Moses' father-in-law told him, "What you are doing is not good.

You will certainly wear yourself out, both you and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it by yourself.

Now listen to me. I'll advise you, and may God be with you. You are to represent the people before God and bring the disputes to God.

You are to teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they're to go and the things they're to do.

You are to look for capable men among the people, men who fear God, men of integrity who hate dishonest gain. You are to set these men over them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

They are to judge the people at all times. Let them bring every major matter to you, but let them judge every minor matter. It will lighten your burden, and they'll bear it with you.

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain: "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and declare to the sons of Israel,

And now if you carefully obey me and keep my covenant, you are to be my special possession out of all the nations, because the whole earth belongs to me,

but you are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to me.' These are the words you are to declare to the Israelis."

You are to set boundaries for the people all around: "Be very careful that you don't go up on the mountain or touch the side of it. Anyone who touches the mountain is certainly to be put to death.

No hand is to touch that person, but he is certainly to be stoned or shot; whether animal or person, he is not to live.' They are to approach the mountain only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast."

You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.

"You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth.

You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents on children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

"You are not to misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.

Six days you are to labor and do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You are not to do any work neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you

"You are not to commit murder.

"You are not to commit adultery.

"You are not to steal.

"You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor.

"You are not to desire your neighbor's house, nor your neighbor's wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor."

The LORD told Moses, "This is what you are to say to the Israelis, "You have seen for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven.

You are not to make gods of silver alongside me, nor are you to make for yourselves gods of gold.

You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I'll come to you and bless you.

You are not to ascend to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.'"

"These are the ordinances that you are to set before them.

If a man acts deliberately against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him to die even if he's at my altar.

"If two men are fighting and they strike a pregnant woman and her children are born prematurely, but there is no harm, he is certainly to be fined as the husband of the woman demands of him, and he will pay as the court decides.

If there is harm, then you are to require life for life,

"If a man's ox strikes his neighbor's ox and it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the money. They also are to divide the dead animal.

the two of them are to take an oath in the LORD's presence that the accused has not taken his neighbor's property. Its owner is to accept this, and the neighbor is not to make restitution.

"You are not to allow a sorceress to live.

"You are not to wrong or oppress an alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

"You are not to mistreat any widow or orphan.

If you take your neighbor's coat as collateral, you are to return it to him by sunset,

"You are not to blaspheme God or curse a ruler of your people.

"You are not to hold back the fullness of your harvest and the outflow of your wine presses. You are to give to me the firstborn of your sons.

You are to do the same with your oxen and your sheep. They shall be with their mother for seven days and then on the eighth day you are to give them to me.

"You are to be people set apart for me. You are not to eat flesh torn apart in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs."

"You are not to spread a false report, nor are you to join forces with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

You are not to follow the majority in doing wrong, and you are not to testify in a lawsuit so as to follow the majority and pervert justice.

You are not to show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.

"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, you are to certainly return it to him.

If you see your enemy's donkey lying helpless under its load, you must not abandon it; rather, you are certainly to return it to him.

"You are not to pervert justice for the poor among you in their lawsuits.

You are not to take a bribe because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and distorts the words of the righteous.

You are not to oppress the resident alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt."

"You are to sow your land and gather its crops for six years,

but you are to let it rest the seventh year, leaving it unplanted. The poor of your people may eat from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. You are to do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.

You are to do your work for six days, but on the seventh day you are to refrain from work so that your ox and donkey may rest, and so the son of your maidservant and the alien may be refreshed.

"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival for me.

You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month Abib, because in it you came out of Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty handed.

You are to observe the Festival of Harvest, celebrating the first fruits of your work in planting the field, and the Festival of Tabernacles at the end of the year, when you gather the fruit of your work from the field.

"You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, and you are not to let the fat portion of my sacrifice remain overnight until morning.

"You are to bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. "You are not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

You are not to bow down to their gods or serve them. You are not to follow their practices, but you are to overthrow them completely and smash their sacred stones to pieces.

You are to serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your food and water, and I'll remove sickness from you.

"I'll go ahead of you and terrorize all the people to whom you are coming. I'll confuse your enemies and make them turn their backs on you and run away.

"I'll set your borders from the Reed Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River, bringing the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you are to drive them out ahead of you.

You are not to make a covenant with them or with their gods.

They are not to live in your land. Otherwise they will cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will become a snare for you."

Only Moses is to approach the LORD, but the others are not to approach; the people are not to come up with him."

He told the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you, and whoever has a dispute, let him come to them."

"Tell the Israelis to take an offering for me, and you are to accept my offering from every person whose heart moves him to give.

This is the offering that you are to accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze;

This is how you are to make it: according to all that I'm showing you, according to the pattern for the tent and the pattern for all its furnishings."

"They are to make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.

You are to overlay it with pure gold you are to overlay it inside and outside and you are to make a gold molding around it.

You are to cast four rings for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two rings on its other side.

You are to make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

You are to put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark with which to carry it.

The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark and are not to be removed from it.

You are to put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.

"You are to make a Mercy Seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

You are to make two cherubim of gold; you are to make them of hammered work at the two ends of the Mercy Seat.

Place one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. You are to make the cherubim at the two ends of the Mercy Seat, and of one piece with it.

The cherubim are to spread their wings upward, covering the Mercy Seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim is to be turned toward the Mercy Seat.

You are to put the Mercy Seat on top of the ark, and put the Testimony that I'll give you into the ark.

I'll meet with you there, and I'll tell you all my commandments for the Israelis from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of the Testimony."

"You are to make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

You are to overlay it with pure gold, and put a gold molding around it.

You are to make a rim one handbreadth in width around it, and you are to make a gold molding around the rim.

You are to make four gold rings for it, and put the rings on the four corners where its four feet are.

The rings are to be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table.

You are to make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold so the table can be carried with them.

You are to make its plates, dishes, jars, and bowls from which libations will be poured, and you are to make them of pure gold.

You are to put the bread of the Presence on the table before me continuously."

"You are to make a lamp stand of pure gold: the lamp stand and its base and stem shall be of hammered work, and its cups, calyxes, and flowers are to be of one piece with it.

Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lamp stand from one side of it and three branches of the lamp stand from its other side.

Three cups shaped like almond blossoms with calyxes and flowers are to be on one branch and three cups shaped like almond blossoms with calyxes and flowers are to be on the other branch, and so for the six branches extending from the lamp stand.

"On the lamp stand itself there are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with their calyxes and flowers.

Their calyxes and their branches are to be of one piece with it; all of it is to be made of one piece of hammered work of pure gold.

"You are to make seven lamps for it, and its lamps are to be mounted so as to give light in front of it.

Its tongs and trays are to be of pure gold.

Now see that you make them according to the pattern for them which you are being shown on the mountain."

"You are to make the tent with ten curtains of fine woven linen and with blue, purple, and scarlet material. You are to make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.

The length of each curtain is to be 28 cubits, the width of each curtain four cubits, and all the curtains are to have the same measurements.

"Five of the curtains are to be joined together, and the other five curtains are to be joined together.

You are to make loops of blue material along the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you are to make loops along the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.