They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him,

and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.

They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”

The Lord said to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven.

But to Moses the Lord said, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.

The glory of the Lord resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud.

The Lord said to Moses: “Take spices, gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense of equal amounts

He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.

The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go quickly, descend, because your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly.

Then the Lord said to Moses: “I have seen this people. Look what a stiff-necked people they are!

Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides – they were written on the front and on the back.

Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?”

So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” All the Levites gathered around him,

The Levites did what Moses ordered, and that day about three thousand men of the people died.

Moses said, “You have been consecrated today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.”

The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a very serious sin, but now I will go up to the Lord – perhaps I can make atonement on behalf of your sin.”

So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin, and they have made for themselves gods of gold.