Exodus 34
Legacy Standard Bible
Stone Tablets like the Former Ones
34 Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Carve out for yourself (A)two stone tablets like the former ones, and (B)I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered. 2 So be prepared by morning, and come up in the morning to (C)Mount Sinai, and [a]present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. 3 (D)And no man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen [b]anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds may not graze in front of that mountain.” 4 So he carved out (E)two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand. 5 (F)Then Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood there with him, and [c]He called upon the name of Yahweh. 6 Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, (G)compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and [d]truth; 7 who (H)keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He (I)will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, (J)visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” 8 And Moses made haste [e](K)to bow low toward the earth and worship. 9 And he said, “(L)If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though [f](M)they are a stiff-necked people, and (N)pardon our iniquity and our sin, and (O)take us as Your own inheritance.”
Yahweh Cuts a Covenant with Israel
10 Then [g]God said, “Behold, (P)I am going to cut a covenant. Before all your people (Q)I will do wondrous deeds which have not been created in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people [h]among whom you live will see the working of Yahweh, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to do with you.
11 “[i]Be sure to keep what I am commanding you this day: behold, (R)I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 (S)Beware lest you cut a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 (T)But rather, you are to tear down their altars and shatter their sacred pillars and cut down their [j](U)Asherim 14 —for (V)you shall not worship any other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15 lest you cut a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and (W)sacrifice to their gods, and one of them (X)invite you [k]to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and (Y)you take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. 17 (Z)You shall make for yourself no molten gods.
18 “You shall keep (AA)the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For (AB)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, which I commanded you, at the appointed time in the (AC)month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
19 “(AD)The first offspring from every womb belongs to Me, even of all your male livestock, the first offspring from [l]cattle and sheep. 20 (AE)And you shall redeem with a lamb the [m]first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem (AF)all the firstborn of your sons. [n](AG)None shall appear before Me empty-handed.
21 “You shall work (AH)six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. 22 And you shall celebrate (AI)the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 (AJ)Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel. 24 For I will (AK)dispossess nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before Yahweh your God.
25 “(AL)You shall not [o]offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, (AM)and the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover shall not [p]be left over until morning.
26 “You shall bring (AN)the very first of the first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “(AO)Write [q]down these words, for in accordance with these words I have cut (AP)a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with Yahweh (AQ)forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And [r](AR)he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, (AS)the Ten [s]Commandments.
The Shining Face of Moses
29 Now it happened when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the (AT)two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that (AU)the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 Then Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and (AV)they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them. 32 And afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them everything that Yahweh had spoken [t]to him on Mount Sinai. 33 Then Moses finished speaking with them and (AW)put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with Him, (AX)he would take off the veil until he came out; and then he would come out and speak to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, 35 (AY)and the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would return the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:2 Or place yourself before
- Exodus 34:3 Lit on all
- Exodus 34:5 Or possibly he (Moses), but cf. 33:19
- Exodus 34:6 Or faithfulness
- Exodus 34:8 Lit and bowed...worshiped
- Exodus 34:9 Lit it is
- Exodus 34:10 Lit He
- Exodus 34:10 Lit in whose midst you are
- Exodus 34:11 Lit Keep for yourself
- Exodus 34:13 Wooden symbols of a female deity
- Exodus 34:15 Lit and you eat
- Exodus 34:19 Or oxen
- Exodus 34:20 Lit first opening of
- Exodus 34:20 Lit They shall not
- Exodus 34:25 Lit slaughter
- Exodus 34:25 Lit remain overnight
- Exodus 34:27 Lit for yourself
- Exodus 34:28 Or He, Yahweh
- Exodus 34:28 Lit Words
- Exodus 34:32 Lit with
Exodus 34
Evangelical Heritage Version
New Stone Tablets: A New Copy of the Laws
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. On these tablets I will write the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one may come up with you. In fact, no person is to be seen anywhere on the entire mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”
4 Moses cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Moses got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hand. 5 The Lord came down in the cloud. He took his stand there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, 7 maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin. He will by no means clear the guilty. He calls their children and their children’s children to account for the guilt of the fathers, even to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshipped. 9 He said, “If I have now found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go along with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our guilt and our sin, and accept us as your possession.”
The Covenant Repeated
10 The Lord said,
See, I am making a covenant. In the presence of all your people I will do marvelous things such as have never been created anywhere on earth or in any nation. So all the people who are around you will see the work of the Lord. For it is an awe-inspiring thing that I will do for you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. Watch me as I drive out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Be careful that you do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will be a trap in your midst. 13 But you must break down their altars and smash their sacred memorial stones to pieces, and you must cut down their Asherah poles.[a] 14 So you must worship no other god. For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.[b] 15 Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, so that they can prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods. If you do, they will invite you to eat their sacrifices, 16 and they will invite you to take their daughters as wives for your sons, and their daughters will prostitute themselves and make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods. 17 You shall not make any idols[c] for yourselves.
The Covenant Festivals
18 You shall observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread.[d] For seven days you are to eat bread without yeast, as I commanded you. Eat it at the time appointed in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.
19 The firstborn of every mother[e] is mine—the firstborn from all your male livestock, the firstborn of cattle and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not want to redeem it, then you must break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you must redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even in plowing time and in harvest time you must rest.
22 You are to observe the Festival of Weeks[f] with the first ripe produce from the wheat harvest.
Observe the Festival of Ingathering[g] at the year’s end.
23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before God the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 Because I will drive out nations before you and expand your borders, no one will covet your land when you go up to be in the presence of[h] the Lord, your God, three times a year.
25 You shall not offer leavened bread along with the blood of my sacrifices. Nothing from the sacrifice of the Festival of the Passover is to be left over until morning. 26 You are to bring the best of the firstfruits from your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
You shall not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat any bread or drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[i]
Moses’ Shining Face
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not realize that the skin of his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were amazed that the skin of his face was shining, so they were afraid to come close to him. 31 Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward, all the people of Israel came close to him, and he gave them all of the commands that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses was finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out again. Then he would come out and tell the people of Israel what he had been commanded. 35 Whenever the people of Israel saw Moses’ face, they would see that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord again.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:13 Asherah poles were representations of the goddess Asherah. They may have been living trees or poles carved from tree trunks.
- Exodus 34:14 In God jealousy is a demand for exclusive loyalty. He can tolerate no other gods.
- Exodus 34:17 The Hebrew word used here for idol refers to idols cast out of metal, but here it may simply be used as a generic name for all idols.
- Exodus 34:18 The week following the Passover in spring
- Exodus 34:19 Literally every opener of the womb. Jewish tradition pays more attention to the firstborn of fathers.
- Exodus 34:22 Also called Pentecost or Harvest or Reaping
- Exodus 34:22 Also called Tabernacles or Booths or Shelters
- Exodus 34:24 Literally see the face of
- Exodus 34:28 Literally the Hebrew refers to Ten Words not Ten Commandments.
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