Beginning

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said, ‘I will give that land to your descendants.’ ² I will send an angel to lead you. And I will force these people out of the land: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ³ Go up to the land where much food grows. But I will not go with you. This is because I might destroy you on the way. You are such a stubborn people.”

⁴ The people heard this bad news, and they became very sad. None of them put on jewelry. ⁵ This was because the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.’” ⁶ So the people of Israel took off their jewelry at Mount Sinai.

The Meeting Tent

⁷ Moses used to take a tent and set it up a long way outside the camp. Moses called it the “Meeting Tent.” A person might want to ask the Lord about something. Then he would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. ⁸ Anytime Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise. They stood at the entrances of their tents and watched Moses until he entered the Meeting Tent. ⁹ When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would always come down. It would stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ The people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent. Then they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But Moses’ young helper, Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to lead these people. But you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you very well. I am pleased with you.’ ¹³ If I have truly pleased you, show me your plans. Then I may know you and continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you. And I will give you victory.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. ¹⁶ If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and your people. These people and I would be no different from any other people on earth.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask. This is because I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.”

Moses and God’s Greatness

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your greatness.”

¹⁹ The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you. I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone I want to show kindness. I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy. ²⁰ But you cannot see my face. No one can see me and stay alive.

²¹ “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² My greatness will pass that place. I will put you in a large crack in that rock. And I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”

Moses Gets New Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first two. I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke. ² Be ready tomorrow morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. ³ No one may come with you. No one should even be seen any place on the mountain. Not even the sheep or cattle may eat grass near that mountain.”

⁴ So Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses. And the Lord called out his name, the Lord.

⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy and is kind. The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love and faithfulness. ⁷ The Lord is kind to thousands of people. The Lord forgives people for wrong and sin and turning against him. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. The Lord will punish not only the guilty people. He will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.”

⁸ Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. ⁹ Moses said, “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people. But forgive our evil and our sin. Take us as your own people.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people. These things have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. ¹¹ Obey the things I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites ahead of you. ¹² Be careful. Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. It will bring you trouble. ¹³ But destroy their altars. Break their stone pillars. Cut down their Asherah idols. ¹⁴ Don’t worship any other god. This is because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God.

¹⁵ “Be careful. Don’t make any agreements with the people who live in that land. They will worship their false gods. And they will invite you to join them. Then you will join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶ You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters worship false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷ “Do not make gods of melted metal.

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib. This is because in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every firstborn cow or sheep that is born to each animal belongs to me. ²⁰ You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb. But if you don’t want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.

“No one is to come before me without a gift.

²¹ “You must work for six days. But on the seventh day you must rest. You must do this even during the planting season and harvest season.

²² “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the fall.

²³ “Three times each year all your men must come before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁴ I will force out nations ahead of you. I will expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. And at that time no one will try to take your land from you.

²⁵ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast. And do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover. It must not be left until the next morning.

²⁶ “Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground. Bring those things to the Tent 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 these words. This is because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel.”

²⁸ Moses stayed there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. During that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

The Face of Moses Shines

²⁹ Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai. In his hands he was carrying the two stone tablets of the agreement. But Moses did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. ³⁰ Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining. So they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses. Moses talked with them. ³² After that, all the people of Israel came near him. And he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. ³⁴ Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the people of Israel the things the Lord had commanded. ³⁵ The Israelites would see that Moses’ face was shining. So he would cover his face again. He did this until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.

Rules About the Sabbath

35 Moses gathered all the Israelite community together. He said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. ² You are to work for six days. But the seventh day will be a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to honor the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. ³ On the Sabbath day you must not light a fire in any of your houses.”

⁴ Moses said to all the Israelites, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ⁵ From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, ⁶ blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen, goat hair ⁷ and male sheep skins, colored red. And they may bring fine leather and acacia wood. ⁸ They may also bring olive oil for the lamps, spices for the special olive oil used for appointing priests and for the sweet-smelling incense. ⁹ And they may bring onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the holy vest and chest covering of the priests.

¹⁰ “Let all the skilled workers come and make everything the Lord commanded: ¹¹ the Holy Tent, its outer tent and its covering, the hooks, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; ¹² the Ark of the Covenant, its poles, lid and the curtain in front of it; ¹³ the table and its poles, all the things that go with the table and the bread that shows we are in God’s presence; ¹⁴ the lampstand for the light and all the things that go with it, the lamps and olive oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar of incense and its poles, the special oil and the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance of the Meeting Tent; ¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering and its bronze screen, its poles and all its tools, the bronze bowl and its base; ¹⁷ the curtains around the courtyard, their posts and bases, and the curtain at the entry to the courtyard; ¹⁸ the pegs of the Holy Tent and of the courtyard and their ropes; ¹⁹ the special clothes that the priest will wear in the Holy Place. These are the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons to wear when they serve as priests.”

²⁰ Then all the people of Israel went away from Moses. ²¹ Everyone who wanted to give came and brought a gift to the Lord. These gifts were used for making the Meeting Tent, all the things in the Tent and the special clothes. ²² All the men and women who wanted to give brought gold jewelry of all kinds. They brought pins, earrings, rings and bracelets. They all presented their gold to the Lord. ²³ Everyone who had blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen came and gave it to the Lord. Anyone who had goat hair or male sheep skins colored red or fine leather brought them to the Lord. ²⁴ Everyone who could give silver or bronze brought that as a gift to the Lord. Everyone who had acacia wood to be used in the work brought it. ²⁵ Every skilled woman used her hands to make the blue, purple and red thread and fine linen. And they brought what they had made. ²⁶ All the women who were skilled and wanted to help made thread of the goat hair. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and other jewels. These stones and jewels were put on the holy vest and chest covering for the priest. ²⁸ They also brought spices and olive oil. These were used for the sweet-smelling incense, the special oil and the oil to burn in the lamps. ²⁹ All the men and women of Israel who wanted to help brought gifts to the Lord. They were used for all the work the Lord had commanded Moses and the people to do.

³⁰ Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “Look, the Lord has chosen Bezalel. He is the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. ³¹ The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God. The Lord has given Bezalel the skill, ability and knowledge to do all kinds of work. ³² He is able to design pieces to be made of gold, silver and bronze. ³³ He is able to cut stones and jewels and put them in metal. Bezalel can carve wood and do all kinds of work. ³⁴ The Lord has given Bezalel and Oholiab the ability to teach others. Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ The Lord has given them the skill to do all kinds of work. They are able to cut designs in metal and stone. They can plan and sew designs in the fine linen with the blue, purple and red thread. And they are also able to weave things.