Exodus 24:1-10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 24
The People of God Ratify the Covenant.[a] 1 He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not draw near and the people shall not go up with him.”
3 Moses went to tell the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances. All the people answered together and said, “We will keep all the commands that the Lord has given.”
4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent some of the young men of Israel to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.
6 Moses took half of the blood and placed it in bowls and the other half of the blood he poured out on the altar. 7 He then took the book of the covenant and read it in the presence of the people. They said, “All that the Lord has commanded, we will do and obey.”
8 Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people saying, “Behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel. 10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was a pavement that looked as if it were made from sapphires, shining like the very heavens.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 24:1 The ritual used in sealing the agreement shows the understanding of the contracting parties: God, who is represented by the altar, and the people share the same blood, which is a symbol of life. A clear prefiguration of the new and definitive covenant that will be sealed with the blood of Jesus (Mt 26:28).
