Exodus 19:9-16

9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.”

And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes 11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

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.’1

Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.2”

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.