Exodus 34
Darby Translation
34 And Jehovah said to Moses, Hew for thyself two tables of stone like the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were upon the first tables, which thou hast broken.
2 And be ready for the morning, and go up in the morning to mount Sinai, and stand there before me on the top of the mountain.
3 And let no man go up with thee, neither shall any man be seen on all the mountain; neither shall sheep and oxen feed in front of that mountain.
4 And he hewed two tables of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
5 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and stood beside him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.
6 And Jehovah passed by before his face, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 keeping mercy unto thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but by no means clearing [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth [generation].
8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head to the earth and worshipped,
9 and said, If indeed I have found grace in thine eyes, Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in our midst; for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for an inheritance!
10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels that have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people in the midst of which thou [art] shall see the work of Jehovah; for a terrible thing it shall be that I will do with thee.
11 Observe what I command thee this day: behold, I will drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12 Take heed to thyself, that thou make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which thou shalt come, lest it be a snare in the midst of thee;
13 but ye shall demolish their altars, shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs.
14 For thou shalt worship no other God; for Jehovah—Jealous is his name—is a jealous God;
15 lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and then, when they go a whoring after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, thou be invited, and eat of their sacrifice,
16 and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
17 —Thou shalt make thyself no molten gods.
18 —The feast of the unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded thee, at the appointed time of the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
19 —All that openeth the womb [is] mine; and all the cattle that is born a male, the firstling of ox and sheep.
20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt ransom with a lamb; and if thou ransom [it] not, then shalt thou break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt ransom; and none shall appear before me empty.
21 —Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in ploughing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
22 —And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat-harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year.
23 Thrice in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel.
24 For I will dispossess the nations before thee, and enlarge thy border, and no man shall desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the face of Jehovah thy God thrice in the year.
25 —Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left over night until the morning.
26 —The first of the first-fruits of thy land shalt thou bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
27 And Jehovah said to Moses, Write thee these words; for after the tenor of these words have I made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 —And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread, and drank no water.—And he wrote on the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words.
29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai—and the two tables of testimony were in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mountain—that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone through his talking with him.
30 And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.
31 And Moses called to them; and they turned to him,—Aaron and all the principal men of the assembly; and Moses talked with them.
32 And afterwards, all the children of Israel came near; and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him on mount Sinai.
33 And Moses ended speaking with them; and he had put on his face a veil.
34 And when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel what he was commanded.
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:9 stubborn
- Exodus 34:10 wonderful acts
- Exodus 34:19 the firstborn
- Exodus 34:28 Lit. Ten Words
Exodus 34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 34
Renewal of the Tablets. 1 The Lord said to Moses: “Cut two stone tablets like the former,(A) that I may write on them the words[a] which were on the former tablets that you broke. 2 Get ready for tomorrow morning, when you are to go up Mount Sinai and there present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one even be seen on any part of the mountain;(B) even the sheep and the cattle are not to graze in front of this mountain.” 4 Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, taking in his hand the two stone tablets.
5 The Lord came down in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name, “Lord.” 6 So the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity,[b] 7 continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation!(C) 8 Moses at once knelt and bowed down to the ground. 9 Then he said, “If I find favor with you, Lord, please, Lord, come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and claim us as your own.”
Religious Laws. 10 The Lord said: Here is the covenant I will make. Before all your people I will perform marvels never before done[c] in any nation anywhere on earth, so that all the people among whom you live may see the work of the Lord. Awe-inspiring are the deeds I will perform with you! 11 As for you, observe what I am commanding you today.(D)
See, I am about to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 (E)Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land that you are to enter; lest they become a snare among you. 13 Tear down their altars; smash their sacred stones, and cut down their asherahs.[d] 14 You shall not bow down to any other god, for the Lord—“Jealous”[e] his name—is a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land; else, when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may invite you and you may partake of the sacrifice. 16 And when you take their daughters as wives for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves with their gods, they will make your sons do the same.
17 You shall not make for yourselves molten gods.(F)
18 You shall keep the festival of Unleavened Bread.(G) For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
19 To me belongs every male that opens the womb among all your livestock, whether in the herd or in the flock.(H) 20 The firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. The firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.
No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 Six days you may labor,(I) but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting you must rest.
22 (J)You shall keep the feast of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, likewise, the feast of the Ingathering at the close of the year.[f] 23 Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 Since I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your territory, no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord, your God.
25 You shall not offer me the blood of sacrifice with anything leavened, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be kept overnight for the next day.
26 The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God.
You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.(K)
Radiance of Moses’ Face. 27 Then the Lord said to Moses: Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 So Moses was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights,(L) without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.
29 As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant[g] while he spoke with the Lord. 30 When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Only after Moses called to them did Aaron and all the leaders of the community come back to him. Moses then spoke to them. 32 Later, all the Israelites came up to him, and he enjoined on them all that the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses entered the presence of the Lord to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out again.(M) On coming out, he would tell the Israelites all that he had been commanded. 35 Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Footnotes
- 34:1 Words: a common term for commandments, especially the Decalogue (see v. 28). In v. 27 “words” connotes the commands given in vv. 11–26.
- 34:6 Gracious…fidelity: this succinct poetic description of God is an often-repeated statement of belief (see Nm 14:18; Ps 103:8; 145:8; Jl 2:13; Jon 4:2). All the terms describe God’s relationship to the covenant people.
- 34:10 Never before done: lit., “created.” The verb used here (Heb. bara’) is predicated only of God (see Gn 1:1, 21, 27; Ps 51:12). These wonders are a new creation and can be performed only by God.
- 34:13 Asherah was the name of a Canaanite goddess. In her honor wooden poles (asherot) were erected, just as stone pillars (massebot) were erected in honor of the god Baal. Both were placed near the altar in a Canaanite shrine.
- 34:14 Jealous: see note on 20:5. Some, by a slight emendation, render, “The Lord is jealous for his name.” Cf. Ez 39:25.
- 34:22 Feast of Weeks: the festival of thanksgiving for the harvest, celebrated seven weeks or fifty days after the beginning of the harvest. It was also called Pentecost (fiftieth) and coincided with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the offering of the first fruits; cf. Lv 23:10–11; Dt 16:9. Feast of the Ingathering: feast of Booths.
- 34:29 Radiant: the Hebrew word translated “radiant” is spelled like the term for “horns.” Thus the artistic tradition of portraying Moses with horns.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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