¹² You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. ^(A)Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³ Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; ^(B)do not come near your wives.”

¹⁶ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were ^(C)thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp ^(D)trembled. ¹⁷ And ^(E)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(F)Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon ^(G)it in fire. ^(H)Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and ^[a]the ^(I)whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹ And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, ^(J)Moses spoke, and ^(K)God answered him by voice. ²⁰ Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through ^(L)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. ²² Also let the ^(M)priests who come near the Lord ^(N)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(O)break out against them.”

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

¹⁸ Now ^(A)all the people ^(B)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain ^(C)smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

¹¹ “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.