Beginning
The Command to Leave Sinai
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. However, I will not go up in your midst, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.”
4 When the people heard this disturbing word, they mourned. And no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for one moment, I might destroy you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, so that I may know what I will do to you.’ ” 6 The children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
The Tent of Meeting
7 Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. And anyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up and stand, every man at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. 9 And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at the entrance of his tent. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When he returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.
The Glory of God
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You, and that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too that this nation is Your people.”
14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how will it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and Your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “I pray, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” 20 He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live.”
21 Then the Lord said, “Indeed, there is a place by Me. You must stand on the rock. 22 While My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you will see My back, but My face may not be seen.”
The New Stone Tablets
34 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, and the flocks or herds may not graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So he cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 Moses made haste and bowed to the ground and worshipped. 9 He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
The Covenant Renewed
10 Then He said: Indeed, I am going to make a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I will do with you. 11 Obey what I command you this day. Indeed, I am going to drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Watch yourself so that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles[a] 14 (for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you to eat of his sacrifice. 16 And then you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods. They will make your sons prostitute themselves after their gods.
17 You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.
18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the month of Aviv, for in the month of Aviv you came out of Egypt.
19 Every firstborn of the womb belongs to Me, and every firstborn male among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But you must redeem with a lamb the firstborn of a donkey, and if you fail to redeem him, then you must break his neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.
No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
21 You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even at the time of plowing and harvest you must rest.
22 You must observe the Feast of Weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. No man will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 You must not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left until the following morning.
26 The first of the first fruits of your land you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
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 he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Moses’ Radiant Face
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in the hands of Moses, when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, amazingly, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel drew near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off until he came out. Then he came out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded. 35 The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, and then Moses put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with Him.
Sabbath Regulations
35 Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them: These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. 3 You must not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.
Offerings for the Tabernacle(A)
4 Moses said to all the congregation of the children of Israel: This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 5 Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and blue, purple, and scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 onyx stones, and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.
10 Every skilled craftsman among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil that conceals it; 13 the table with its poles, and all its utensils, and the showbread; 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the incense altar with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and their sockets, and the curtain for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; 19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.
20 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had willing hearts, and brought brooches, earrings, rings and bracelets, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone that offered an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who was making a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s offering, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 All the women that were skilled spun with their hands and brought what they had spun, both of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to action and were skilled spun goats’ hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate, 28 and spice and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be made.
Bezalel and Oholiab(B)
30 Moses said to the children of Israel: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship, 32 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood in order to make every manner of artistic work. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work as craftsmen; as designers; as embroiderers in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen; and as weavers: as craftsmen of every work and artistic designers.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.