¹¹ So ^(A)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When ^[a]Moses returned to the camp, ^(B)his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘^(C)Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know ^(D)whom You will send with me. ^(E)Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ ¹³ Now then, if I have found favor in Your sight in any way, please ^(F)let me know Your ways so that I may know You, in order that I may find favor in Your sight. ^(G)Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “^(H)My presence shall go with you, and ^(I)I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “^(J)If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that ^(K)we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the ^[b]earth?”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; ^(L)for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” ^18 (M)Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” ¹⁹ And He said, “^(N)I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and ^(O)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” ²⁰ He further said, “You cannot see My face, ^(P)for mankind shall not see Me and live!” ²¹ Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place ^[c]by Me, and ^(Q)you shall stand there on the rock; ²² and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and ^(R)cover you with My hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but ^(S)My face shall not be seen.”

⁴ So he cut out ^(A)two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses got up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took the two stone tablets in his hand. ⁵ And ^(B)the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he ^[a]called upon the name of the Lord. ⁶ Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, ^(C)compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and ^[b]truth; ⁷ who ^(D)keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He ^(E)will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ^(F)inflicting the ^[c]punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” ⁸ And Moses hurried ^[d](G)to bow low toward the ground and worship.