Exodus 33:1–34:35

Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Leave this place. You and the people you brought up out of Egypt must leave it. Go up to the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give it to your children after you.’ ²I will send an angel ahead of you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

³“Go up to the land that has plenty of milk and honey. But I will not go with you. You are stubborn. I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴When the people heard those painful words, they became sad and began to sob. No one put on any jewelry.

⁵The Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘You are stubborn. If I went with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.’ ” ⁶So the people took off their jewelry at Mount Horeb.

The Tent of Meeting

⁷Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord a question would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp. ⁸When Moses would go out to the tent, all of the people would get up and stand at the entrances to their tents. They would watch Moses until he entered the tent.

⁹As Moses would go into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down. It would stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰The people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent. Then all of them would stand and worship at the entrances to their tents.

¹¹The Lord would speak to Moses face to face. It was like a man speaking to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp.

But Joshua, his young helper, didn’t leave the tent. Joshua was the son of Nun.

The Lord Shows Moses His Glory

¹²Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people.’ But you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know your name. I know all about you. And I am pleased with you.’ ¹³If you are pleased with me, teach me more about yourself. Then I can know you. And I can continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴The Lord replied, “I will go with you. And I will give you rest.”

¹⁵Then Moses said to him, “If you don’t go with us, don’t send us up from here. ¹⁶How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and your people? You must go with us. How else will we be different from all of the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses, “I will do exactly what you have asked. I am pleased with you. And I know your name. I know all about you.”

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

¹⁹The Lord said, “I will make all of my goodness pass in front of you. And I will announce my name, The Lord, in front of you. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. And I will show love to those I love. ²⁰But you can’t see my face,” he said. “No one can see me and stay alive.”

²¹The Lord continued, “There is a place near me where you can stand on a rock. ²²When my glory passes by, I will put you in an opening in the rock. I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³Then I will remove my hand. You will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets that are just like the first ones. I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

²“Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai. Meet with me there on top of the mountain. ³No one must come with you. No one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Not even the flocks and herds must be allowed to eat grass in front of the mountain.”

⁴So Moses carved out two stone tablets that were just like the first ones. Early in the morning he went up Mount Sinai. He carried the two tablets in his hands. He did as the Lord had commanded him to do.

⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud. He stood there with Moses and announced his name, The Lord.

⁶As he passed in front of Moses, he called out. He said, “I am the Lord, the Lord. I am a God who is tender and kind. I am gracious. I am slow to get angry. I am faithful and full of love. ⁷I continue to show my love to thousands of people. I forgive those who do evil. I forgive those who refuse to obey. And I forgive those who sin. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I punish the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the sin of their parents.”

⁸Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹“Lord,” he said, “if you are pleased with me, then go with us. Even though these people are stubborn, forgive the evil things we have done. Forgive our sin. And accept us as your people.”

¹⁰Then the Lord said, “I am making a covenant with you. I will do wonderful things in front of all of your people. I will do miracles that have never been done before in any nation in the whole world. The people you live among will see the things that I, the Lord, will do for you. And they will see how wonderful those things really are.

¹¹“Obey what I command you today. I will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites to make room for you.

¹²“Be careful. Do not make a peace treaty with those who live in the land where you are going. They will be a trap to you. ¹³Tear down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Cut down the poles they use to worship the goddess Asherah. ¹⁴Do not worship any other god. I am a jealous God. In fact, my name is Jealous.

¹⁵“Be careful not to make a peace treaty with those who live in the land. They commit sin by offering sacrifices to their gods. They will invite you to eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶You will choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. And those daughters will commit sin by worshiping their gods. Then they will lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷“Do not make statues of gods.

¹⁸“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread that is made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Do it at the appointed time in the month of Abib. You came out of Egypt in that month.

¹⁹“Every male animal that is born first to its mother belongs to me. That includes your livestock. It includes herds and flocks alike. ²⁰Sacrifice a lamb to buy back every male donkey that is born first to its mother. But if you do not buy the donkey back, break its neck. Buy back every oldest son.

“You must not come to worship me with your hands empty.

²¹“Do your work in six days. But you must rest on the seventh day. Even when you are plowing your land or gathering your crops, you must rest on the seventh day.

²²“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Bring the first share of your wheat crop.

“Celebrate the Feast of Booths. Hold it in the fall.

²³“Three times a year all of your men must come to worship me. I am your Lord and King, the God of Israel. ²⁴I will drive out nations ahead of you. I will increase your territory. Go up three times a year to worship me. While you are doing that, I will keep others from wanting to take any of your land for themselves. I am the Lord your God.

²⁵“Do not include anything that is made with yeast when you offer me the blood of a sacrifice. You must not keep any of the meat from the sacrifice of the Passover Feast until morning.

²⁶“Bring the best of the first share of your crops to my house. I am the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down the words I have spoken. I have made a covenant with you and with Israel in keeping with those words.”

²⁸Moses was there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. He didn’t eat any food or drink any water. The Lord wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant. Those words are the Ten Commandments.

The Face of Moses Shines

²⁹Moses came down from Mount Sinai. He had the two tablets of the covenant in his hands. His face was shining because he had spoken with the Lord. But he didn’t realize it. ³⁰Aaron and all of the people of Israel saw Moses. His face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him.

³¹But Moses called out to them. So Aaron and all of the leaders of the community came to him. And Moses spoke to them. ³²After that, all of the people came near him. And he gave them all of the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³Moses finished speaking to them. Then he put a veil over his face. ³⁴But when he would go to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil. He would keep it off until he came out. Then he would tell the people what the Lord had commanded. ³⁵They would see that his face was shining. So Moses would put the veil back over his face. He would keep it on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.