About this Bible Study........The King James Version of the Bible is written in a beautiful form of the English language. It can be hard for modern English readers to understand.  In this study, you will find notes and summaries in brown just above the the verses from the Bible. We recommend that you read the notes and summaries first, and then read the verses in their KJV form. 

The book of Exodus was written by Moses.  The word "exodus" means to "go out" or "leave".  This book is about the Israelites leaving Egypt and going back to Canaan. Exodus begins about 350 after Joseph died.  The date that the Israelites leave Egypt is about  1445 B.C. (1, 445 years before Jesus Christ was born).

Exodus 19 - 21

God speaks to the Israelites from the Mountain of Sinai.
God gives Moses the Ten Commandments.
God gives some laws.

Exodus 19

God speaks on the Mountain of Sinai

Map from eBibleTeacher.com	Photo of Mt. Sinai Today Courtesy of Mark Horrell

The Israelites stopped at the Mountain of Sinai.
[1] In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
[2] For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.


Moses went up on the mountain and talked to God. God had a message for the Israelites.  He reminded them of what He did to the Egyptians. He reminded them how He brought them out of Egypt "on eagles' wings". He said that if the Israelites would obey Him and keep the covenant promise with Him, they would be special to Him.
[3] And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
[4] Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
[5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
[6] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Moses talked to the Israelites and told them what God said.  The people all agreed that they would obey God.  Moses went back and told God what they said.
[7] And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
[8] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

God told Moses that He would come and talk to the Israelites Himself.  He would come in a thick cloud. The Israelites would be able to hear God speak. Then they would believe and worship Him forever. 
[9] And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.



God told Moses that the people should wash their clothes and be clean when they saw Him. In three more days, God would come so the Israelites could see Him on the Mountain of Sinai.
[10] And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
[11] And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.



The Israelites were not supposed to go past a certain border (line). They were not allowed to touch the mountain. If any person or any animal touched it, they would be killed.
[12] And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
[13] There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

The people got ready to see God. They washed their clothes. They were not supposed to have sexual relations during that time.
[14] And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
[15] And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.



On the third day, there was a lot of thunder and lightning. There was a thick cloud on the mountain, and there was a trumpet (loud musical instrument). Everyone was afraid.  Moses brought the people to the mountain to meet God. The people did not cross the borderline. They stood where Moses told them to stand.
[16] And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
[17] And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.



The Lord was on the Mountain of Sinai. God was in the fire, and the smoke was thick on the mountain. The mountain shook like an earthquake. Moses talked, and God answered him.  The people could hear God talking to Moses. God told Moses to come up on the mountain. Moses went up.
[18] And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
[19] And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
[20] And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.



The Lord told Moses to warn the people again. They were not allowed to go past the borderline. God also told Moses that the priests should consecrate (clean) themselves.   
[21] And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.
[22] And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.


Moses said that he warned the people already. But God told him to go down the mountain and warn them again. After he warned the people again, Moses and Aaron were supposed to go back up the mountain.
[23] And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
[24] And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.
[25] So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

God spoke to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments.
[1] And God spake all these words, saying,  
[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.


1.  Do not worship another god.
[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.


2. Do not make statues or pictures and then worship them.  Many people on the earth at that time worshipped animals or other things in nature.  God said if the Israelites did that, He would punish them, their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren.
[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.


3.  Do not use God's name in a bad way. Do not use God's name in saying bad words. If you make a promise and use God's name, you should keep your promise.  You should only use God's name in a respectful way.
[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.


4. Keep the sabbath day holy.  The sabbath day is the seventh day of the week. You should not work on that day. You should rest the same as God rested on the seventh day when he created the universe.
[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
[9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
[10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
[11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.


5.  Everyone should respect their mother and father.  They should obey them and treat them well.
[12] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.


6.  God said that no one should kill another person.
[13] Thou shalt not kill.


7.  No one should have sexual relations with a person who is married to someone else.
[14] Thou shalt not commit adultery.


8. No one should steal.
[15] Thou shalt not steal.


9. No one should lie.
[16] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.


10. No one should be jealous of what his neighbor has.
[17] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.


The people could see lightning and smoke on the mountain. They could hear thunder and a trumpet.  They moved back because they were afraid.
[18] And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.


The people wanted Moses to tell them what God said. They did not want God to speak to them directly.  They were afraid that if God talked to them directly, they would die.
[19] And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.


Moses said that they should not be afraid. But he also said that if they were afraid of God, they would not sin.
[20] And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.


Moses went back to talk to God. God told Moses what to say to the Israelites.  He wanted Moses to remind them that they heard God talking to them. They know He is real.
[21] And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
[22] And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.


God gave the Israelites instructions.  They should not make silver or gold statues of God.  They should make an altar and use the altar to sacrifice. This means a place where they put valuable things that they are giving to God.
[23] Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
[24] An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.


If they built an altar with rock, they should use rock that had not been hewn (cut with tools).  They should not walk up steps to the altar.
[25] And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
[26] Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Exodus 21

God's laws about slaves

God told Moses some laws for the Israelites.
[1] Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.


The first group of the laws was about slaves.  Some of the Israelites owned slaves.  If a slave worked for someone for 6 six years, the slave could be free in the 7th year. If the slave was married before he started to work for the master, his wife could go free, too.
[2] If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
[3] If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.


If the slave was not married when he started working, but he got married  and had children in the time he was a slave, his wife and the children must stay and work. 
[4] If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.


The slave could make a choice. If he loved his master (the person he worked for), his wife, and his children, he could stay and work permanently. The master would take the slave to the side of the door and pierce his ear. This would show everyone that the slave wanted to stay with the master.
[5] And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
[6] Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

God's laws about women slaves

A father could sell his daughter to someone who wanted her to be his wife.  In this situation, she could not be freed in 7 years.   If the husband was not happy with her, he must sell her back to her family.  He was not allowed to sell her to someone who was not an Israelite.
[7] And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
[8] If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.


If the master gave permission for the woman to marry his son, she must be treated well. She must be treated the same as the other women who married the master's sons. He could not treat her badly because she was a slave.
[9] And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.


If the husband married other women,  he must continue to treat her well.  He could not treat her worse than his other wives.  If he treated her badly, she could go free.
[10] If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
[11] And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

God's laws about murder

If a man planned to kill another man and then killed him, the murderer must be killed, too. But if a man did not plan to kill another man, but had an accident and the other man died, the man should be taken to a special place.
[12] He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
[13] And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
[14] But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.


If someone killed his father or mother, he should be killed, too.
[15] And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

If someone kidnapped a man and then sold him to someone else, he should be killed.
[16] And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.


If someone talked bad and cursed his mother or father, he should be killed.
[17] And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.


In this situation, two men are fighting, and one man hits the other man with a rock or his fist.  If the man is hurt 
but later is better, the man who hit him must pay for the time he was sick. He must also help make the hurt man better. 
[18] And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
[19] If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.


If a man hits his slave with a stick and the slave dies quickly at that time, the man must be punished. But if the slave does not die quickly, the man must not be punished. If the master did not hit the slave hard enough for the slave to die quickly, that meant that the master did not mean to kill the slave.
[20] And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
[21] Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.


In this situation, two men are fighting and hurt a pregnant woman.  If the baby is born early, but the baby and mother do not die, the man who hurt her must be punished. The woman's husband and the judges would make the decision about the punishment.
[22] If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

If the woman died, then the man who hurt her must die, too.  If the woman lost an eye, the man who hurt her must lose an eye, too. If the woman lost a hand, a foot, or a tooth, the man who hurt her must lose the same. If the woman was burned or hurt or had a sore, the man who hurt her must have the same.
[23] And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
[24] Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
[25] Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.


If a man hurt his slave and caused the slave to lose an eye or a tooth, the slave must be set free.
[26] And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
[27] And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

Laws about animals

This set of laws is about an ox who gores a person. An ox is similar to a cow and has sharp horns. When an ox gores a person, the ox's horn stabs the person.   If the person dies, the ox must be stoned (die from people throwing rocks at it). No one can eat the meat of the ox. 
[28] If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

If the ox had gored someone in the past, and the owner knew about it and did not keep the ox in, the owner is responsible, and he must die, too. But if the owner has enough money, he can pay money and live. The judges would decide how much money he could pay to live.
[29] But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
[30] If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
[31] Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.


If the ox killed a slave, the ox's owner must pay the slave's master 30 shekels (coins) of silver. Then the ox must be killed.
[32] If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.


If a man digs a hole and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in, the man must pay for the animal.
[33] And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
[34] The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.


If a man's ox kills another man's ox, the men will sell the live ox and divide the money. They also will divide the dead ox. But if the ox had hurt another ox in the past, and the owner did not keep him in, the owner of the live ox will not get half the money. He will get all of the dead ox.
[35] And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
[36] Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.