¹ In the third month of the going·​·out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, on^◦ this day they came·​·into the wilderness of Sinai.

² And they journeyed from Rephidim, and came·​·into the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped in·​·front·​·of the mountain.

³ And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell to the sons of Israel,

⁴ You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Me.

⁵ And now, if obeying you shall obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then you shall be for Me a special possession more^* than all peoples; for all the earth is Mine;

⁶ and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the sons of Israel.

⁷ And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.

⁸ And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to Jehovah.

⁹ And Jehovah said to^▵ Moses, Behold I come to thee in the thick cloud, on·​·account·​·of which the people will hear when I speak with thee, and will also believe in thee to eternity; and Moses told the words of the people to^▵ Jehovah.

¹⁰ And Jehovah said to^▵ Moses, Go to^▵ the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their raiment.

¹¹ And let them be prepared for the third day, for in the third day Jehovah will come·​·down to the eyes of all the people on Mount Sinai.

¹² And thou shalt set·​·a·​·border to the people round·​·about, saying, Take·​·heed to yourselves, that you go not up into the mountain, or touch the extremity of it; everyone that touches the mountain, dying he shall·​·die;

¹³ a hand shall not touch it, for stoning^◦ he shall be stoned^◦, or shooting he shall be shot; if a beast, if a man^◦, he shall not live; when the jobel^* is drawn out, they shall come·​·up into the mountain.

¹⁴ And Moses went·​·down from the mountain to^▵ the people, and sanctified the people, and they washed their raiment.

¹⁵ And he said to^▵ the people, Prepare for three days, approach not a woman.

¹⁶ And it was, on^◦ the third day, when it was morning, that there were voices^* and lightnings, and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the voice of a shophar^* exceedingly firm, and all the people who were in the camp were·​·frightened.

¹⁷ And Moses made the people go·​·out from the camp to meet God; and they stood·​·forth in the lower^◦ part of the mountain.

¹⁸ And Mount Sinai smoked, all of it, because Jehovah came·​·down upon it in fire; and the smoke’thereof went·​·up as the smoke of a furnace^◦, and all the mountain trembled^* exceedingly.

¹⁹ And when the voice of the shophar was going, and waxing strong mightily, Moses spoke, and God answered him in a voice.

²⁰ And Jehovah came·​·down on Mount Sinai, to^▵ the head of the mountain; and Jehovah called Moses to^▵ the head of the mountain, and Moses went·​·up.

²¹ And Jehovah said to Moses, Go·​·down, call· the people ·to·​·testify, lest they break·​·through to^▵ Jehovah to see, and many of them fall.

²² And the priests also, who approach Jehovah, shall sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break·​·forth on^◦ them.

²³ And Moses said to Jehovah, The people are· not ·able come·​·up to^▵ Mount Sinai; for Thou^◦ callest· us ·to·​·testify, saying, set·​·a·​·border on the mountain, and sanctify it.

²⁴ And Jehovah said to^▵ him, Go, Go·​·down; and come·​·up, thou^◦ and Aaron with thee; and let not the priests and the people break·​·through to come·​·up to^▵ Jehovah, lest He break·​·forth against^◦ them.

²⁵ And Moses went·​·down to^▵ the people, and talked with them.

¹ Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt.

² Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,

³ and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, "I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land".

⁴ The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh's sword."

⁵ Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God.

⁶ He said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you with your wife, and her two sons with her."

⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent.

⁸ Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how Yahweh delivered them.

⁹ Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which Yahweh had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, "Blessed be Yahweh, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

¹¹ Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods because of the thing in which they dealt arrogantly against them."

¹² Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron came with all of the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.

¹³ It happened on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.

¹⁴ When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, "What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?"

¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

¹⁶ When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws."

¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.

¹⁸ You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone.

¹⁹ Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.

²⁰ You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.

²¹ Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

²² Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you.

²³ If you will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all of these people also will go to their place in peace."

²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.

²⁵ Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

²⁶ They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

²⁷ Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.