Exodus 34
34
New Stone Tablets
1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. # 34:1 Ex 32:19; 34:28; Dt 10:2,4 2Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before me on the mountaintop. 3No one may go up with you; in fact, no one should be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.” # 34:2–3 Ex 19:12–13,20–21
4Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him.
5The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed his name, “the Lord.” 6The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:
The Lord — the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, # 34:6 Nm 14:18; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 103:8; 108:4; Jl 2:13; Rm 2:4 7maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. # 34:7 Ex 20:6; Ps 103:3; 130:4; Dn 9:9; 1Jn 1:9 But he will not leave the guilty # 34:7 Jos 24:19; Jb 10:14; Nah 1:3 unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.
8Moses immediately knelt low on the ground and worshiped. 9Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor with you, my Lord, please go with us (even though this is a stiff-necked people), forgive our iniquity and our sin, and accept us as your own possession.” # 34:9 Ex 33:15–16; Ps 33:12; 94:14
Covenant Obligations
10And the Lord responded, “Look, I am making a covenant. In the presence of all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done # 34:10 Lit created in the whole earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord’s work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring. # 34:10 Dt 4:32; 5:2; Ps 77:14; 145:6 11Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, # 34:11 DSS, Sam, LXX add Girgashites and Jebusites. 12Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. # 34:11–12 Ex 23:32–33; 33:2 13Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles. # 34:13 Ex 23:24; Dt 12:3; 2Kg 18:4; 2Ch 34:3–4 14Because the Lord is jealous # 34:14 Ex 20:3,5; Dt 4:24 for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. # 34:14 Or the Lord — his name is Jealous or the Lord, being jealous by nature He is a jealous God.
15“Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. # 34:15 Nm 25:2; Jdg 2:17; 1Co 8:4,7,10 16Then you will take some of their daughters as brides for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods. # 34:16 Dt 7:3; 1Kg 11:2,4; Ezr 9:2; Neh 13:25
17“Do not make cast images # 34:17 Ex 32:8; Lv 19:14 of gods for yourselves.
18“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, # 34:18 March–April; called Nisan in the post-exilic period; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7 as I commanded you, for you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib. # 34:18 Ex 12:15; 13:4
19“The firstborn # 34:19 Ex 13:2; 22:29 male from every womb belongs to me, including all your male # 34:19 LXX, Theod, Vg, Tg read males,# 34:19 Hb obscure livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep. 20You may redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. # 34:20 Ex 13:13,15; 23:15; Dt 16:16 You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21“You are to labor six days but you must rest # 34:21 Ex 20:9; Lk 13:14 on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.
22“Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering # 34:22 The Festival of Ingathering is called Festival of Shelters elsewhere; Lv 23:34–36. at the turn of the agricultural year. 23Three times a year # 34:23 Ex 23:14 all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24For I will drive out nations # 34:24 Ex 33:2; Ps 78:55 before you and enlarge your territory. # 34:24 Dt 12:20; 19:8 No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
25“Do not present # 34:25 Lit slaughter the blood for my sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning. # 34:25 Ex 12:10; 23:18
26“Bring the best firstfruits # 34:26 Ex 23:19; Dt 26:2 of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27The Lord also said to Moses, “Write # 34:27 Ex 17:14; 24:4 down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words.”
28Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat food or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, # 34:28 Ex 24:18; 31:18; Dt 4:13; 10:2,4 the words of the covenant, on the tablets.
Moses’s Radiant Face
29As Moses descended from Mount Sinai — with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain — he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord. # 34:29 Lit with him,# 34:29 Ex 32:15 30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! # 34:30 Ps 34:5; Mt 17:2; 2Co 3:7,13 They were afraid to come near him. 31But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, # 34:34 Ex 24:3; 2Co 3:13–16 35and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face # 34:35 Lit see Moses’s face, that the skin of his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.
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Exodus 34: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Exodus 34
34
The second set of commandments
(Deuteronomy 10.1-5)
1One day the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke. 2Be ready tomorrow morning to come up Mount Sinai and meet me at the top. 3No one is to come with you or to be on the mountain at all. Don't even let the sheep and cattle graze at the foot of the mountain.” 4So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones, and early the next morning he carried them to the top of Mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded.
5The LORD God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, “the LORD”.#34.5 the LORD: See the note at 3.14,15. 6Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, “I am the LORD God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted.#Ex 20.5,6; Nu 14.18; Dt 5.9,10; 7.9,10. 7I keep my promises to my people for ever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
8Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshipped the LORD. 9He prayed, “LORD, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people.”
A promise and its demands
(Exodus 23.14-19; Deuteronomy 7.1-5; 16.1-17)
10The LORD said:
I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighbouring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvellous things. 11I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. 12Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. 13Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles#34.13 sacred poles: Or “trees”, used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility. they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah.#Dt 16.21. 14I demand your complete loyalty—you must not worship any other god! 15Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshipping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. 16Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods.
17Don't make metal images of gods.#Ex 20.4; Lv 19.4; Dt 5.8; 27.15.
18Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib.#34.18 Abib: See the note at 12.2. Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt.#Ex 12.14-20; Lv 23.6-8; Nu 28.16-25.
19The firstborn males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.#Ex 13.2.
20You can save the life of a firstborn donkey#34.20 donkey: See the note at 13.13. by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every firstborn son.#Ex 13.13.
Bring an offering every time you come to worship.
21Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for ploughing and harvesting.#Ex 20.9,10; 23.12; 31.15; 35.2; Lv 23.3; Dt 5.13,14. 22Celebrate the Harvest Festival#34.22 Harvest Festival: See the note at 23.16. each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters#34.22 Festival of Shelters: See the note at 23.16. each autumn when you pick your fruit.#Lv 23.15-21; Nu 28.26-31; Lv 23.39-43.
23Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the LORD God of Israel. 24I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.
25When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.#Ex 12.10.
26I am the LORD your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.#Dt 26.2; Dt 14.21.
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
27The LORD told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. 28Moses stayed on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.
Moses comes down from Mount Sinai
29Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the LORD had been speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining.#2 Co 3.7-16. 30When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. 31Moses called out for Aaron and the leaders to come to him, and he spoke with them. 32Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. 34Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the LORD. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the LORD had told him to say. 35They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the LORD.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012