Exodus Chapter 24 in Simple English

Updated on October 1, 2026

Read Exodus Chapter 24

1And he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. Worship from far off."

2"Moses alone shall come near the LORD. The others shall not come near, and the people shall not go up with him."

3Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments. All the people answered with one voice, and said, "We will do everything the LORD has said."

4Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the hill, and set up twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5He sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as peace offerings to the LORD.

6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins. The other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7He took the book of the covenant and read it out so the people could hear. They said, "We will do all that the LORD has said, and we will obey."

8Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Look, this is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you about all these words."

9Then Moses went up, with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.

10They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself.

11He did not lay his hand on the leaders of the children of Israel. They saw God, and they ate and drank.

12The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written, so that you may teach them."

13So Moses got up, and Joshua his servant with him. And Moses went up into the mountain of God.

14He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you. If anyone has a matter to settle, let him go to them."

15Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

16The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud.

17To the eyes of the children of Israel, the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a fire burning up the top of the mountain.

18Moses went into the middle of the cloud, and climbed up the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

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Explanation

Exodus 24

In short

God invites Moses and others to come near him on Mount Sinai to seal a covenant. The people promise to obey God's laws, Moses sprinkles blood on them to ratify the agreement, and then Moses goes alone into God's presence for forty days to receive the written commandments.

Context

This follows God's proclamation of the Ten Commandments and other laws (Exodus 20-23). God has promised that if the people obey him, they will be his treasured possession. Now the moment has come to formalize this covenant. Moses is the mediator between God and the people throughout this chapter.

What the text says

God tells Moses to bring Aaron, two of Aaron's sons, and seventy elders partway up the mountain to worship, while Moses alone may come near God (verses 1-2). Moses reports all God's words to the people, and they agree twice that they will obey: first in verse 3, then again in verse 7 after Moses reads "the book of the covenant" aloud.

Moses builds an altar and has young men offer sacrifices. He divides the sacrificial blood in half: one portion goes on the altar, the other he sprinkles on the people (verses 4-8), declaring this is "the blood of the covenant."

The leaders then ascend and see "the God of Israel" with "a paved work of a sapphire stone" beneath him. They eat and drink in God's presence without harm (verses 9-11). God calls Moses higher still into the cloud covering the mountain and promises to give him stone tablets with the law (verse 12). Moses takes Joshua with him, tells the elders to wait, and remains on the mountain forty days and forty nights (verses 13-18). The people see the glory of God like fire on the mountaintop.

Takeaways

The covenant is sealed through sacrifice and blood, with the people's spoken commitment made twice.
Multiple leaders witness God's presence, though only Moses enters fully into it to receive the written law.
Moses' long absence sets up what comes next in the narrative.

Exodus 24 - Simple English