Exodus 34
34
The New Stone Tablets
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make two more stone tablets like the first two that were broken. I will write the same words on these stones that were written on the first two stones. 2Be ready tomorrow morning and come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. 3No one will be allowed to come with you. No one should even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even your herds of animals or flocks of sheep will not be allowed to eat grass at the bottom of the mountain.”
4So Moses made two more stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning Moses went up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. 5Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. 6That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “YAHWEH, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. 7He shows his faithful love to thousands of people.#34:7 people Or “generations.” He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but he does not forget to punish guilty people. Not only will he punish the guilty people, but their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren will also suffer for the bad things these people do.”
8Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord. Moses said, 9“Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people, but forgive us for the bad things we did. Accept us as your people.”
10Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with all of your people. I will do amazing things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see that I, the Lord, am very great. They will see the wonderful things that I will do for you. 11Obey what 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. 12Be careful! Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you make an agreement with them, it will bring you trouble. 13So destroy their altars, break the stones they worship, and cut down their idols.#34:13 stones … idols Literally, “memorials … Asherah poles.” These were stone markers and wood poles that the people set up to help them remember and honor false gods. 14Don’t worship any other god. I am YAHWEH KANAH—the jealous Lord. That is my name. I hate for my people to worship other gods.#34:14 I hate … gods Or “I am El Kanah—the Jealous God.”
15“Be careful not to make any agreements with the people who live in that land. If you do this, you might join them when they worship their gods. They will invite you to join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters serve false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.
17“Don’t make idols.
18“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, eat the bread made without yeast as I commanded you before. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because that is the month you came out of Egypt.
19“A woman’s first baby always belongs to me. Even the first animals that are born from your cattle or sheep belong to me. 20If you want to keep a donkey that is the first born, then you can buy it with a lamb. But if you don’t buy that donkey with a lamb, you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back all of your firstborn sons from me. No one should come before me without a gift.
21“You will work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. You must rest even during the times of planting and harvesting.
22“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest. Use the first grain from the wheat harvest for this festival. And in the fall#34:22 fall Literally, “at the changing of the year.” celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
23“Three times each year all your men must go to be with the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
24“When you go into your land, I will force your enemies out of that land. I will expand your borders—you will get more and more land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. At that time no one will try to take your land from you.
25“When you kill an animal and offer its blood as a sacrifice, you must not include anything that has yeast in it.
“Don’t let any of the meat from the Passover meal remain until morning.
26“Give the Lord the very first crops that you harvest. Bring them to the house#34:26 house The “Holy Tent” where the people went to meet with God. See Ex. 25:8, 9. of the Lord your God.
“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write everything that I have told you. This is the agreement that I made with you and the Israelites.”
28Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets.
Moses’ Shining Face
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he carried the two stone tablets of the agreement. Because he had talked with the Lord, his face was shining, but he did not know it. 30Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining bright. So they were afraid to go near him. 31But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people went to him. Moses talked with them. 32After that all the Israelites came near Moses, and he gave them the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. 34Any time Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering. Then Moses would come out and tell the Israelites what the Lord commanded. 35The people would see that Moses’ face was shining bright, so he would cover his face again. He kept his face covered until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Exodus 34
34
The New Stone Tablets
1The 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. 2Be 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 just like the first ones. Early in the morning he went up Mount Sinai. He carried the two stone 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 the 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 me. And I forgive those who sin. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I cause the sins of the parents to affect their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
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 your people. I will do amazing things 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. 11Obey what I command you today. I will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites to make room for you. 12Be 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. 13Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Cut down the poles they use to worship the female god named Asherah. 14Do not worship any other god. The Lord is a jealous God. In fact, his name is Jealous.
15“Be careful not to make a peace treaty with the people living in the land. They commit sin by offering sacrifices to their gods. They will invite you to eat their sacrifices, and you will do it. 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 any statues of gods.
18“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Do it at the appointed time in the month of Aviv. You came out of Egypt in that month.
19“Every male animal 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 born first to its mother. But if you do not buy the donkey back, break its neck. Buy back all your oldest sons.
“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. 23Three times a year all 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 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 the house of 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 law. 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 law in his hands. His face was shining because he had spoken with the Lord. But he didn’t realize it. 30Aaron and all 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 the leaders of the community came to him. And Moses spoke to them. 32After that, all the Israelites came near him. And he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33Moses finished speaking to them. Then he covered his face with a veil. 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 cover his face with the veil again. He would keep it on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.
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