Exodus 34
English Standard Version
Moses Makes New Tablets
34 The Lord said to Moses, (A)“Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, (B)and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, (C)which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me (D)on the top of the mountain. 3 No (E)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.” 4 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. 5 The Lord (F)descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and (G)proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, (H)“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and (I)gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast (J)love and faithfulness, 7 (K)keeping steadfast love for thousands,[a] (L)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but (M)who will by no means clear the guilty, (N)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly (O)bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please (P)let the Lord go in the midst of us, for (Q)it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for (R)your inheritance.”
The Covenant Renewed
10 And he said, “Behold, (S)I am making a covenant. Before all your people (T)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 (U)awesome thing that I will do with you.
11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, (V)I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 (W)Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a (X)snare in your midst. 13 You shall (Y)tear down their altars and (Z)break their pillars and cut down their (AA)Asherim 14 (for (AB)you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 (AC)lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they (AD)whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and (AE)you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of (AF)their daughters for your sons, and their daughters (AG)whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 (AH)“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
18 (AI)“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in (AJ)the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 (AK)All that open the womb are mine, all your male[b] livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The (AL)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 (AM)none shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 (AN)“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 (AO)You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 (AP)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will (AQ)cast out nations before you and (AR)enlarge your borders; (AS)no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 (AT)“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, (AU)or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 (AV)The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. (AW)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 (AX)I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 (AY)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he (AZ)wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[c]
The Shining Face of Moses
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with (BA)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 (BB)shone because he had been talking with God.[d] 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face (BC)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 (BD)commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a (BE)veil over his face.
34 Whenever Moses (BF)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 (BG)shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:7 Or to the thousandth generation
- Exodus 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Exodus 34:28 Hebrew the ten words
- Exodus 34:29 Hebrew him
Exodus 34
New Life Version
Moses Makes New Pieces of Stone
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two pieces of stone like the first ones. And I will write on the stones the words that were on the first stones which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning. Come up in the morning to Mount Sinai. And stand before Me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen on the whole mountain. Even the sheep and the cattle may not eat in front of the mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two pieces of stone like the first ones. Then he got up early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord told him. And he took the two pieces of stone in his hand. 5 The Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he called upon the name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him, saying, “The Lord, the Lord God, with loving-pity and loving-favor, slow to anger, filled with loving-kindness and truth, 7 keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving wrong-doing and sin. But He will not let the guilty go without being punished. He brings the sin of fathers down upon the children, even the great-grandchildren.” 8 Moses was quick to put his face to the ground and worship. 9 And Moses said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in Your eyes, I pray, let the Lord go with us, even if the people are strong-willed. Forgive our wrong-doing and our sin. And take us for Your own.”
The Agreement Made Alive Again
10 Then God said, “See, I am going to make an agreement. I will do powerful works in front of all your people which have never been done on earth among any nation. All the people with whom you live will see the work of the Lord. For what I am going to do with you will fill people with fear. 11 Be sure to do what I am telling you this day. See, I am going to drive out of your way the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Take care to make no agreement with the people of the land where you are going. It would be a trap to you. 13 Instead you are to tear down their altars, break their objects of worship, and cut down their false gods. 14 For you must not worship any other god. For the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 So do not make an agreement with the people of the land. Or when they follow their desire with their gods and give gifts to their gods, they would ask you to eat of their gift used in worship. 16 And you would marry your sons to their daughters who follow their gods. And they would lead your sons to follow their gods also. 17 Do not make any gods for yourself.
18 “Keep the special supper of bread without yeast. Eat bread without yeast for seven days as I told you, at the time set aside for it in the month of Abib. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib. 19 Every first-born belongs to Me, and all your male animals, the first-born from cattle and sheep. 20 But the life of a first-born donkey should be paid for with the blood of a lamb. If you do not pay for its life, you should break its neck. Pay for the life of all your first-born sons with the blood of a lamb. No one is to come before Me without a gift.
21 “Work six days, but rest on the seventh day. Rest even during plowing time and gathering time. 22 Have the special supper of weeks at the first gathering of grain. Have the special supper of gathering time at the end of the year. 23 Three times a year all your males are to come before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive nations out of your way and give you more land. No man will desire to have your land when you go to show yourselves before the Lord your God.
25 “Do not give the blood of My gift together with bread made with yeast. Do not leave any of the gift of the special supper of the Passover until morning. 26 Bring the first of the first-fruits of your ground into the house of the Lord your God. Do not boil the meat of a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write these words. For by these words I have made an agreement with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the stones the words of the agreement, the Ten Great Laws.
Moses Goes Down from Mount Sinai
29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two stone writings in his hand. He did not know that the skin of his face was shining because of his speaking with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they saw that the skin of his face was shining. They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to him. And Moses spoke to them. 32 After this all the people of Israel came near. Moses told them to do all the Lord had said to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a piece of cloth. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the face covering until he came out. Then he would tell the people of Israel what the Lord had said for them to do. 35 The people of Israel saw that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would put the covering over his face again until he went in to speak with the Lord.
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