Exodus 24

1 And unto Moses He said, 'Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and ye have bowed yourselves afar off;'

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come to me, up [on top of this mountain], you and Aaron and [his sons] Nadab and Abihu. Also [take along] 70 of the Israeli elders/leaders. While you are still some distance [from the top of the mountain], prostrate yourselves [on the ground] and worship me.

2 and Moses hath drawn nigh by himself unto Jehovah; and they draw not nigh, and the people go not up with him.

Moses, [I will allow] you alone to come near to me. The others must not come near, and the [rest of the] people must not come up the mountain.”

3 And Moses cometh in, and recounteth to the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments, and all the people answer — one voice, and say, 'All the words which Jehovah hath spoken we do.'

Moses/I went and told the people everything that Yahweh had said and all that he had commanded. The people all replied together, saying, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us [to do].”

4 And Moses writeth all the words of Jehovah, and riseth early in the morning, and buildeth an altar under the hill, and twelve standing pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel;

Then Moses/I wrote down everything that Yahweh had commanded. Early the next morning Moses/I built a [stone] altar. He/I also set up twelve stones, one for each of the Israeli tribes.

5 and he sendeth the youths of the sons of Israel, and they cause burnt-offerings to ascend, and sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings to Jehovah — calves.

He/I also selected some young men. They burned sacrifices to Yahweh and they also sacrificed some cattle [that they did not burn completely], for the purpose of maintaining fellowship with Yahweh.

6 And Moses taketh half of the blood, and putteth in basins, and half of the blood hath he sprinkled on the altar;

Moses/I took half of the blood of the animals that were slaughtered and put it in bowls. The other half of the blood [he/I] threw/splashed against the altar.

7 and he taketh the Book of the Covenant, and proclaimeth in the ears of the people, and they say, 'All that which Jehovah hath spoken we do, and obey.'

Then he/I took the scroll on which he/I had written [everything that Yahweh had commanded in] the agreement that he had made, and he/I read it [aloud], while all the people were listening. Then all the people said, “We will do all that Yahweh has told us to do. We will obey [everything].”

8 And Moses taketh the blood, and sprinkleth on the people, and saith, 'Lo, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you, concerning all these things.'

Then Moses/I took the blood [that was in the bowls] and threw/splashed it on the people. He/I said, “This is the blood [that (confirms/puts into effect)] the agreement that Yahweh made with you when he gave you all these commands.”

9 And Moses goeth up, Aaron also, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

Then Moses/I, along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 Israeli elders/leaders, went up [the mountain],

10 and they see the God of Israel, and under His feet [is] as the white work of the sapphire, and as the substance of the heavens for purity;

and they/we saw God, the one whom the Israeli people worship. Under his feet was something like a pavement [made of expensive blue stones called] sapphires. They were as clear as the sky is [when there are no clouds].

11 and unto those of the sons of Israel who are near He hath not put forth His hand, and they see God, and eat and drink.

God did not harm [MTY] those Israeli elders/leaders [because of their having seen him]. They saw God, and they ate and drank together! [Then we all went back down the mountain].

12 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Come up unto Me to the mount, and be there, and I give to thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the command, which I have written to direct them.'

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come up to me [again] on [top of this] mountain. While you are here, I will give you [two] stone slabs on which I have written all the laws [DOU] that I have given to you to instruct/teach [the people].”

13 And Moses riseth — Joshua his minister also — and Moses goeth up unto the mount of God;

So Moses/I told the elders, “Stay here [with the other people] until we return! Do not forget that Aaron and Hur will be with you. So if anyone has a dispute [while I am gone], he can go to those two men.” Then Moses/I went with his/my servant Joshua [part of the way] up the mountain that [was dedicated to] God.

14 and unto the elders he hath said, 'Abide ye for us in this [place], until that we turn back unto you, and lo, Aaron and Hur [are] with you — he who hath matters doth come nigh unto them.'

15 And Moses goeth up unto the mount, and the cloud covereth the mount;

Then Moses/I went the [rest of the way] up the mountain. A cloud covered the mountain.

16 and the honour of Jehovah doth tabernacle on mount Sinai, and the cloud covereth it six days, and He calleth unto Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud.

The (glory/brilliant light) of Yahweh came down on the mountain and covered it for six days. On the seventh day, Yahweh called to Moses/me from the middle of the cloud.

17 And the appearance of the honour of Jehovah [is] as a consuming fire on the top of the mount, before the eyes of the sons of Israel;

When the Israeli people [looked at] the top of the mountain, the glory of Yahweh was like a big fire that was burning [there].

18 and Moses goeth into the midst of the cloud, and goeth up unto the mount, and Moses is on the mount forty days and forty nights.

Moses/I went into the cloud on top of the mountain. He/I was there for 40 days and nights.