Moses Makes New Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, (A)“Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, (B)and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, (C)which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me (D)on the top of the mountain. No (E)one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord (F)descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and (G)proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, (H)“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and (I)gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast (J)love and faithfulness, (K)keeping steadfast love for thousands,[a] (L)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but (M)who will by no means clear the guilty, (N)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly (O)bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please (P)let the Lord go in the midst of us, for (Q)it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for (R)your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 And he said, “Behold, (S)I am making a covenant. Before all your people (T)I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an (U)awesome thing that I will do with you.

11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, (V)I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 (W)Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a (X)snare in your midst. 13 You shall (Y)tear down their altars and (Z)break their pillars and cut down their (AA)Asherim 14 (for (AB)you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 (AC)lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they (AD)whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and (AE)you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of (AF)their daughters for your sons, and their daughters (AG)whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

17 (AH)“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.

18 (AI)“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in (AJ)the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 (AK)All that open the womb are mine, all your male[b] livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The (AL)firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And (AM)none shall appear before me empty-handed.

21 (AN)“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 (AO)You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 (AP)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will (AQ)cast out nations before you and (AR)enlarge your borders; (AS)no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

25 (AT)“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, (AU)or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 (AV)The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. (AW)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words (AX)I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 (AY)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he (AZ)wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation
  2. Exodus 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  3. Exodus 34:28 Hebrew the ten words

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,(A) and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,(B) which you broke.(C) Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.(D) Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain;(E) not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

So Moses chiseled(F) out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.(G) Then the Lord came down in the cloud(H) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.(I) And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate(J) and gracious God, slow to anger,(K) abounding in love(L) and faithfulness,(M) maintaining love to thousands,(N) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.(O) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;(P) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”(Q)

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor(R) in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.(S) Although this is a stiff-necked(T) people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,(U) and take us as your inheritance.”(V)

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant(W) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders(X) never before done in any nation in all the world.(Y) The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command(Z) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(AA) 12 Be careful not to make a treaty(AB) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare(AC) among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[a](AD) 14 Do not worship any other god,(AE) for the Lord, whose name(AF) is Jealous, is a jealous God.(AG)

15 “Be careful not to make a treaty(AH) with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute(AI) themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.(AJ) 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives(AK) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,(AL) they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 “Do not make any idols.(AM)

18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.(AN) For seven days eat bread made without yeast,(AO) as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(AP) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 “The first offspring(AQ) of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(AR) Redeem all your firstborn sons.(AS)

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(AT)

21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest;(AU) even during the plowing season and harvest(AV) you must rest.

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits(AW) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering(AX) at the turn of the year.[b] 23 Three times(AY) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations(AZ) before you and enlarge your territory,(BA) and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast,(BB) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.(BC)

26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(BD) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”(BE)

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(BF) down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant(BG) with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights(BH) without eating bread or drinking water.(BI) And he wrote on the tablets(BJ) the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.(BK)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 (A)(B)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one (C)who is to come, or (D)shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one (E)who is to come, or (F)shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour (G)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and (H)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: (I)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, (J)lepers[a] are cleansed, and (K)the deaf hear, (L)the dead are raised up, (M)the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is (N)not offended by me.”

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus[b] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out (O)into the wilderness to see? (P)A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? (Q)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

(R)“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 ((S)When all the people heard this, and (T)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,[c] (U)having been baptized with (V)the baptism of John, 30 (W)but the Pharisees and (X)the lawyers (Y)rejected (Z)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come (AA)eating no bread and (AB)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come (AC)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, (AD)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet (AE)wisdom is justified by all her children.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  2. Luke 7:24 Greek he
  3. Luke 7:29 Greek they justified God

Jesus and John the Baptist(A)

18 John’s(B) disciples(C) told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses(D) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(E) 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet?(F) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[b](G)

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God(H) is greater than he.”

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.(I) 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law(J) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine,(K) and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(L) 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1