13:3. And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no leavened bread.
13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn.
13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.
13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.
13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.
13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.
13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days.
13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee:
13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord.
13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price.
13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.
13:16. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath brought us forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.
13:17. And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near; thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt.
13:18: But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
13:19. And Moses took Joseph's bones with him: because he had adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you, carry out my bones from hence with you.
13:20. And marching from Socoth, they encamped in Etham, in the utmost coasts of the wilderness.
13:21. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.
13:22. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.
Exodus Chapter 14
Pharao pursueth the children of Israel. They murmur against Moses, but are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea. Pharao and his army following them are drowned.
14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
14:2. Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp over against Phihahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea over against Beelsephon: you shall encamp before it upon the sea.
14:3. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in.
14:4. And I shall harden his heart and he will pursue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
14:5. And it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people was fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go from serving us?
14:6. So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him.
14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army.
14:8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; but they were gone forth in a mighty hand.
14:9. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone before, they found them encamped at the sea side: all Pharao's horse and chariots and the whole army were in Phihahiroth, before Beelsephon.
14:10. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord.
14:11. And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness: why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt?
14:12. Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying: Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.
14:13. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: stand, and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day; for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever.
14:14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
14:15. And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel to go forward.
14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
14:17. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots and in his horsemen.
14:18: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.
14:19. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them: and together with him the pillar of the cloud, leaving the forepart,
14:20. Stood behind, between the Egyptians' camp and the camp of Israel: and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night, so that they could not come at one another all the night.
A dark cloud, and enlightening the night… It was a dark cloud to the Egyptians; but enlightened the night to the Israelites by giving them a great light.
14:21. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided.
14:22. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up; for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left.
14:23. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all Pharao's horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea.
14:24. And now the morning watch was come, and behold the Lord looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host.
14:25. And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against us.
14:26. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen.
14:27. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves.
14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain.
14:29. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left:
14:30. And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands of the Egyptians.
14:31. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant.
Exodus Chapter 15
The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet.
15:1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea.
15:2. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God, and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and I will exalt him.
15:3. The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name.
15:4. Pharao's chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea: his chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.
15:5. The depths have covered them, they are sunk to the bottom like a stone.
15:6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy right hand, O Lord, hath slain the enemy.
15:7. And in the multitude of thy glory thou hast put down thy adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath, which hath devoured them like stubble.
15:8. And with the blast of thy anger the waters were gathered together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered together in the midst of the sea.
15:9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake, I will divide the spoils, my soul shall have its fill: I will draw my sword, my hand shall slay them.
15:10. Thy wind blew and the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the mighty waters.
15:11. Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord? who is like to thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy, doing wonders?
15:12. Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them.
15:13. In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried them to thy holy habitation.
15:14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the inhabitants of Philisthiim.
15:15. Then were the princes of Edom troubled, trembling seized on the stout men of Moab: all the inhabitants of Chanaan became stiff.
15:16. Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy arm: let them become immoveable as a stone, until thy people, O Lord, pass by: until this thy people pass by, which thou hast possessed.
15:17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast made, O Lord; thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
15:18: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
15:19. For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and horsemen into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof.
15:20. So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with dances.
15:21. And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea.
15:22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the wilderness, and found no water.
15:23. And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the waters of Mara because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness.
15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall we drink?
15:25. But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. There he appointed him ordinances, and judgments, and there he proved him,
15:26. Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.
15:27. And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped by the waters.
Exodus Chapter 16
The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.
16:1. And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt.
16:2. And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
16:3. And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full: Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?
16:4. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.
16:5. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.
16:6. And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel In the evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt:
16:7. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for us, what are we, that you mutter against us?
16:8. And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him, for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.
16:9. Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the children of Israel: Come before the Lord; for he hath heard your murmuring.
16:10. And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness; and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.
16:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
16:12. I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say to them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.
16:13. So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp: and in the morning a dew lay round about the camp.
16:14. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar frost on the ground.
16:15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
16:16. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat; a gomor for every man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take of it.
16:17. And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one more, another less.
16:18: And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more that had gathered more; nor did he find less that had provided less: but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat.
16:19. And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the morning.
16:20. And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified, and Moses was angry with them.
16:21. Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.
16:22. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told Moses.
16:23. And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken: To morrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord. Whatsoever work is to be done, do it; and the meats that are to be dressed, dress them; and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning.
16:24. And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not putrify, neither was there worm found in it.
16:25. And Moses said: Eat it to day, because it is the sabbath of the Lord: to day it shall not be found in the field.
16:26. Gather it six days; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, therefore it shall not be found.
16:27. And the seventh day came; and some of the people going forth to gather, found none.
16:28. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments, and my law?
16:29. See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day.
16:30. And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.
16:31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.
16:32. And Moses said: This is the word which the Lord hath commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter; that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt.
16:33. And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold; and lay it up before the Lord, to keep unto your generations,
16:34. As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept.
16:35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan.
16:36. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.
Exodus Chapter 17
The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome.
17:1. Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
17:2. And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
17:3. So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?
17:4. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.
17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go.
17:6. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:
17:7. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?
17:8. And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.
17:9. And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having the rod of God in my hand.
17:10. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of the hill.
17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.
17:12. And Moses's hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were not weary until sunset.
17:13. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword.
17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under heaven.
17:15. And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The Lord, my exaltation, saying:
17:16. Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.
Exodus Chapter 18
Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel.
18:1. And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses, had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt:
18:2. He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:
18:3. And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his father saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.
18:4. And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he, is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.
18:5. And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of God.
18:6. And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman, come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.
18:7. And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was come into the tent,
18:8. Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao, and the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them.
18:9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians.
18:10. And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his people out of the hand of Egypt.
18:11. Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they dealt proudly against them.
18:12. So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came, to eat bread with him before God.
18:13. And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by Moses from morning until night.
18:14. And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night?
18:15. And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the judgment of God?
18:16. And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come to me to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and his laws.
18:17. But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.
18:18: Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people that is with thee; the business is above thy strength, thou alone canst not bear it.
18:19. But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him:
18:20. And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do.
18:21. And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens,
18:22. Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.
18:23. If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.
18:24. And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him.
18:25. And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.
18:26. And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.
18:27. And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.
Exodus Chapter 19
They come to Sinai: the people are commanded to be sanctified. The Lord, coming in thunder and lightning, speaketh with Moses.
19:1. In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai:
19:2. For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.
19:3. And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
And Moses went up to God… Moses went up to mount Sinai, where God spoke to him.
19:4. You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.
19:5. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine.
19:6. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.
19:7. Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.
19:8. And all the people answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people's words to the Lord,
19:9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
19:10. And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.
19:11. And let them be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.
19:12. And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.
19:13. No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.
19:14. And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed thelr garments,
19:15. He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives.
19:16. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the camp, feared.
19:17. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount.
19:18. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the mount was terrible.
19:19. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him.
19:20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither,
19:21. He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.
19:22. The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.
19:23. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.
19:24. And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he kill them.
19:25. And Moses went down to the people and told them all.
Exodus Chapter 20
The ten commandments.
20:1. And the Lord spoke all these words:
20:2. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
20:3. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
20:4. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
A graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, etc… All such images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or representations, even in the house of God, and in the very sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized by the word of God. See Ex. 25.15, and etc.; chap. 38.7; Num. 21.8, 9; 1 Chron. or Paralip. 28.18, 19; 2 Chron. or Paralip. 3.10.
20:5. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
20:8. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.
20:10. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.
20:11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
20:13. Thou shalt not kill.
20:14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
20:15. Thou shalt not steal.
20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
20:17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
20:18. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,
20:19. Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.
20:20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.
20:21. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was.
20:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
20:23. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold.
20:24. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee.
20:25. And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it shall be defiled.
20:26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar, lest thy nakedness be discovered.
Exodus Chapter 21
Laws relating to Justice.
21:1. These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
21:2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee; in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
21:3. With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out: if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him.
21:4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master's: but he himself shall go out with his raiment.
21:5. And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free:
21:6. His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.
To the gods… Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates, authorized by God.
21:7. If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out.
21:8. If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.
21:9. But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
21:10. And if he take another wife for him, he shall provide her a marriage, and raiment, neither shall he refuse the price of her chastity.
21:11. If he do not these three things, she shall go out free without money.
21:12. He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be put to death.
21:13. But he that did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands: I will appoint thee a place to which he must flee.
21:14. If a man kill his neighbour on set purpose, and by lying in wait for him: thou shalt take him away from my altar that he may die.
21:15. He that striketh his father or mother, shall be put to death.
21:16. He that shall steal a man, and sell him, being convicted of the guilt, shall be put to death.
21:17. He that curseth his father or mother, shall die the death.
21:18. If men quarrel, and the one strike his neighbour with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
21:19. If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff, he that struck him shall be quit, yet so that he make restitution for his work, and for his expenses upon the physicians.
21:20. He that striketh his bondman, or bondwoman, with a rod, and they die under his hands, shall be guilty of the crime.
21:21. But if the party remain alive a day or two, he shall not be subject to the punishment, because it is his money.
21:22. If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman's husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award.
21:23. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life,
21:24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
21:25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
21:26. If any man strike the eye of his manservant or maidservant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go free for the eye which he put out.
21:27. Also if he strike out a tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he shall in like manner make them free.
21:28. If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
21:29. But if the ox was wont to push with his horn yesterday, and the day before, and they warned his master, and he did not shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman: then the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
21:30. And if they set a price upon him, he shall give for his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
21:31. If he have gored a son, or a daughter, he shall fall under the like sentence.
21:32. If he assault a bondman or bondwoman, he shall give thirty sicles of silver to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
21:33. If a man open a pit, and dig one, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall into it,
21:34. The owner of the pit shall pay the price of the beasts: and that which is dead shall be his own.
21:35. If one man's ox gore another man's ox, and he die: they shall sell the live ox, and shall divide the price, and the carcass of that which died they shall part between them:
21:36. But if he knew that his ox was wont to push yesterday, and the day before, and his master did not keep him in; he shall pay ox for ox, and shall take the whole carcass.
Exodus Chapter 22
The punishment of theft, and other trespasses. The law of lending without usury, of taking pledges of reverences to superiors, and of paying tithes.
22:1. If any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it: he shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep.
22:2. If a thief be found breaking open a house or undermining it, and be wounded so as to die: he that slew him shall not be guilty of blood.
22:3. But if he did this when the sun is risen, he hath committed murder, and he shall die. If he have not wherewith to make restitution for the theft, he shall be sold.
22:4. If that which he stole be found with him, alive, either ox, or ass, or sheep: he shall restore double.
22:5. If any man hurt a field or a vineyard, and put in his beast to feed upon that which is other men's: he shall restore the best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard, according to the estimation of the damage.
22:6. If a fire breaking out light upon thorns, and catch stacks of corn, or corn standing in the fields, he that kindled the fire shall make good the loss.
22:7. If a man deliver money, or any vessel unto his friend to keep, and they be stolen away from him that received them: if the thief be found, he shall restore double:
22:8. If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be brought to the gods, and shall swear that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbour's goods,
22:9. To do any fraud, either in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or raiment, or any thing that may bring damage: the cause of both parties shall come to the gods: and if they give judgment, he shall restore double to his neighbour.
22:10. If a man deliver ass, ox, sheep, or any beast, to his neighbour's custody, and it die, or be hurt, or be taken by enemies, and no man saw it:
22:11. There shall be an oath between them, that he did not put forth his hand to his neighbour's goods: and the owner shall accept of the oath, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution.
22:12. But if it were taken away by stealth, he shall make the loss good to the owner.
22:13. If it were eaten by a beast, let him bring to him that which was slain, and he shall not make restitution.
22:14. If a man borrow of his neighbour any of these things, and it be hurt or die, the owner not being present, he shall be obliged to make restitution.
22:15. But if the owner be present, he shall not make restitution, especially if it were hired, and came for the hire of his work.
22:16. If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with her: he shall endow her, and have her to wife.
22:17. If the maid's father will not give her to him, he shall give money according to the dowry, which virgins are wont to receive.
22:18. Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live.
22:19. Whosoever copulateth with a beast; shall be put to death.
22:20. He that sacrificeth to gods, shall be put to death, save only to the Lord.
22:21. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22:22. You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.
22:23. If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry:
22:24. And my rage shall be enkindled, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
22:25. If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries.
22:26. If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sunset.
22:27. For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in: if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.
22:28. Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse.
22:29. Thou shalt not delay to pay thy tithes and thy firstfruits: thou shalt give the firstborn of thy sons to me.
22:30. Thou shalt do the same with the firstborn of thy oxen also and sheep: seven days let it be with its dam: the eighth day thou shalt give it to me.
22:31. You shall be holy men to me: the flesh that beasts have tasted of before, you shall not eat, but shall cast it to the dogs.
Exodus Chapter 23
Laws for judges; the rest of the seventh year, and day: three principal feasts to be solemnized every year; the promise of an angel, to conduct and protect them: idols are to be destroyed.
23:1. Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.
23:2. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to stray from the truth.
23:3. Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.
23:4. If thou meet thy enemy's ox or ass going astray, bring it back to him.
23:5. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with him.
23:6. Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man's judgment.
23:7. Thou shalt fly Iying. The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death: because I abhor the wicked.
23:8. Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise, and pervert the words of the just.
23:9. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
23:10. Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn thereof.
23:11. But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left, let the beasts of the field eat it: so shalt thou do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard.
23:12. Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.
23:13. Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard out of your mouth.
23:14. Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.
23:15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of Egypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me.
23:16. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field.
23:17. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.
23:18. Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my victim upon leaven, neither shall the fat of my solemnity remain until the morning.
23:19. Thou shalt carry the first-fruits of the corn of thy ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.
23:20. Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.
23:21. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.
23:22. But if thou wilt hear hi voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.
23:23. And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherexite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebuzite, whom I will destroy.
23:24. Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues.
23:25. And you shall serve the Lord your God, that I may bless your bread and your waters, and may take away sickness from the midst of thee.
23:26. There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land: I will fill the number of thy days.
23:27. I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all thy enemies before thee:
23:28. Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.
23:29. I will not cast them out from thy face in one year; lest the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply against thee.
23:30. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.
23:31. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Palestines, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them out from before you.
23:32. Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods.
23:33. Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods; which, undoubtedly, will be a scandal to thee.
Exodus Chapter 24
Moses writeth his law; and after offering sacrifices, sprinkleth the blood of the testament upon the people: then goeth up the mountain which God covereth with a fiery cloud.
24:1. And he said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off.
24:2. And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people come up with him.
24:3. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken.
24:4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Titles… That is, pillars.
24:5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord.
Holocausts… Whole burnt offerings, in which the whole sacrifice was consumed with fire upon the altar.
24:6. Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls; and the rest he poured upon the altar.
24:7. And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord hath spoken, we will do, we will be obedient.
24:8. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
24:9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel went up:
24:10. And they saw the God of Israel: and under his feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the heaven, when clear.
24:11. Neither did he lay his hand upon those of the children of Israel, that retired afar off, and they saw God, and they did eat and drink.
24:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
24:13. Moses rose up, and his minister Josue: and Moses going up into the mount of God,
24:14. Said to the ancients: Wait ye here till we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise, you shall refer it to them.
24:15. And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount.
24:16. And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days: and the seventh day he called him out of the midst of the cloud.
24:17. And the sight of the glory of the Lord, was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.
24:18. And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: And he was there forty days and forty nights.
Exodus Chapter 25
Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the candlestick, etc.
25:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
25:2. Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord, you shall take them.
Firstfruits… Offerings of some of the best and choicest of their goods.
25:3. And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver, and brass,
25:4. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
25:5. And rams' skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:
Setim wood… The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible.
25:6. Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for sweetsmelling incense:
25:7. Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational.
The ephod and the rational… The ephod was the high priest's upper vestment; and the rational his vestplate, in which were twelve gems, etc.
25:8. And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them:
25:9. According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it:
25:10. Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the height, likewise, a cubit and a half.
25:11. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, within and without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:
25:12. And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other.
25:13. Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.
25:14. And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them:
25:15. And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them.
25:16. And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.
25:17. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half.
A propitiatory… a covering for the ark: called a propitiatory, or mercy seat, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver. 18 and 20; because from thence God gave his orders and his answers.
25:18. Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle.
25:19. Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.
25:20. Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory wherewith the ark is to to be covered.
25:21. In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give thee.
25:22. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee.
25:23. Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height.
A table… On which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition: or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face bread, because they were always to stand before the face of the Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ.
25:24. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.
25:25. And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches high; and over the same another little golden crown.
25:26. Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot.
25:27. Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table may be carried.
25:28. The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold, to bear up the table.
25:29. Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest gold.
Libations… That is, drink offerings.
25:30. And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always.
25:31. Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work, of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.
A candlestick… This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ.
25:32. Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other.
25:33. Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily: and three cups likewise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft:
25:34. And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and lilies.
25:35. Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six, coming forth out of one shaft.
25:36. And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold.
25:37. Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light over against.
25:38. The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.
25:39. The whole weight of the candlestick, with all the furniture thereof, shall be a talent of the purest gold.
25:40. Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.
Exodus Chapter 26
The form of the tabernacle with its appurtenances.
26:1. And thou shalt make the tabernacle in this manner: Thou shalt make ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified with embroidery.
26:2. The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits; the breadth shall be four cubits. All the curtains shall be of one measure.
26:3. Five curtains shall be joined one to another, and the other five shall be coupled together in like manner.
26:4. Thou shalt make loops of violet in the sides and tops of the curtains, that they may be joined one to another.
26:5. Every curtain shall have fifty loops on both sides, so set on, that one loop may be against another loop, and one may be fitted to the other.
26:6. Thou shalt make also fifty rings of gold, wherewith the veils of the curtains are to be joined, that it may be made one tabernacle.
26:7. Thou shalt make also eleven curtains of goats' hair, to cover the top of the tabernacle.
26:8. The length of one hair-curtain shall be thirty cubits; and the breadth, four: the measure of all the curtains shall be equal.
26:9. Five of which thou shalt couple by themselves, and the six others thou shalt couple one to another, so as to double the sixth curtain in the front of the roof.
26:10. Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, that it may be joined with the other: and fifty loops in the edge of the other curtain, that it may be coupled with its fellow.
26:11. Thou shalt make also fifty buckles of brass, wherewith the loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering.
26:12. And that which shall remain of the curtains, that are prepared for the roof, to wit, one curtain that is over and above, with the half thereof thou shalt cover the back parts of the tabernacle.
26:13. And there shall hang down a cubit on the one side, and another on the other side, which is over and above in the length of the curtains, fencing both sides of the tabernacle.
26:14. Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof of rams' skins dyed red: and over that again another cover of violet coloured skins.
26:15. Thou shalt make also the boards of the tabernacle standing upright of setim wood.
26:16. Let every one of them be ten cubits in length, and in breadth one cubit and a half.
26:17. In the sides of the boards shall be made two mortises, whereby one board may be joined to another board: and after this manner shall all the boards be prepared.
26:18. Of which twenty shall be in the south side southward.
26:19. For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of silver, that under every board may be put two sockets at the two corners.
26:20. In the second side also of the tabernacle that looketh to the north, there shall be twenty boards,