Exodus 34:10-28
New Living Translation
10 The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you. 11 But listen carefully to everything I command you today. Then I will go ahead of you and drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
12 “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. 13 Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
15 “You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. 16 Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods. 17 You must not make any gods of molten metal for yourselves.
18 “You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
19 “The firstborn of every animal belongs to me, including the firstborn males[b] from your herds of cattle and your flocks of sheep and goats. 20 A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.
“No one may appear before me without an offering.
21 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
22 “You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest[c] with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest[d] at the end of the harvest season. 23 Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out the other nations ahead of you and expand your territory, so no one will covet and conquer your land while you appear before the Lord your God three times each year.
25 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And none of the meat of the Passover sacrifice may be kept over until the next morning.
26 “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord[e] wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments[f]—on the stone tablets.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 34:18 Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April.
- 34:19 As in Greek version; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain.
- 34:22a Hebrew Festival of Weeks; compare 23:16. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost. It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
- 34:22b Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
- 34:28a Hebrew he.
- 34:28b Hebrew the ten words.
Exodus 34:10-28
International Standard Version
The Covenant Promises Repeated
10 Then the Lord said, “I’m now going to make a covenant. I’ll do miraculous deeds in full view of your people that haven’t been done[a] in all the earth or in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, because it’s an awesome thing that I’ll do with you. 11 Obey[b] what I am commanding you today and I’ll drive out from before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
12 “Be very careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, so they won’t be a snare among you. 13 Rather, you are to tear down their altars, you are to smash their sacred pillars, and you are to cut down their sacred poles[c]— 14 indeed, you are not to bow down in worship to any other god, because the Lord’s name is Jealous—he’s a jealous God— 15 Otherwise, you may make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and when they prostitute themselves with their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, someone may invite you and then you may eat some of their sacrifices.
16 “You are not to take any of their daughters for your sons. Otherwise, when their daughters prostitute themselves with their gods, they may cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.
17 “You are not to make molten gods for yourselves.
18 “You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, at the appointed time in the month Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
19 “Everything firstborn[d] belongs to me: all the males of your herds, the firstborn of both cattle and sheep. 20 You are to redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, and if you don’t redeem it, you are to break its neck. You are to redeem every firstborn of your sons, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21 “For six days you are to work, but on the seventh day you are to rest; even during plowing time and harvest you are to rest.
22 “You are to observe the Festival of Weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Tabernacles[e] at the turn of the year. 23 Three times during the year all your males are to appear in the presence of the Lord God of Israel, 24 since I’m going to drive out nations before you, and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land, when you go up to appear in the presence of the Lord your God three times a year.
25 “You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, nor are you to allow the sacrifice of the Festival of Passover to remain until morning.
26 “You are to bring the best[f] of the first fruits of the ground to the house of the Lord your God.
“You are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord told Moses, “Write down these words, because I’m making a covenant with you and with Israel according to these words.”
28 While Moses[g] was there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights, he did not eat or drink.[h] He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 34:10 Lit. created
- Exodus 34:11 Lit. keep
- Exodus 34:13 Heb. Asherim; wooden symbols of the chief female Canaanite deity
- Exodus 34:19 Lit. Everything that first opens the womb
- Exodus 34:22 Or of Ingathering, or of Tents, or of Thanksgiving
- Exodus 34:26 Or the first
- Exodus 34:28 Lit. he
- Exodus 34:28 Lit. eat bread or drink water
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