Exodus 33:1–11

The Orders Israel to Leave Mount Sinai

33^*The Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants. ²I will send an angel to guide you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ³You are going to a rich and fertile land. But I will not go with you myself, because you are a stubborn people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴When the people heard this, they began to mourn and did not wear jewellery any more. ⁵For the Lord had commanded Moses to say to them, “You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would completely destroy you. Now take off your jewellery, and I will decide what to do with you.” ⁶So after they left Mount Sinai, the people of Israel no longer wore jewellery.

The Tent of the ’s Presence

⁷Whenever the people of Israel set up camp, Moses would take the sacred Tent and put it up some distance away from the camp. It was called the Tent of the Lord’s presence, and anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go out to it. ⁸Whenever Moses went out there, the people would stand at the door of their tents and watch Moses until he entered it. ⁹After Moses had gone in, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the door of the Tent, and the Lord would speak to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁰As soon as the people saw the pillar of cloud at the door of the Tent, they would bow down. ¹¹The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as someone speaks with a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But the young man who was his helper, Joshua son of Nun, stayed in the Tent.