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) 2} Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.^(D) Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ 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.”

⁴ 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) 5} Then the Lord came down in the cloud^(H) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.^{(I) 6} 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) 7} 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)

⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “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)

The Radiant Face of Moses

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai^(BL) with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands,^(BM) he was not aware that his face was radiant^(BN) because he had spoken with the Lord. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community^(BO) came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands^(BP) the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil^(BQ) over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they saw that his face was radiant.^(BR) Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah^(A) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram^(B), sons of Eliab,^(C) and On son of Peleth—became insolent^{[a] 2} and rose up against Moses.^(D) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.^{(E) 3} They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron^(F) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,^(G) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.^(H) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”^(I)

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.^{(J) 5} Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,^(K) and he will have that person come near him.^(L) The man he chooses^(M) he will cause to come near him. ⁶ You, Korah, and all your followers^(N) are to do this: Take censers^{(O) 7} and tomorrow put burning coals^(P) and incense^(Q) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses^(R) will be the one who is holy.^(S) You Levites have gone too far!”

⁸ Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! ⁹ Isn’t it enough^(T) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?^{(U) 10} He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.^{(V) 11} It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble^(W) against him?^(X)”

¹² Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,^(Y) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!^{(Z) 13} Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey^(AA) to kill us in the wilderness?^(AB) And now you also want to lord it over us!^{(AC) 14} Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey^(AD) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.^(AE) Do you want to treat these men like slaves^[b]?^(AF) No, we will not come!^(AG)”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry^(AH) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey^(AI) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.^{(AJ) 17} Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.^(AK)” ¹⁸ So each of them took his censer,^(AL) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them^(AM) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord^(AN) appeared to the entire assembly. ²⁰ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Separate yourselves^(AO) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”^(AP)

²² But Moses and Aaron fell facedown^(AQ) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,^(AR) will you be angry with the entire assembly^(AS) when only one man sins?”^(AT)

²³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel^(AU) followed him. ²⁶ He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!^(AV) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away^(AW) because of all their sins.^(AX)” ²⁷ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.^(AY) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children^(AZ) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.^(BA)

²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^(BB) that the Lord has sent me^(BC) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹ If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.^{(BD) 30} But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth^(BE) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^(BF) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^(BG)”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{(BH) 32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(BI) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(BJ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. ³⁴ At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵ And fire came out from the Lord^(BK) and consumed^(BL) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

³⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar^(BM) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers^(BN) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— ³⁸ the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.^(BO) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,^(BP) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign^(BQ) to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest^(BR) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,^(BS) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, ⁴⁰ as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense^(BT) before the Lord,^(BU) or he would become like Korah and his followers.^(BV)

⁴¹ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴² But when the assembly gathered in opposition^(BW) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord^(BX) appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end^(BY) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer^(BZ) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly^(CA) to make atonement^(CB) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;^(CC) the plague^(CD) has started.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,^(CE) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.^{(CF) 49} But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.^{(CG) 50} Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.^[c]