Then Moses went up on the mountain is literally “And Moses ascended unto the mountain.” Durham has “So Moses climbed up higher on the mountain,” assuming from verse 9 that they were already part way up the mountain, and that he did not actually go to the top until seven days later. (See the following verses.)

And the cloud covered the mountain does not indicate whether this happened “after Moses had gone up” (New American Bible) or before. Moffatt has “which was covered with the cloud.” Either interpretation is possible, since the text does not say that the cloud of 19.16 had ever lifted.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .