Exodus 34

1 And after this he said: Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the former, and I will write upon them the words which were in the tables, which thou brokest.

The Lord told Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them again the same words that were on the first tablets—the ones you broke.

2 Be ready in the morning, that thou mayst forthwith go up into mount Sinai, and thou shalt stand with me upon the top of the mount.

Get ready in the morning, and then come up Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the mountain top.

3 Let no man go up with thee: and let not any man be seen throughout all the mount: neither let the oxen nor the sheep feed over against it.

Nobody else can come up with you—I don't want to see anyone anywhere on the mountain, and no flocks or herds should graze at the foot of the mountain.”

4 Then he cut out two tables of stone, such as had been before: and rising very early he went up into the mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying with him the tables.

So Moses cut out two stone tablets like the previous ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning as the Lord had ordered him, taking with him the two stone tablets.

5 And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord.

The Lord descended in a cloud, stood there with him, and called out the name “Yahweh.”

6 And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true,

The Lord passed in front of him, calling out, “Yahweh! Yahweh! I am the God of grace and mercy! I am slow to become angry, full of trustworthy love and always faithful.

7 Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin, and no man of himself is innocent before thee. Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grandchildren, unto the third and fourth generation.

I go on showing my trustworthy love to thousands, forgiving guilt, rebellion, and sin. But I will not leave the guilty unpunished—the impact of sin will affect not only the parents, but also their children and grandchildren, up until the third and fourth generation.”

8 And Moses making haste, bowed down prostrate unto the earth, and adoring,

Moses quickly bowed down to the ground, and worshiped.

9 Said: If I have found grace in thy sight: O Lord, I beseech thee, that thou wilt go with us, (for it is a stiffnecked people, ) and take away our iniquities and sin, and possess us.

He said, “Lord, if it's true that you're happy with me, please accompany us. Admittedly this is a rebellious people, but please forgive our guilt and sin. Accept us as specially belonging to you.”

10 The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all. I will do signs such as were never seen upon the earth, nor in any nation: that this people, in the midst of whom thou art, may see the terrible work of the Lord which I will do.

The Lord said, “Look, I'm making an agreement with you. Right in front of all of you I will do miracles that have never been done before—not among anyone anywhere on earth. Everyone here and those around will see the Lord at work, for what I'm going to do for you will be incredible.

11 Observe all things which this day I command thee: I myself will drive out before thy face the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite.

But you must carefully follow what I tell you to do today. Pay attention! I'm going to drive out ahead of you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

12 Beware thou never join in friendship with the inhabitants of that land, which may be thy ruin:

Make sure you don't agree to a peace treaty with the people living in the land where you are going. Otherwise they will become a trap for you.

13 But destroy their altars, break their statues, and cut down their groves:

For you must tear down their altars, knock down their idolatrous pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles,

14 Adore not any strange god. The Lord his name is Jealous, he is a jealous God.

because you must not worship any other gods than the Lord. His name stands for being exclusive, because he is a God who demands an exclusive relationship.

15 Make no covenant with the men of those countries lest, when they have committed fornication with their gods, and have adored their idols, some one call thee to eat of the things sacrificed.

Make sure you don't agree to a peace treaty with the people living in the land, for when they prostitute themselves by worshiping and sacrificing to their gods, they will invite you to join them, and you will eat from their pagan sacrifices.

16 Neither shalt thou take of their daughters a wife for thy son, lest after they themselves have committed fornication, they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods.

When you have their daughters marry your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons worship their gods in the same way.

17 Thou shalt not make to thyself any molten gods.

Don't make any idols for yourselves.

18 Thou shalt keep the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time of the month of the new corn: for in the month of the springtime thou camest out from Egypt.

Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast, as I ordered you to do. You are to do this at the specified time in the month of Abib, because that was the month when you left Egypt.

19 All of the male kind, that openeth the womb, shall be mine. Of all beasts, both of oxen and of sheep, it shall be mine.

Every firstborn is mine. That includes all the firstborn males of your livestock from your cattle herds, and flocks.

20 The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep: but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem: neither shalt thou appear before me empty.

You can redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb, but if you don't, you must break its neck. All your firstborn sons must be redeemed. No one is to come before me without an offering.

21 Six days shalt thou work, the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough, and to reap.

You shall work for six days, but you shall rest on the seventh day. Even during the times of sowing and harvest you shall rest.

22 Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks with the firstfruits of the corn of thy wheat harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are laid in.

Observe the Festival of Weeks when you offer the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Harvest Festival at the end of the agricultural year.

23 Three times in a year all thy males shall appear in the sight of the Almighty Lord the God of Israel.

Three times every year all your males must appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.

24 For when I shall have taken away the nations from thy face, and shall have enlarged thy borders, no man shall lie in wait against thy land when thou shalt go up, and appear in the sight of the Lord thy God thrice in a year.

I will drive out the nations ahead of you and expand your borders, and no one will come and take your land when you go three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice upon leaven: neither shall there remain in the morning any thing of the victim of the solemnity of the Lord.

Don't offer bread made with yeast when you present a sacrifice to me, don't keep any sacrifice from the Passover Feast until the morning.

26 The first of the fruits of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

When you harvest your crops, bring the firstfruits to the house of the Lord your God. Don't cook a young goat in milk from its mother.”

27 And the Lord said to Moses: Write these words by which I have made a covenant both with thee and with Israel.

Then the Lord told Moses, “Write down these words, because these are the basis for the agreement I have made with you and with Israel.”

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights: he neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote upon the tables the ten words of the covenant.

Moses spent forty days and forty nights there with the Lord without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote down on the tablets the words of the agreement, the Ten Commandments.

29 And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of the Law, he didn't realize that his face was shining brightly because he had been speaking with the Lord.

30 And Aaron and the children of Israel seeing the face of Moses horned, were afraid to come near.

When Aaron and the Israelites saw Moses with his face shining so brightly they were frightened to approach him.

31 And being called by him, they returned, both Aaron and the rulers of the congregation. And after that he spoke to them.

But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the community leaders went over to him, and he talked with them.

32 And all the children of Israel came to him: and he gave them in commandment all that he had heard of the Lord in mount Sinai.

Afterwards all the Israelites came over and he gave them all the Lord's instructions he'd received on Mount Sinai.

33 And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face.

After Moses finished talking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 But when he went in to the Lord, and spoke with him, he took it away until he came forth, and then he spoke to the children of Israel all things that had been commanded him.

However, whenever Moses went in to talk with the Lord, he would take off the veil until he came out again. Then he would tell the Israelites the Lord's instructions,

35 And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them.

and the Israelites would see his face shining brightly. So he would put the veil over his face until the next time he went to talk with the Lord.