Exodus 34

1 The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel two stone tablets like the first: and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Cut two slabs of stone that will be like the first slabs, the ones that you broke. Then I will engrave on them the words that were on the first slabs.

2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

Get ready tomorrow morning, and come up to the top of Sinai Mountain again to talk with me there.

3 No one shall come up with you; neither let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mountain."

Do not allow anyone to come up with you. I do not want anyone [else] to be anywhere on the mountain. Do not allow any sheep or cattle to graze (at the base of/near) the mountain.”

4 He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets.

So Moses/I cut two slabs of stone that were like the first ones. He/I arose early the next morning. He/I took the slabs and carried them in his/my hands up to the top of Sinai Mountain, as Yahweh had commanded.

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

Then Yahweh descended in the [tall] cloud and stood with Moses/me there. He proclaimed that it was he, Yahweh, [who was going to speak to Moses/me].

6 The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,

Then Yahweh passed in front of him/me and proclaimed, “I am Yahweh God. I always act mercifully and kindly [toward people]. I do not get angry quickly. I [truly] love [people] and I do what I promise to do for them, without changing.

7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth [generation]."

I love people for thousands of generations. I forgive people for all kinds of sins [TRI]. But I will certainly punish [LIT] those who are guilty. I will punish not only them, but I will punish (their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren).”

8 Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

Moses/I quickly prostrated himself/myself on the ground and worshiped [Yahweh].

9 He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please let my Lord go in the midst of us; although this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."

He/I said, “Yahweh, if you are now pleased with me, I ask that you go with us. These people are very stubborn [IDM], but forgive us for all our sins [DOU], and accept us to be people who belong to you [forever].”

10 He said, "Look, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which you are shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you.

Yahweh replied, “Note this: I am going to make a solemn agreement [with the Israeli people]. As they are watching, I will perform great miracles. They will be miracles that no one has ever done on the earth in any nation. All the people who are near you will see the great things that I, Yahweh, will do. I will do awesome things for you [all].

11 Observe that which I command you this day. Look, I drive out before you the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hethite, and the Girgashite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

[Each Israeli] person must obey what I am commanding you this day. Do not forget that [if you obey me], I will expel the Amor, Canaan, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups [from the land]. But be careful that you do not make any [peace] agreements with any of the people who live in the land into which you are going, because if you do that, [you will begin to do the evil things that they do]. It will be [like] falling into a trap.

12 Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare in the midst of you:

13 but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherim;

You must tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down [the poles that they use to worship their female goddess] Asherah.

14 for you shall worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

You must worship only me, [and] not worship any other god, because I, Yahweh, cannot endure any rivals.

15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice;

Do not make peace agreements with [any group] that lives in that land. When they worship their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you to join them, do not join them. If [you join them], you will eat the food that they sacrifice to their gods, and [you will not be faithful to me. You will be like people who] commit adultery, [who are not being faithful to their spouses] [MET].

16 and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.

If you take some of their women to be wives for your sons, and these women worship their own gods, they will persuade your sons also to worship their gods.

17 You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.

Do not pour melted metal into molds to make statues for you to worship.

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.

[Each year], during the month [of/named] Abib, celebrate the Festival of Eating Bread Made Without Yeast. [During that festival], for seven days you must not eat bread made with yeast, as I commanded you, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.

19 All firstborn of the womb are mine, and all your male cattle, the firstborn of ox or sheep.

Your firstborn sons and the firstborn [male] animals of your cattle and sheep [and goats] belong to me.

20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb: and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty.

The firstborn of your [male] donkeys [also belong to me]. But you may buy them back by [offering to me] lambs [in their place]. If you do not do that, you must [kill these animals by] breaking their necks. You must also buy back your firstborn sons. You must bring an offering to me [LIT] each time you come to [worship] me.

21 "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

[Each week] you may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. [Even] during the times when you plow [the ground] and harvest [your crops], you must rest [on the seventh day].

22 You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year's end.

[Each year] celebrate the Harvest Festival, when you begin to harvest the first crop of wheat, and also celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters, when you finish harvesting [the grain and fruit].

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

Three times each year all the men must come to worship me, Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people.

24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before the LORD, your God, three times in the year.

I will expel the people-groups that live in the land [where you will be], and I will cause your territory to become very large. As a result, no group will try to conquer your country if you come to worship me each year during those three festivals.

25 "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left to the morning.

When you sacrifice an animal [MTY] to me, do not offer with it bread that is made with yeast. And during the Passover Festival, when you sacrifice lambs, do not keep any of the meat until the next morning.

26 You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

I am Yahweh God. You must bring to my Sacred Tent the first part of the grain that you harvest each year. When you kill a young animal/kid [either a lamb or a calf], do not [prepare to eat it by] boiling it in its mother’s milk.”

27 The LORD said to Moses, "Write you these words: for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Write down the words that I have told you. By giving you these commands, I have made a solemn agreement with you and with the [other] Israeli people.”

28 He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Moses/I was there [on the top of the mountain] with Yahweh for 40 days and nights. During that time he/I did not eat or drink anything [SYN]. He/I engraved on the stone slabs the words of the Ten Commandments, [which were part of Yahweh’s] solemn agreement.

29 It happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

When Moses/I came back down the mountain, carrying in his/my hand the two stone slabs on which were written the Ten Commandments, his/my face was shining because he/I had been talking with Yahweh, but he/I did not know that his/my face was shining.

30 When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, look, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.

When Aaron and the [other] Israeli people saw Moses/me, they were amazed/surprised that his/my face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him/me.

31 Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.

But Moses/I called to them. Then Aaron and the other Israeli leaders came to him/me, and he/I talked with them.

32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them all of the commandments that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

Afterwards, all the other Israeli people came near, and he/I told them all the laws that Yahweh had given to him/me on Sinai Mountain.

33 When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

When Moses/I finished talking to the people, he/I put a veil over his/my face.

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

But whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I removed the veil. When he/I came back out, he/I would always tell to the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me [to tell them].

35 The children of Israel saw Moses' face, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

The Israeli people would see that Moses’/my face was [still] shining. Then he/I would put the veil back on his/my face again until the next time that he/I went into [the Sacred Tent] to talk with Yahweh.