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Exodus 32-34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

VII. Israel’s Apostasy and God’s Renewal of the Covenant

Chapter 32

The Golden Calf. 1 When the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for that man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.”(A) 2 Aaron replied, “Take off the golden earrings that your wives, your sons, and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received their offering, and fashioning it with a tool, made a molten calf. Then they cried out, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you[a] up from the land of Egypt.”(B) 5 On seeing this, Aaron built an altar in front of the calf and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord.” 6 Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought communion sacrifices. Then they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.(C)

7 (D)Then the Lord said to Moses: Go down at once because your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way I commanded them, making for themselves a molten calf and bowing down to it, sacrificing to it and crying out, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 9 (E)I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are, continued the Lord to Moses. 10 Let me alone, then, that my anger may burn against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.

11 [b]But Moses implored the Lord, his God, saying,(F) “Why, O Lord, should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning wrath; change your mind about punishing your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,(G) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’” 14 So the Lord changed his mind about the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.

15 Moses then turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands,(H) tablets that were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were made by God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(I) 17 Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “That sounds like a battle in the camp.” 18 But Moses answered,

“It is not the noise of victory,
    it is not the noise of defeat;
    the sound I hear is singing.”

19 As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain.(J) 20 Taking the calf they had made, he burned it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water[c] and made the Israelites drink.(K)

21 [d]Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you should lead them into a grave sin?” 22 Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever is wearing gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild because Aaron had lost control—to the secret delight of their foes. 26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the Levites(L) then rallied to him, 27 and he told them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put your sword on your hip! Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate, and kill your brothers, your friends, your neighbors!” 28 The Levites did as Moses had commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you are installed as priests[e] for the Lord, for you went against your own sons and brothers, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day.”

The Atonement. 30 On the next day Moses said to the people,(M) “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Ah, this people has committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! 32 Now if you would only forgive their sin! But if you will not, then blot me out of the book that you have written.”[f] 33 The Lord answered Moses: Only the one who has sinned against me will I blot out of my book. 34 Now, go and lead the people where I have told you. See, my angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.

35 Thus the Lord struck the people for making the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Chapter 33

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: Go! You and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt are to go up from here to the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: I will give it to your descendants.(N) 2 Driving out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, I will send an angel before you(O) 3 to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I myself will not go up in your company, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise I might consume you on the way. 4 When the people heard this painful news, they mourned, and no one wore any ornaments.

5 The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. Were I to go up in your company even for a moment, I would destroy you. Now off with your ornaments! Let me think what to do with you. 6 So, from Mount Horeb onward, the Israelites stripped off their ornaments.

Moses’ Intimacy with God. 7 Moses used to pitch a tent(P) outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. 11 The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face,(Q) as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent. 12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you are telling me: Lead this people.(R) But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said: You are my intimate friend;[g] You have found favor with me. 13 Now, if I have found favor with you, please let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you. See, this nation is indeed your own people. 14 The Lord answered: I myself[h] will go along, to give you rest. 15 Moses replied, “If you are not going yourself, do not make us go up from here. 16 For how can it be known that I and your people have found favor with you, except by your going with us? Then we, your people and I, will be singled out from every other people on the surface of the earth.” 17 The Lord said to Moses: This request, too, which you have made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend.

18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” 19 The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.(S) 20 But you cannot see my face,(T) for no one can see me and live.[i] 21 Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. 22 When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.

Chapter 34

Renewal of the Tablets. 1 The Lord said to Moses: “Cut two stone tablets like the former,(U) that I may write on them the words[j] which were on the former tablets that you broke. 2 Get ready for tomorrow morning, when you are to go up Mount Sinai and there present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one even be seen on any part of the mountain;(V) even the sheep and the cattle are not to graze in front of this mountain.” 4 Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, taking in his hand the two stone tablets.

5 The Lord came down in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name, “Lord.” 6 So the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity,[k] 7 continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation!(W) 8 Moses at once knelt and bowed down to the ground. 9 Then he said, “If I find favor with you, Lord, please, Lord, come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and claim us as your own.”

Religious Laws. 10 The Lord said: Here is the covenant I will make. Before all your people I will perform marvels never before done[l] in any nation anywhere on earth, so that all the people among whom you live may see the work of the Lord. Awe-inspiring are the deeds I will perform with you! 11 As for you, observe what I am commanding you today.(X)

See, I am about to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 (Y)Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land that you are to enter; lest they become a snare among you. 13 Tear down their altars; smash their sacred stones, and cut down their asherahs.[m] 14 You shall not bow down to any other god, for the Lord—“Jealous”[n] his name—is a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land; else, when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may invite you and you may partake of the sacrifice. 16 And when you take their daughters as wives for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves with their gods, they will make your sons do the same.

17 You shall not make for yourselves molten gods.(Z)

18 You shall keep the festival of Unleavened Bread.(AA) For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 To me belongs every male that opens the womb among all your livestock, whether in the herd or in the flock.(AB) 20 The firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. The firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.

No one shall appear before me empty-handed.

21 Six days you may labor,(AC) but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting you must rest.

22 (AD)You shall keep the feast of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, likewise, the feast of the Ingathering at the close of the year.[o] 23 Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 Since I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your territory, no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord, your God.

25 You shall not offer me the blood of sacrifice with anything leavened, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be kept overnight for the next day.

26 The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God.

You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AE)

Radiance of Moses’ Face. 27 Then the Lord said to Moses: Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 So Moses was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights,(AF) without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

29 As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant[p] while he spoke with the Lord. 30 When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Only after Moses called to them did Aaron and all the leaders of the community come back to him. Moses then spoke to them. 32 Later, all the Israelites came up to him, and he enjoined on them all that the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses entered the presence of the Lord to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out again.(AG) On coming out, he would tell the Israelites all that he had been commanded. 35 Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 32:4–5 Who brought you…a feast of the Lord: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).
  2. 32:11–13 Moses uses three arguments to persuade the Lord to remain faithful to the Sinai covenant even though the people have broken it: (1) they are God’s own people, redeemed with God’s great power; (2) God’s reputation will suffer if they are destroyed; (3) the covenant with Abraham still stands. The Lord’s change of mind is a testimony to Israel’s belief in the power of intercessory prayer.
  3. 32:20 The water: according to Dt 9:21, this was the stream that flowed down Mount Sinai.
  4. 32:21–24 Aaron attempts to persuade Moses not to act in anger, just as Moses persuaded the Lord. He also shifts the blame from himself to the people.
  5. 32:29 Installed as priests: lit., “fill your hands,” a term for the ordination of priests (see 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35; Nm 3:3). Because of their zeal for the true worship of the Lord, the Levites were chosen to be special ministers of the ritual service.
  6. 32:32 The book that you have written: a symbolic reference to the list of God’s faithful people.
  7. 33:12 Intimate friend: lit., “know by name.” The root word meaning “know” or “make known” appears four times in vv. 12–13.
  8. 33:14 I myself: lit., “my face,” that is, “my presence.” The making of the calf (32:1–4) is an attempt to control the Lord’s presence. In response the Lord refuses to accompany the people (33:3) until Moses persuades him.
  9. 33:20 No one can see me and live: reflecting the tradition that to see God meant instant death. This is contradicted by the statements that Hagar (Gn 16:13), Jacob (Gn 32:31), and Manoah and his wife (Jgs 13:22) all “see God” and yet live (see also Ex 24:10–11).
  10. 34:1 Words: a common term for commandments, especially the Decalogue (see v. 28). In v. 27 “words” connotes the commands given in vv. 11–26.
  11. 34:6 Gracious…fidelity: this succinct poetic description of God is an often-repeated statement of belief (see Nm 14:18; Ps 103:8; 145:8; Jl 2:13; Jon 4:2). All the terms describe God’s relationship to the covenant people.
  12. 34:10 Never before done: lit., “created.” The verb used here (Heb. bara’) is predicated only of God (see Gn 1:1, 21, 27; Ps 51:12). These wonders are a new creation and can be performed only by God.
  13. 34:13 Asherah was the name of a Canaanite goddess. In her honor wooden poles (asherot) were erected, just as stone pillars (massebot) were erected in honor of the god Baal. Both were placed near the altar in a Canaanite shrine.
  14. 34:14 Jealous: see note on 20:5. Some, by a slight emendation, render, “The Lord is jealous for his name.” Cf. Ez 39:25.
  15. 34:22 Feast of Weeks: the festival of thanksgiving for the harvest, celebrated seven weeks or fifty days after the beginning of the harvest. It was also called Pentecost (fiftieth) and coincided with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the offering of the first fruits; cf. Lv 23:10–11; Dt 16:9. Feast of the Ingathering: feast of Booths.
  16. 34:29 Radiant: the Hebrew word translated “radiant” is spelled like the term for “horns.” Thus the artistic tradition of portraying Moses with horns.
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Exodus 32-34
New International Version

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,(A) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before(B) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”(C)

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings(D) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol(E) cast in the shape of a calf,(F) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b](G) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(H)

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival(I) to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.(J) Afterward they sat down to eat and drink(K) and got up to indulge in revelry.(L)

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,(M) have become corrupt.(N) 8 They have been quick to turn away(O) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol(P) cast in the shape of a calf.(Q) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed(R) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’(S)

9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked(T) people. 10 Now leave me alone(U) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy(V) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”(W)

11 But Moses sought the favor(X) of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?(Y) 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?(Z) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster(AA) on your people. 13 Remember(AB) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:(AC) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars(AD) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land(AE) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented(AF) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law(AG) in his hands.(AH) They were inscribed(AI) on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(AJ)

17 When Joshua(AK) heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

18 Moses replied:

“It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf(AL) and the dancing,(AM) his anger burned(AN) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces(AO) at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned(AP) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,(AQ) scattered it on the water(AR) and made the Israelites drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

22 “Do not be angry,(AS) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.(AT) 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’(AU) 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”(AV)

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock(AW) to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’”(AX) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin.(AY) But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement(AZ) for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!(BA) They have made themselves gods of gold.(BB) 32 But now, please forgive their sin(BC)—but if not, then blot me(BD) out of the book(BE) you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out(BF) of my book. 34 Now go, lead(BG) the people to the place(BH) I spoke of, and my angel(BI) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,(BJ) I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf(BK) Aaron had made.

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath(BL) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’(BM) 2 I will send an angel(BN) before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(BO) 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.(BP) But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked(BQ) people and I might destroy(BR) you on the way.”

4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn(BS) and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people.(BT) If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy(BU) you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.(BV)

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”(BW) Anyone inquiring(BX) of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,(BY) watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud(BZ) would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke(CA) with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.(CB) 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,(CC) as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua(CD) son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’(CE) but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name(CF) and you have found favor(CG) with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways(CH) so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”(CI)

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence(CJ) will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(CK)

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence(CL) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?(CM) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”(CN)

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,(CO) because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”(CP)

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”(CQ)

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass(CR) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,(CS) the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.(CT) 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see(CU) me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock(CV) and cover you with my hand(CW) until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,(CX) and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,(CY) which you broke.(CZ) 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.(DA) 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;(DB) not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4 So Moses chiseled(DC) 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.(DD) 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud(DE) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.(DF) 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate(DG) and gracious God, slow to anger,(DH) abounding in love(DI) and faithfulness,(DJ) 7 maintaining love to thousands,(DK) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.(DL) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;(DM) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”(DN)

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor(DO) in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.(DP) Although this is a stiff-necked(DQ) people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,(DR) and take us as your inheritance.”(DS)

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant(DT) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders(DU) never before done in any nation in all the world.(DV) 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(DW) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(DX) 12 Be careful not to make a treaty(DY) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare(DZ) among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[c](EA) 14 Do not worship any other god,(EB) for the Lord, whose name(EC) is Jealous, is a jealous God.(ED)

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

17 “Do not make any idols.(EJ)

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

19 “The first offspring(EN) 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.(EO) Redeem all your firstborn sons.(EP)

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

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

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits(ET) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering(EU) at the turn of the year.[d] 23 Three times(EV) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations(EW) before you and enlarge your territory,(EX) 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,(EY) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.(EZ)

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

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

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

The Radiant Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai(FI) with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands,(FJ) he was not aware that his face was radiant(FK) 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(FL) came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands(FM) the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil(FN) 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.(FO) Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 32:1 Or a god; also in verses 23 and 31
  2. Exodus 32:4 Or This is your god; also in verse 8
  3. Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  4. Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn
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