Exodus 33
New King James Version
The Command to Leave Sinai
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you (A)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, (B)‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 (C)And I will send My Angel before you, (D)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 (E)to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest (F)I [a]consume you on the way, for you are a (G)stiff-necked[b] people.”
4 And when the people heard this bad news, (H)they mourned, (I)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 [c]ornaments, that I may (J)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 (K)called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who (L)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 (M)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 (N)talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and (O)worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So (P)the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but (Q)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, (R)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, (S)‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, (T)if I have found grace in Your sight, (U)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 (V)Your people.”
14 And He said, (W)“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you (X)rest.”
15 Then he said to Him, (Y)“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, (Z)except You go with us? So we (AA)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, (AB)“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 (AC)Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My (AD)goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. (AE)I will be gracious to whom I will be (AF)gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for (AG)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 (AH)in the cleft of the rock, and will (AI)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 (AJ)not be seen.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 33:3 destroy
- Exodus 33:3 stubborn
- Exodus 33:5 jewelry
Exodus 33
Lexham English Bible
Command to Resume Travel
33 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ 2 And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites,[a] the Amorites,[b] and the Hittites[c] and the Perizzites,[d] the Hivites,[e] and the Jebusites,[f] 3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, because you are a stiff-necked people, lest I destroy you on the way.” 4 And the people heard this troubling[g] word, and they mourned, and they each did not put their ornaments on themselves.
5 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites,[h] ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if one moment I were to go up among you, I would destroy you. And now take down your ornaments from on you, and I will decide[i] what I will do to you.” 6 And the Israelites[j] stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward.
The Tent outside the Camp
7 And Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp far from the camp, and he called it the tent of assembly, and[k] all seeking Yahweh would go out to the tent of assembly, which was outside the camp. 8 And[l] at the going out of Moses to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each at the opening of his tent, and gaze after Moses until his entering the tent. 9 And[m] at the entering of Moses into the tent the column of cloud would descend and stand at the opening of the tent, and he would speak with Moses. 10 And all the people would see the column of cloud standing at the opening of the tent, and all the people would rise and bow in worship, each at the opening of his tent. 11 And Yahweh would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his neighbor. And he would return to the camp, and his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the middle of the tent.
Presence and Glory
12 And Moses said to Yahweh, “See, you are saying to me, ‘Take this people up.’ But you have not let me know whom you will send with me, and you yourself have said, ‘I know you by name, and you also have found favor in my eyes.’ 13 And now if I have found favor in your eyes, make known to me, please, your way, and so I may know you so that I can find favor in your eyes. And see that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence is not going, do not bring us up from here. 16 And by what will it be known then that I have found favor in your eyes, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us? And so we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the ground.”
17 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Also I will do this thing that you have spoken, because you have found favor in my eyes and I have known you by name.”
18 And he said, “Please show me your glory.”
19 And he said, “I myself will cause all my goodness to pass over before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” 20 But he said, “You are not able to see my face, because a human will not see me and live.” 21 And Yahweh said, “There is a place with me, and you will stand on the rock. 22 And[n] when my glory passes over, I will put you in the rock’s crevice, and I will cover you with my hand until I pass over. 23 And I will remove my hand, and you will see my back, but my face will not be visible.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Perizzite”
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Exodus 33:2 Hebrew “Jebusite”
- Exodus 33:4 Or “bad,” “disastrous,” “calamitous”
- Exodus 33:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 33:5 Literally “know”
- Exodus 33:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 33:7 Literally “and it would be”
- Exodus 33:8 Literally “and it would be”
- Exodus 33:9 Literally “and it would be”
- Exodus 33:22 Literally “and it will be”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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