¹ And he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

² And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

³ And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we perform.

⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵ And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen to the LORD.

⁶ And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

⁷ And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

⁸ And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

⁹ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire-stone, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness.

¹¹ And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and ate and drank.

¹² And the LORD said to Moses, Come up to me on the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayst teach them.

¹³ And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up upon the mount of God.

¹⁴ And he said to the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again to you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man hath any matters to do, let him come to them.

¹⁵ And Moses went up upon the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

¹⁶ And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

¹⁷ And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.

¹⁸ And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mount: and Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights.

¹ Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped.

³ For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.

⁵ They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men.

⁶ Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment.

⁷ Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.

⁸ They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.

⁹ They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance.

¹¹ They say, "How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"

¹² Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches.

¹³ Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart, and washed my hands in innocence,

¹⁴ For all day long have I been plagued, and punished every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, "I will speak thus;" behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me;

¹⁷ Until I entered God's sanctuary, and considered their latter end.

¹⁸ Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.

¹⁹ How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.

²⁰ As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

²¹ For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart.

²² I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.

²⁴ You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵ Who do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth who I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸ But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. A contemplation by Asaph.