Exodus 34

1 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.

And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou didst break.

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

And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to Me on the top of the mount.

3 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.”

And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.'

4 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.

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.

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

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 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.

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;

7 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.”

keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.'

8 Moses quickly bowed down to the ground, and worshiped.

And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 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.”

And he said: 'If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray Thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.'

10 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.

And He said: 'Behold, I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD that I am about to do with thee, that it is tremendous.

11 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.

Observe thou that which I am commanding thee this day; behold, I am driving out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12 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.

Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest they be for a snare in the midst of thee.

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

But ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim.

14 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.

For thou shalt bow down to no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God;

15 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.

lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go astray after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and they call thee, and thou eat of their sacrifice;

16 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.

and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go astray after their gods, and make thy sons go astray after their gods.

17 Don't make any idols for yourselves.

Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18 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.

The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

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

All that openeth the womb is Mine; and of all thy cattle thou shalt sanctify the males, the firstlings of ox and sheep.

20 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.

And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty.

21 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.

Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

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

And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year.

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

Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

24 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.

For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man covet thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the LORD thy God three times in the year.

25 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.

Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26 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.”

The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.'

27 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.”

And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.'

28 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.

And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words.

29 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.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face sent forth beams while He talked with him.

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

And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face sent forth beams; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

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

And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him; and Moses spoke to them.

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

And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

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

And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34 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,

But when Moses went in before the LORD that He might speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out; and spoke unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35 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.

And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face sent forth beams; and Moses put the veil back upon his face, until he went in to speak with Him.