The Covenant Renewed

10 Then [a]God said, “Behold, (A)I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people (B)I will perform miracles which have not been [b]produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people [c]among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

11 [d]Be sure to comply with what I am commanding you this day: behold, (C)I am going to drive out the Amorite from you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 (D)Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. 13 (E)But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their [e](F)Asherim 14 —for (G)you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and (H)sacrifice to their gods, and someone (I)might invite you [f]to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and (J)you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods. 17 (K)You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.

18 “You shall keep (L)the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For (M)seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, [g]as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the (N)month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 (O)The [h]firstborn from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the [i]firstborn from [j]cattle and sheep. 20 (P)You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem (Q)all the firstborn of your sons. [k](R)None are to appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “You shall work (S)six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. 22 And you shall celebrate (T)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 (U)Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord [l]God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will [m](V)drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 (W)You shall not [n]offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, (X)nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to [o]be left over until morning.

26 “You shall bring (Y)the very first of the first fruits of your soil into 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, “(Z)Write [p]down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made (AA)a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord for (AB)forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And [q](AC)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, (AD)the Ten [r]Commandments.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:10 Lit He
  2. Exodus 34:10 Lit created
  3. Exodus 34:10 Lit in whose midst you are
  4. Exodus 34:11 Lit Observe for yourself
  5. Exodus 34:13 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  6. Exodus 34:15 Lit and you eat
  7. Exodus 34:18 Or which
  8. Exodus 34:19 Lit every firstborn of a womb
  9. Exodus 34:19 Lit every firstborn of a womb
  10. Exodus 34:19 Or oxen
  11. Exodus 34:20 Lit They shall not
  12. Exodus 34:23 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  13. Exodus 34:24 Or dispossess
  14. Exodus 34:25 Lit slaughter
  15. Exodus 34:25 Lit remain overnight
  16. Exodus 34:27 Lit for yourself
  17. Exodus 34:28 I.e., the Lord
  18. Exodus 34:28 Lit Words

Covenant Stipulations

10 And he said, “Look, I am about to make a covenant. In front of all your people I will do wonders that have not been created on all the earth and among all the nations, and all the people among whom you are will see Yahweh’s work, because what I am about to do with you will be awesome.

11 “Keep for yourself what I myself have commanded you today. Look, I am about to drive from before you the Amorites and the Canaanites[a] and the Hittites[b] and the Perizzites[c] and the Hivites[d] and the Jebusites.[e] 12 Be careful for yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, lest it be a snare among you. 13 Rather, you will tear down their altars, and you will break their stone pillars, and you will cut off their Asherah poles. 14 For you will not bow in worship to another god, for ‘Yahweh Is Jealous’ is his name, he is a jealous God, 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves after their gods, and they sacrifice to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat their sacrifice, 16 and you take from their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods, and they cause your sons to prostitute themselves after their gods. 17 You will not make gods of cast metal for yourself.

18 “You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, which I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 Every first offspring of a womb is for me—all of your male livestock, the first offspring of cattle and small livestock. 20 But the first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem it, you will break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you will redeem, and you will not appear before me empty-handed. 21 Six days you will work, and on the seventh day you will rest; in the time of plowing and in the time of harvest you will rest. 22 And you yourself[f] will observe the Feast of Weeks—the firstfruits of the wheat harvest—and the Feast of Harvest Gathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord, Yahweh, the God of Israel, 24 because I will evict nations before you, and I will enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh your God three times in the year.

25 “You will not slaughter the blood of my sacrifice on food with yeast, and the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover will not stay overnight to the morning. 26 The beginning of the firstfruits of your land you will bring to the house of Yahweh your God. You will not boil a young goat[g] in its mother’s milk.”

27 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Write for yourself these words, because according to[h] these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

The Shining Face of Moses

28 And he was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights. He ate no food and drank no water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:11 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  2. Exodus 34:11 Hebrew “Hittite”
  3. Exodus 34:11 Hebrew “Perizzite”
  4. Exodus 34:11 Hebrew “Hivite”
  5. Exodus 34:11 Hebrew “Jebusite”
  6. Exodus 34:22 Literally “for yourself” or “as for you, you will observe”
  7. Exodus 34:26 Or “kid”
  8. Exodus 34:27 Literally “on the mouth of”