19. Then the people said to Moses, “If you want to speak to us, then we will listen. But please don’t let God speak to us. If this happens, we will die.”
20. Then Moses said to them, “Don’t be afraid! God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so that you will not sin.”
21. The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went to the dark cloud where God was.
22. Then the Lord told Moses to say this to the Israelites: “You people have seen that I talked with you from heaven.
23. So you must not make idols using gold or silver to compete with me. You must not make these false gods.
24. “Make a special altar for me. You should use dirt to make this altar. Offer sheep and cattle as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on this altar. Do this in every place where I tell you to remember me. Then I will come and bless you.
25. But if you use stones to make an altar, then don’t use stones that were cut with an iron tool. If you do that, it will make the altar unacceptable.
26. And you must not make steps leading up to the altar. If there are steps, when people look up to the altar, they will be able to see under your clothes.”