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Exodus 32-34
New King James Version
Exodus 32-34
New King James Version
The Gold Calf(A)
32 Now when the people saw that Moses (B)delayed coming down from the mountain, the people (C)gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, (D)“Come, make us [a]gods that shall (E)go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who (F)brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the (G)golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 (H)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that (I)brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a (J)proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people (K)sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, (L)“Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt (M)have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which (N)I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, (O)‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, (P)“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a [b]stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, (Q)let Me alone, that (R)My wrath may burn hot against them and I may [c]consume them. And (S)I will make of you a great nation.”
11 (T)Then Moses pleaded with [d]the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 (U)Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and (V)relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You (W)swore by Your own self, and said to them, (X)‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the Lord (Y)relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 And (Z)Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the (AA)tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
18 But he said:
“It is not the noise of the shout of victory,
Nor the noise of the cry of defeat,
But the sound of singing I hear.”
19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that (AB)he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 (AC)Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, (AD)“What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. (AE)You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were (AF)unrestrained (for Aaron (AG)had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and (AH)let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 (AI)Then Moses said, [e]“Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”
30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, (AJ)“You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; (AK)perhaps I can (AL)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses (AM)returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have (AN)made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, (AO)blot me (AP)out of Your book which You have written.”
33 And the Lord said to Moses, (AQ)“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will (AR)blot him out of My book. 34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have (AS)spoken to you. (AT)Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, (AU)in the day when I (AV)visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”
35 So the Lord plagued the people because of (AW)what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
The Command to Leave Sinai
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you (AX)and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, (AY)‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 (AZ)And I will send My Angel before you, (BA)and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up (BB)to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest (BC)I [f]consume you on the way, for you are a (BD)stiff-necked[g] people.”
4 And when the people heard this bad news, (BE)they mourned, (BF)and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your [h]ornaments, that I may (BG)know what to do to you.’ ” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Moses Meets with the Lord
7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and (BH)called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who (BI)sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood (BJ)at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord (BK)talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and (BL)worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So (BM)the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but (BN)his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
The Promise of God’s Presence
12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, (BO)You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, (BP)‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, (BQ)if I have found grace in Your sight, (BR)show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is (BS)Your people.”
14 And He said, (BT)“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you (BU)rest.”
15 Then he said to Him, (BV)“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, (BW)except You go with us? So we (BX)shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
17 So the Lord said to Moses, (BY)“I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18 And he said, “Please, show me (BZ)Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My (CA)goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. (CB)I will be gracious to whom I will be (CC)gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for (CD)no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you (CE)in the cleft of the rock, and will (CF)cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall (CG)not be seen.”
Moses Makes New Tablets(CH)
34 And the Lord said to Moses, (CI)“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and (CJ)I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there (CK)on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall (CL)come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”
4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
5 Now the Lord descended in the (CM)cloud and stood with him there, and (CN)proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord (CO)God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in (CP)goodness and (CQ)truth, 7 (CR)keeping mercy for thousands, (CS)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, (CT)by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 So Moses made haste and (CU)bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, (CV)let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a (CW)stiff-necked[i] people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as (CX)Your inheritance.”
The Covenant Renewed(CY)
10 And He said: “Behold, (CZ)I make a covenant. Before all your people I will (DA)do [j]marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is (DB)an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 (DC)Observe what I command you this day. Behold, (DD)I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 (DE)Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall (DF)destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and (DG)cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship (DH)no other god, for the Lord, whose (DI)name is Jealous, is a (DJ)jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they (DK)play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them (DL)invites you and you (DM)eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of (DN)his daughters for your sons, and his daughters (DO)play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
17 (DP)“You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.
18 “The Feast of (DQ)Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the (DR)month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
19 (DS)“All [k]that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But (DT)the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.
“And none shall appear before Me (DU)empty-handed.
21 (DV)“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.
23 (DW)“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 For I will (DX)cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, (DY)nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.
26 (DZ)“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write (EA)these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 (EB)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And (EC)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the [l]Ten Commandments.
The Shining Face of Moses
29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the (ED)two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that (EE)the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, (EF)and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put (EG)a veil on his face. 34 But (EH)whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
Footnotes
- Exodus 32:1 Or a god
- Exodus 32:9 stubborn
- Exodus 32:10 destroy
- Exodus 32:11 Lit. the face of the Lord
- Exodus 32:29 Lit. Fill your hand
- Exodus 33:3 destroy
- Exodus 33:3 stubborn
- Exodus 33:5 jewelry
- Exodus 34:9 stubborn
- Exodus 34:10 wonderful acts
- Exodus 34:19 the firstborn
- Exodus 34:28 Lit. Ten Words
Exodus 32-34
New International Version
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
- Exodus 32:1 Or a god; also in verses 23 and 31
- Exodus 32:4 Or This is your god; also in verse 8
- Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn
Exodus 32-34
King James Version
Exodus 32-34
King James Version
32 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
5 For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.
25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
34 But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.