Exodus 19:12–22

¹²And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows — whether man or beast, he must not live.’^b

Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.^c”

¹⁴When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”

¹⁶On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. ¹⁹And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

²⁰The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up, ²¹and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish. ²²Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”