Font Size
Exodus 24
Easy-to-Read Version
Exodus 24
Easy-to-Read Version
God and Israel Make Their Agreement
24 The Lord told Moses, “You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel must come up the mountain and worship me from a distance. 2 Then only Moses will come close to the Lord. The other men must not come close, and the rest of the people must not even come up the mountain.”
3 Moses told the people all the rules and commands from the Lord. Then all the people said, “We will obey all the commands that the Lord has spoken.”
4 So Moses wrote down all the commands of the Lord. The next morning he got up and built an altar near the bottom of the mountain. And he set up twelve stones—one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then Moses sent young men of Israel to offer sacrifices. These men offered bulls to the Lord as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
6 Moses saved the blood from these animals. He put half of the blood in bowls, and he poured the other half of the blood on the altar.[a]
7 Moses read the scroll with the special agreement written on it. He read the agreement so that all the people could hear him. And the people said, “We have heard the laws that the Lord has given us. And we agree to obey them.”
8 Then Moses held the bowls full of the blood from the sacrifices. He threw that blood on the people. He said, “This blood shows that the Lord has made a special agreement with you. The laws God gave you explain the agreement.”
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up the mountain. 10 On the mountain, these men saw the God of Israel. He was standing on something that looked like blue sapphires, as clear as the sky! 11 All the leaders of Israel saw God, but God did not destroy them.[b] They all ate and drank together.
Moses Goes to Get God’s Law
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come to me on the mountain. I have written my teachings and laws on two stone tablets. These teachings and laws are for the people. I will give these stone tablets to you.”
13 So Moses and his helper, Joshua, went up the mountain of God. 14 Moses said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. While I am gone, Aaron and Hur will rule over you. Go to them if anyone has a problem.”
Moses Meets With God
15 Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The Glory of the Lord came down on Mount Sinai. The cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord spoke to Moses from the cloud. 17 The Israelites could see the Glory of the Lord. It was like a fire burning on top of the mountain.
18 Then Moses went higher up the mountain into the cloud. He was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.
Footnotes
- Exodus 24:6 The blood was used to seal the agreement between God and the people. It was poured on the altar to show that God shared in the agreement.
- Exodus 24:11 saw God … destroy them In other places, the Bible says that people cannot see God. But God wanted these leaders to know what he was like, so he allowed them to see him in some special way.
Exodus 24
New International Version
Exodus 24
New International Version
The Covenant Confirmed
24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron,(A) Nadab and Abihu,(B) and seventy of the elders(C) of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach(D) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws,(E) they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”(F) 4 Moses then wrote(G) down everything the Lord had said.
He got up early the next morning and built an altar(H) at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars(I) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings(J) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings(K) to the Lord. 6 Moses(L) took half of the blood(M) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed(N) against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant(O) and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”(P)
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people(Q) and said, “This is the blood of the covenant(R) that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders(S) of Israel went up 10 and saw(T) the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli,(U) as bright blue as the sky.(V) 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw(W) God, and they ate and drank.(X)
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone(Y) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
13 Then Moses set out with Joshua(Z) his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain(AA) of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur(AB) are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute(AC) can go to them.”
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud(AD) covered it, 16 and the glory(AE) of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.(AF) For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.(AG) 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire(AH) on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty(AI) days and forty nights.(AJ)
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.