Exodus 31-34

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Craftsmen for the Tent^(A)

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² “I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. ³ I have filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, making him highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable in all trades. ⁴ He’s a master artist familiar with gold, silver, and bronze. ⁵ He knows how to cut and set stones and how to work with wood. He’s an expert in all trades. ⁶ Also, I have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to help him. I have given every craftsman the skill necessary to make everything I have commanded you: ⁷ the tent of meeting, the ark containing the words of my promise with the throne of mercy on it, and all the ⌞other⌟ furnishings for the tent, ⁸ the table and the dishes, the pure ⌞gold⌟ lamp stand and all its utensils, the altar for incense, ⁹ the altar for burnt offerings and all its accessories, the basin with its stand, ¹⁰ the special clothes—the holy clothes for the priest Aaron and the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests, ¹¹ the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the holy place. They will make all these things as I commanded you.”

The Sign between the Lord and His People

¹² The Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Say to the Israelites, ‘Be sure to observe my days of rest as holy days. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come so that you will know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.

¹⁴ “ ‘Observe the day of rest because it is holy to you. Whoever treats it like any other day must be put to death. Whoever works on that day must be excluded from the people. ¹⁵ You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a day of rest—a holy day, a day when you don’t work. It is holy to the Lord. Whoever works on that day must be put to death. ¹⁶ The Israelites must observe this day of rest as a holy day, celebrating it for generations to come as a permanent reminder of my promise.^{[a] 17} It will be a permanent sign between me and the Israelites, because the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’ ”

¹⁸ The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then he gave him the two tablets with his words on them, stone tablets inscribed by God himself.

The Gold Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “We don’t know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. Make gods who will lead us.”

² Aaron said to them, “Have your wives, sons, and daughters take off the gold earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me.”

³ So all the people took off their gold earrings and handed them to Aaron. ⁴ After he had worked on the gold with a tool, he made it into a statue of a calf.

Then they said, “Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.”

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival in the Lord’s honor.”

⁶ Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Afterward, they sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy.

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined ⌞everything⌟. ⁸ They’ve already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They’ve made a statue of a calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They’ve said, ‘Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

⁹ The Lord added, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone. I’m so angry with them I am going to destroy them. Then I’ll make you into a great nation.”

¹¹ But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand? ¹² Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out ⌞of our land⌟.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’ ”

¹⁴ So the Lord reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.

¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain carrying the two tablets with God’s words. They were written on both sides, front and back. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing inscribed on the tablets.

¹⁷ Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It’s the sound of war in the camp!”

¹⁸ Moses replied,

¹⁹ When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

²¹ Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you encouraged them to commit such a serious sin?”

²² “Don’t be angry, sir,” Aaron answered. “You know that these people are evil. ²³ They said to me, ‘We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. Make gods for us. They will lead us.’ ²⁴ So I told them to take off any gold they were wearing. They gave it to me. I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

²⁵ Aaron had let the people get out of control, and they became an object of ridicule to their enemies. When Moses saw this, ²⁶ he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “If you’re on the Lord’s side, come over here to me!” Then all the Levites gathered around him.

²⁷ He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors.”

²⁸ The Levites did what Moses told them, and that day about 3,000 people died.

²⁹ Moses said, “Today you are ordained as the Lord’s priests. God gave you a blessing today because each of you fought with your own sons and brothers.”^[b]

Moses Begs the Lord to Spare the People

³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a serious sin. Now I will go up the mountain to the Lord. Maybe I will be able to make a payment for your sin and make peace with the Lord for your sin.”

³¹ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “These people have committed such a serious sin! They made gods out of gold for themselves. ³² But will you forgive their sin? If not, please wipe me out of the book you have written.”

³³ The Lord answered Moses, “I will wipe out of my book whoever sins against me. ³⁴ Now, go! Lead the people to the place I told you about. My Messenger will go ahead of you. But when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵ So the Lord killed people because they had Aaron make the calf.

The Lord Assures Moses That He Will Have Mercy on Israel

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ² I will send a Messenger ahead of you, and I will force out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ³ Go to that land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not be with you, because you are impossible to deal with, and I would destroy you on the way.”

⁴ When the people heard this bad news, they acted as if someone had died. No one wore any jewelry. ⁵ The Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are impossible to deal with. If I were with you, I might destroy you at any time. Now take off your jewelry, and I’ll decide what to do with you.’ ” ⁶ After they left Mount Horeb, the Israelites no longer wore their jewelry.

⁷ Now, Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who was seeking the Lord’s will used to go outside the camp to the tent of meeting. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances to their tents and watch Moses until he went in. ⁹ As soon as Moses went into the tent, the column of smoke would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the column of smoke standing at the entrance to the tent, they would all bow with their faces touching the ground at the entrance to their own tents. ¹¹ The Lord would speak to Moses personally, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would come back to the camp, but his assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, stayed inside the tent.

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You’ve been telling me to lead these people, but you haven’t let me know whom you’re sending with me. You’ve also said, ‘I know you by name, and I’m pleased with you.’ ¹³ If you really are pleased with me, show me your ways so that I can know you and so that you will continue to be pleased with me. Remember: This nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord answered, “My presence will go ⌞with you,⌟ and I will give you peace.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your presence is not going ⌞with us⌟, don’t make us leave this place. ¹⁶ How will anyone ever know you’re pleased with your people and me unless you go with us? Then we will be different from all other people on the face of the earth.”

¹⁷ The Lord answered Moses, “I will do what you have asked, because I am pleased with you, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory.”

¹⁹ The Lord said, “I will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name ‘the Lord.’ I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to. ²⁰ But you can’t see my face, because no one may see me and live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “Look, there’s a place near me. Stand by this rocky cliff. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice in the cliff and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take my hand away, and you’ll see my back, but my face must not be seen.”

The Lord Meets with Moses on the Mountain

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two ⌞more⌟ stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed. ² Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai, and stand in my presence on the top of the mountain. ³ No one may come with you or even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds may not graze in front of this mountain.”

⁴ So Moses cut two ⌞more⌟ stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets.

⁵ The Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him and called out his name “the Lord.”

⁶ Then he passed in front of Moses, calling out, “The Lord, the Lord, a compassionate and merciful God, patient, always faithful and ready to forgive. ⁷ He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation.”

⁸ Immediately, Moses knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground. ⁹ Then he said, “Lord, please go with us! Even though we are impossible to deal with, forgive our sin and the wrong we have done, and accept us as your own people.”

The Lord Makes His Promise with Israel Again

¹⁰ The Lord said, “I’m making my promise ^[c] again. In front of all your people I will perform miracles that have never been done in any other nation in all the world. All the people around you will see how awesome these miracles are that I will perform for you. ¹¹ Do everything that I command today. Then I will force the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites out of your way. ¹² Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you’re going. This will prove to be a trap to you. ¹³ But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. ¹⁴ (Never worship any other god, because the Lord is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.) ¹⁵ Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in that land. When they chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes and sacrifice to them, they may invite you to eat the meat from their sacrifices with them. ¹⁶ Then your sons will end up marrying their daughters. When their daughters chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes, they’ll lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷ “Never make an idol.

¹⁸ “You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every first male offspring is mine, even the firstborn males of all your livestock, whether cattle, sheep, or goats. ²⁰ It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy back the firstborn donkey. If you don’t buy it back, then you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back every firstborn of your sons.

“No one may come into my presence without an offering.

²¹ “You may work six days, but on the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work ⌞on this day⌟.

²² “You must celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first grain from your wheat harvest, and the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the season.

²³ “Three times a year all your men must come into the presence of the Master, the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴ I will force nations out of your way and will expand ⌞your country’s⌟ borders. No one will want to take away your land while you’re gone three times a year to the Lord’s festivals.

²⁵ “Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. No part of the sacrifice at the Passover Festival should be left over in the morning.

²⁶ “You must bring the first and best of the produce harvested from your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, because on the basis of these words I’m making a promise to Israel and to you.”

²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the promise, the ten commandments.

Moses Returns to the People

²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets with God’s words on them. His face was shining from speaking with the Lord, but he didn’t know it.

³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses and saw his face shining, they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him. Then Moses spoke to them. ³² After that, all the other Israelites came near him, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord told him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. Whenever he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they would see that Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.