1The Lord said to Moses, ‘Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.2Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.3No-one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.’4So Moses chiselled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’8Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshipped.9‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if I have found favour in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.’10Then the Lord said: ‘I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you.11Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.12Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.13Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[1]14Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.15‘Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.16And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.17‘Do not make any idols.18‘Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.19‘The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock.20Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. ‘No-one is to appear before me empty-handed.21‘Six days you shall labour, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.22‘Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year.[2]23Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel.24I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no-one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.25‘Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.26‘Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil 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 these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’28Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments.
The radiant face of Moses
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.31But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.32Afterwards all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.33When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.34But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,35they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Exodus 34
English Standard Version
Moses Makes New Tablets
1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. (Ex 32:19; Ex 34:28; De 10:1; De 10:2; De 10:4)2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. (Ex 19:20)3No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” (Ex 19:12; Ex 19:21)4So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone.5The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. (Ex 33:19; Nu 11:25; 1Ki 8:10)6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (Ex 22:27; Nu 14:18; 2Ch 30:9; Ne 9:17; Ps 57:10; Ps 86:15; Ps 103:8; Ps 108:4; Ps 111:4; Ps 112:4; Ps 116:5; Ps 145:8; Joe 2:13)7keeping steadfast love for thousands,[1] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Ex 20:5; Ex 23:21; De 5:9; De 5:10; Jos 24:19; Job 10:14; Ps 103:3; Ps 130:4; Jer 32:18; Da 9:4; Da 9:9; Na 1:3; 1Jo 1:9)8And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. (Ex 4:31; Ex 12:27)9And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” (Ex 32:9; Ex 33:15; De 32:9; Ps 28:9; Ps 33:12; Ps 78:62; Ps 94:14; Jer 10:16; Zec 2:12)
The Covenant Renewed
10And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. (Ex 34:27; De 4:32; De 5:2; De 10:21; De 29:1; Jos 6:20; Jos 10:12; 2Sa 7:23; Ps 77:14; Ps 78:12; Ps 145:6; Isa 64:3)11“Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (Ex 13:5)12Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. (Ex 23:32; Ex 23:33; De 7:2; Jos 23:12; Jud 2:2)13You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (Ex 23:24; De 7:5; De 12:3; De 16:21; Jud 2:2; Jud 6:25; 2Ki 18:4; 2Ki 23:14; 2Ch 31:1; 2Ch 34:3)14(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), (Ex 20:3; Ex 20:5)15lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, (Ex 34:12; Le 17:7; Le 20:5; Nu 25:2; De 31:16; Jud 2:17; Ps 106:28; Jer 3:9; Eze 6:9; 1Co 8:4; 1Co 8:7; 1Co 8:10; 1Co 10:27)16and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods. (Ex 34:15; De 7:3; 1Ki 11:2; Ezr 9:2; Ne 13:25)17“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal. (Ex 32:4; Ex 32:8; Le 19:4; De 27:15)18“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. (Ex 12:15; Ex 13:4)19All that open the womb are mine, all your male[2] livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. (Ex 13:2)20The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed. (Ex 13:13; Ex 23:15; Nu 18:15; De 16:16)21“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. (Ex 20:9)22You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. (Ex 23:16; De 16:10; De 16:13)23Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. (Ex 23:14; Ex 23:17; De 16:16)24For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. (Ex 23:27; Ex 33:2; De 7:1; De 12:20; De 19:8; Ps 78:55; Ps 80:8; Pr 16:7)25“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. (Ex 12:8; Ex 12:10)26The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Ex 23:19; De 14:21)27And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” (Ex 34:10)28So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[3] (Ex 24:18; Ex 31:18; Ex 32:16; Ex 34:1; De 4:13; De 10:2; De 10:4)
The Shining Face of Moses
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.[4] (Ex 32:15; Mt 17:2; 2Co 3:7)30Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Ex 34:29)31But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.32Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. (Ex 24:3)33And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. (2Co 3:13)34Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, (2Co 3:16)35the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him. (Ex 34:29)