Moses at the Burning Bush^(A)

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of ^(B)Jethro his father-in-law, ^(C)the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to ^(D)Horeb, ^(E)the mountain of God. ² And ^(F)the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this ^(G)great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

⁴ So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ^(H)to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

⁵ Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. ^(I)Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶ Moreover He said, ^(J)“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(K)he was afraid to look upon God.

⁷ And the Lord said: ^(L)“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ^(M)because of their taskmasters, ^(N)for I know their ^[a]sorrows. ⁸ So ^(O)I have come down to ^(P)deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land ^(Q)to a good and large land, to a land ^(R)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(S)the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now therefore, behold, ^(T)the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the ^(U)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (V)Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(W)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹² So He said, ^(X)“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a ^(Y)sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ^(Z)‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵ Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is ^(AA)My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ¹⁶ Go and ^(AB)gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ^(AC)“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ and I have said ^(AD)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ ¹⁸ Then ^(AE)they will heed your voice; and ^(AF)you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^(AG)met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

¹⁴ ‘So this day shall be to you ^(A)a memorial; and you shall keep it as a ^(B)feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast ^(C)by an everlasting ordinance.

²¹ And ^(A)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But ^(A)lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will ^(B)harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^(C)gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, ^(D)who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

The Ten Commandments^(A)

20 And God spoke ^(B)all these words, saying:

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

¹⁸ Now ^(AA)all the people ^(AB)witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain ^(AC)smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, ^(AD)“You speak with us, and we will hear; but ^(AE)let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

²⁰ And Moses said to the people, ^(AF)“Do not fear; ^(AG)for God has come to test you, and ^(AH)that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near ^(AI)the thick darkness where God was.

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 ^[a]ornaments, that I may ^(A)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 ^(B)called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who ^(C)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 ^(D)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 ^(E)talked with Moses. ¹⁰ All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and ^(F)worshiped, each man in his tent door. ¹¹ So ^(G)the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but ^(H)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, ^(I)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, ^(J)‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, ^(K)if I have found grace in Your sight, ^(L)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 ^(M)Your people.”

¹⁴ And He said, ^(N)“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you ^(O)rest.”

¹⁵ Then he said to Him, ^(P)“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, ^(Q)except You go with us? So we ^(R)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, ^(S)“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 ^(T)Your glory.”

¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My ^(U)goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. ^(V)I will be gracious to whom I will be ^(W)gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ²⁰ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for ^(X)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 ^(Y)in the cleft of the rock, and will ^(Z)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 ^(AA)not be seen.”

Moses Makes New Tablets^(A)

34 And the Lord said to Moses, ^(B)“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and ^(C)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 ^(D)on the top of the mountain. ³ And no man shall ^(E)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 ^(F)cloud and stood with him there, and ^(G)proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord ^(H)God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in ^(I)goodness and ^(J)truth, ^7 (K)keeping mercy for thousands, ^(L)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, ^(M)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 ^(N)bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. ⁹ Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, ^(O)let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a ^(P)stiff-necked^[a] people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as ^(Q)Your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed^(R)

¹⁰ And He said: “Behold, ^(S)I make a covenant. Before all your people I will ^(T)do ^[b]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 ^(U)an awesome thing that I will do with you. ^11 (V)Observe what I command you this day. Behold, ^(W)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 (X)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 ^(Y)destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and ^(Z)cut down their wooden images ¹⁴ (for you shall worship ^(AA)no other god, for the Lord, whose ^(AB)name is Jealous, is a ^(AC)jealous God), ¹⁵ lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they ^(AD)play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them ^(AE)invites you and you ^(AF)eat of his sacrifice, ¹⁶ and you take of ^(AG)his daughters for your sons, and his daughters ^(AH)play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

^17 (AI)“You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

¹⁸ “The Feast of ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

^19 (AL)“All ^[c]that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. ²⁰ But ^(AM)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 ^(AN)empty-handed.

^21 (AO)“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 (AP)“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will ^(AQ)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, ^(AR)nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.

^26 (AS)“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 ^(AT)these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” ^28 (AU)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And ^(AV)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ^[d]Ten Commandments.

The Shining Face of Moses

²⁹ Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the ^(AW)two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that ^(AX)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, ^(AY)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 ^(AZ)a veil on his face. ³⁴ But ^(BA)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.

Building the Tabernacle^(A)

^8 (B)Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them. ⁹ The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size.