule and his instructions."

And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.

Surely you will wear out, both you and this people who [are] with you, because the thing [is too] {difficult} for you. You are not able to do it alone.

Now listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God.

And you warn them [of] the rules and the instructions, and you make known to them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do.

And let them judge the people all the time, {and} every major issue they will bring to you, and every minor issue they will judge themselves. And [so] lighten [it] for yourself, and they will bear [it] with you.

If you will do this thing and God will command you, [then] you will be able to endure, and also each of the people will go to his home in peace."

And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and he did all that he had said.

And they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves.

And Moses let his father-in-law go, and he went to his land.

In the third month after the {Israelites} went out from the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the Sinai desert.

They set out from Rephidim, and they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

And Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you will say to the house of Jacob and you will tell the {Israelites},

'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and [how] I bore you on eagles' wings and I brought you to me.

And now if you will carefully listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be a treasured possession for me out of all the peoples, {for all the earth is mine},

but you, you will [belong] to me [as] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you will speak to the {Israelites}."

And all the people together answered and said, "All that Yahweh has spoken we will do." And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, I [am going to] come to you in {a thick cloud} in order that the people will hear when I speak with you and will also trust in you forever." And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes,

and they must be prepared for the third day, because on the third day, Yahweh will go down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.

And you must set limits [for] the people all around, saying, 'Guard yourselves {against} going up to the mountain and touching its edge. Anyone touching the mountain will certainly be put to death.

Not a hand will touch it, because he will certainly be stoned or certainly be shot; whether an animal or a man, he will not live.' At the blowing of the ram's horn they may go up to the mountain."

And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes.

And he said to the people, "Be ready {for the third day}. Do not go near to a woman."

{And} on the third day, when it was morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain and a very loud ram's horn sound, and all the people who [were] in the camp trembled.

And Moses brought the people out from the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.

And Yahweh went down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to see and many from them fall.

And Moses said to Yahweh, "The people are not able to go up to Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits [around] the mountain and consecrate it.'"

And Yahweh said to him, "Go, go down, and come up, you and Aaron with you and the priests, but the people must not break through to go up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them."

And Moses went down to the people, and he told them.

You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I [am] Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing [the] guilt of [the] parents on the children on [the] third and on [the] fourth [generations] of those hating me,

and showing loyal love to thousands [of generations] of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.

"Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it.

Six days you will work, and you will do all your work.

But the seventh day [is] a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work--you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who [is] in your gates--

because [in] six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that [is] in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.

And they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Thus you will say to the {Israelites}, 'You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens.

An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.

If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and [the slave] will go out single.

his master will present him to God and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

If {she does not please her master} who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her.

And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters.

And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver [paid for her].

" '{Whoever strikes someone} and he dies will surely be put to death.

But if he did not lie in wait {and it was an accident}, I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.

But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you will take him from my altar to die.

And {whoever strikes} his father or his mother will surely be put to death.

" 'And {whoever kidnaps someone} and sells him, or he is found in his possession, he will surely be put to death.

" 'And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.

" 'And if men quarrel and a man strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist and he does not die, but {he is confined to bed},

Yet if he survives a day or two days, he will not be avenged, because he is his money.

And if he causes the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave to fall out, he will release him as free in place of his tooth.

But if it was a goring ox {before} and its owner was warned and did not restrain it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox will be stoned, and the owner also will be put to death.

If a ransom is set on him, he will pay the redemption money for his life according to all that is set on him.

If it gores a son or it gores a daughter, according to this regulation it shall be done to him.

If the ox gores a male slave or a female slave, he will give thirty shekels of silver to his master, and the ox will be stoned.

the owner of the pit will pay restitution; he will pay silver to its owner, but the dead [animal] will be for him.

If indeed the stolen item is found {in his possession} alive, from ox to donkey to small livestock, he will make double restitution.

" 'If a man gives to his neighbor money or objects to watch over and it is stolen from the house of the man, if the thief is found, he will make double restitution.

If the thief is not found, the owner of the house will be brought {to the sanctuary} [to learn] whether or not he reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession.

Concerning every account of transgression--concerning an ox, concerning a donkey, concerning small livestock, concerning clothing, concerning all lost property--where [someone] says, "This belongs to me," the matter of the two of them will come to God; whomever God declares guilty will make double restitution to his neighbor.

" 'If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or small livestock or any beast to watch over and it dies or is injured or is captured [when] there is no one who sees,

the oath of Yahweh will be between the two of them [concerning] whether or not he has reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession, and its owner will accept [this], and he will not make restitution.

But if indeed it was stolen from him, he will make restitution to its owner.

If indeed it was torn to pieces, he will bring it as evidence--the mangled carcass; he will not make restitution.

" 'If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and he lies with her, he surely will give her bride price {to have her as his wife}.

If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he will weigh out money according to the bride price for the virgin.

" 'Anyone lying with an animal will surely be put to death.

" 'Whoever sacrifices to the gods--not to Yahweh, to him alone--will be destroyed.

If you indeed afflict him, yes, if he cries out at all to me, I will certainly hear his cry of distress.

" 'If you lend money [to] my people, [to] the needy with you, you will not be to him as a creditor; you will not {charge him interest}.

If indeed you require the cloak of your neighbor as a pledge, you will return it to him at sundown,

because it is his only garment; it is his cloak for his skin. In what will he sleep? {And} when he cries out to me, I will hear, because I [am] gracious.

You will do likewise for your ox and for your sheep and goats; seven days it will be with its mother; on the eighth, you will give it to me.

And you will be men of holiness for me; and you will not eat meat [from] a carcass mangled in the field; you will throw it to the dog.

" 'You will not {spread} a false report. Do not lift your hand with [the] wicked to be a malicious witness.

You will not {follow} a majority for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority to pervert [justice].

You will not be partial to a powerless [person] in his legal dispute.

" 'If you come upon the ox of your enemy or his donkey going astray, you will certainly bring it back to him

You will stay far from a {false charge}, and do not kill [the] innocent and [the] righteous, because I will not declare [the] wicked righteous.

But the seventh you will let it rest and leave it fallow, and the poor of your people will eat, and their remainder the animals of the field will eat. You will do likewise for your vineyard and for your olive trees.

" 'Six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you will stop so that your ox and your donkey will rest and the son of your slave woman and the alien will be refreshed.

" 'And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not {profess} the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.

" 'The best of the firstfruits of your land you will bring to the house of Yahweh your God. " 'You will not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

" 'Look, I [am about to] send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him

But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, I will wipe them out.

" 'You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars.

" 'I will release my terror before you, and I will throw into confusion all the people against whom you come, and I will {make all your enemies turn their back to you}.