The Command to Leave Sinai

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you (A)and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To (B)your offspring I will give it.’ I will send an (C)angel before you, (D)and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (E)Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; (F)but I will not go up among you, (G)lest I consume you on the way, for you are a (H)stiff-necked people.”

When the people heard this disastrous word, they (I)mourned, and (J)no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a (K)stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would (L)consume you. So now (M)take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and (N)he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who (O)sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and (P)each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the (Q)pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord[a] would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus (R)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his (S)assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses' Intercession

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, (T)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, (U)‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please (V)show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is (W)your people.” 14 And he said, (X)“My presence will go with you, and (Y)I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, (Z)“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? (AA)Is it not in your going with us, (AB)so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, (AC)for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please (AD)show me your glory.” 19 And he said, (AE)“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And (AF)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for (AG)man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a (AH)cleft of the rock, and I will (AI)cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall (AJ)not be seen.”

Moses Makes New Tablets

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

The Covenant Renewed

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

11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, (BF)I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 (BG)Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a (BH)snare in your midst. 13 You shall (BI)tear down their altars and (BJ)break their pillars and cut down their (BK)Asherim 14 (for (BL)you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 (BM)lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they (BN)whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and (BO)you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of (BP)their daughters for your sons, and their daughters (BQ)whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

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

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

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

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

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

The Shining Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with (CK)the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face (CL)shone because he had been talking with God.[e] 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face (CM)shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he (CN)commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a (CO)veil over his face.

34 Whenever Moses (CP)went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was (CQ)shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, (CR)“These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. (CS)Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. (CT)You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”

Contributions for the Tabernacle

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. (CU)Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. (CV)Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins;[f] acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

10 “Let (CW)every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 (CX)the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 (CY)the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the (CZ)veil of the screen; 13 (DA)the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the (DB)bread of the Presence; 14 (DC)the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the (DD)oil for the light; 15 (DE)and the altar of incense, with its poles, (DF)and the anointing oil and the (DG)fragrant incense, and (DH)the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 (DI)the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the (DJ)basin and its stand; 17 (DK)the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 (DL)the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their (DM)cords; 19 the (DN)finely worked garments for ministering[g] in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”

20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, (DO)everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, (DP)and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And (DQ)every one who possessed (DR)blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them. 24 (DS)Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every (DT)skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women (DU)whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. 27 And the (DV)leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 (DW)All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.

Construction of the Tabernacle

30 (DX)Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with (DY)skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has (DZ)filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 33:9 Hebrew he
  2. Exodus 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation
  3. Exodus 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  4. Exodus 34:28 Hebrew the ten words
  5. Exodus 34:29 Hebrew him
  6. Exodus 35:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; also verse 23; compare 25:5
  7. Exodus 35:19 Or garments for worship; see 31:10

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(A) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’(B) I will send an angel(C) before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(D) Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.(E) But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked(F) people and I might destroy(G) you on the way.”

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

The Tent of Meeting

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”(L) Anyone inquiring(M) of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,(N) watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud(O) would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke(P) 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.(Q) 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,(R) as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua(S) 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,’(T) but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name(U) and you have found favor(V) with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways(W) so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”(X)

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

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence(AA) 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?(AB) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”(AC)

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

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

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass(AG) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,(AH) 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.(AI) 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see(AJ) 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(AK) and cover you with my hand(AL) 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,(AM) and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,(AN) which you broke.(AO) Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.(AP) Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain;(AQ) not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

So Moses chiseled(AR) 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.(AS) Then the Lord came down in the cloud(AT) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.(AU) And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate(AV) and gracious God, slow to anger,(AW) abounding in love(AX) and faithfulness,(AY) maintaining love to thousands,(AZ) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.(BA) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;(BB) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”(BC)

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

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant(BI) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders(BJ) never before done in any nation in all the world.(BK) 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(BL) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(BM) 12 Be careful not to make a treaty(BN) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare(BO) among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[a](BP) 14 Do not worship any other god,(BQ) for the Lord, whose name(BR) is Jealous, is a jealous God.(BS)

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

17 “Do not make any idols.(BY)

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

19 “The first offspring(CC) 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.(CD) Redeem all your firstborn sons.(CE)

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

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

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits(CI) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering(CJ) at the turn of the year.[b] 23 Three times(CK) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations(CL) before you and enlarge your territory,(CM) 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,(CN) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.(CO)

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

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

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

The Radiant Face of Moses

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

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

Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded(DE) you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath(DF) rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.(DG) Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.(DH)

Materials for the Tabernacle(DI)(DJ)

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[c]; acacia wood; olive oil(DK) for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded:(DL) 11 the tabernacle(DM) with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark(DN) with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain(DO) that shields it; 13 the table(DP) with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand(DQ) that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar(DR) of incense with its poles, the anointing oil(DS) and the fragrant incense;(DT) the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;(DU) 16 the altar(DV) of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin(DW) with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;(DX) 18 the tent pegs(DY) for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments(DZ) for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn(EA) or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman(EB) spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders(EC) brought onyx stones and other gems(ED) to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.(EE) 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing(EF) brought to the Lord freewill offerings(EG) for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

Bezalel and Oholiab(EH)

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills(EI) 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab(EJ) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach(EK) others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work(EL) as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn
  3. Exodus 35:7 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals; also in verse 23