Exodus 33

1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, go up from here, thou and the people that thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it; —

Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Leave this place and go with the people whom you led out of Egypt. Go to the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants.

2 And I will send before thee an angel; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Emorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; —

I will send my angel ahead of you all, and I will expel [from that land] the Canaan, Amor, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups.

3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in the midst of thee, because thou art a stiffnecked people; lest I consume thee on the way.

You will go to a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [IDM]. But I will not go with you myself, because [if I did that], I might get rid of you while you are traveling, because you are very stubborn [IDM] people.”

4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned; and no man did put his ornaments on him.

Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the Israeli people, ‘You are very stubborn [IDM]. If I would go with you for even a moment, I would completely (get rid of you/wipe you out). Now take off your jewelry [to show that you are sorry for having sinned]. Then I will decide how I will punish you (OR, if I should punish you).’” So when Moses/I told to the people what God said, they started to mourn, and they all took off their jewelry.

5 For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people; should I go up one moment in the midst of thee, I would consume thee; now therefore put off thy ornaments from thee, and I shall know what I will do unto thee.

6 The children of Israel then stripped themselves of their ornaments [they wore] from [the time they were at] mount Horeb.

After the Israeli people left Sinai Mountain, they did not wear jewelry any more.

7 And Moses took the tent, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it, Tabernacle of the congregation; and it came to pass, that every one who sought [instruction of] the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

[When the Israeli people traveled], whenever they stopped and set up their tents, Moses/I had them set up a tent outside the camp, far from the camp. I called it ‘the Sacred Tent where God and I talk together’. Everyone who wanted Yahweh to decide something for them would go out of the camp to the Sacred Tent.

8 And it came to pass, that when Moses went out unto the tent, all the people would rise up, and stand every man at the door of his tent, and look after Moses, until he was gone into the tent.

Whenever Moses/I went out to the Sacred Tent, all the people would stand at the entrances of their tents and watch him/me until he/I had entered the Sacred Tent.

9 And it came to pass, that as Moses entered into the tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tent, and spoke with Moses.

When Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent, the tall cloud that looked like a fire would come down and stay at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and then Yahweh would talk with Moses/me.

10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the tent: then all the people rose up and prostrated themselves, every man at the door of his tent.

When the people saw the tall cloud at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, they would all prostrate themselves on the ground and worship Yahweh.

11 And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend; and then he returned into the camp; but his servant, Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tent.

Yahweh would speak to Moses/me directly, like someone speaks to his friend. Then Moses/I would return to the camp. But his/my young helper, Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed in the Sacred Tent.

12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people; but thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me: and yet thou hast said, I have chosen thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my eyes.

Moses/I said to Yahweh, “It is true that you have told me, ‘Lead the people to the land [that I will show you],’ and you have said that you know me well and that you are pleased with me, but you have not told me whom you will send with me!

13 Now, therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy eyes, do make me know thy way, that I may know thee, in order that I may find grace in thy eyes; and consider that this nation is thy people.

So now, if you are truly pleased with me, I ask you, tell me the things that you intend/plan to do, in order that I will know you [better] and continue to please you. Also, do not forget that the [Israeli] people are the people whom you chose to belong to you.”

14 And he said, My presence shall go in advance, and I will give thee rest.

Yahweh replied, “I will go with you, and I will give you inner peace.”

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not [with us, ] carry us not up from here.

Moses/I replied, “If you do not go with me, do not force us to leave this place.

16 For wherein shall it be known in any wise that I have found grace in thy eyes, I with thy people? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be distinguished, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

The only way that [other] people will know that you are pleased with me and with your people is if you go with us [RHQ]! (If you go with us, [that will show that] we are different from all the other people on the earth./If you do not go with us, what will show that we are different from all the other people on the earth?)” [RHQ]

17 And the Lord said unto Moses, Also this thing that thou hast spoken will I do; for thou hast found grace in my eyes, and I have chosen thee by name.

Yahweh replied to Moses/me, “What you have asked is exactly what I will do, because I know you well and I am pleased with you.”

18 And he said, Let me see, I beseech thee, thy glory.

Then Moses/I said, “Please let me see your glorious presence!”

19 And he said, I will cause all my goodness to pass before thy face, and I will proclaim, by name, the Lord before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.

Yahweh replied, “I will let you see how great and glorious I am, and I will tell you clearly that my name is Yahweh. I will act very kindly and be merciful to all those whom I choose.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for no man can see me, and live.

But you are not allowed to see my face, because anyone who sees my face will (die/not continue to stay alive).

21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock:

[But look]! Here is a place close to me where you can stand on a [large] rock.

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand, until I have passed by.

When my glorious presence comes past you, I will put you in a large crevice/opening in the rock, and I will cover your face with my hand until I have passed by.

23 And then I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen.

Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but you will not see my face.”