Exodus 34

New Stone Tablets

1 The Lord said to Moses, "Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop.

3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain."

4 Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him.
5 The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed [His] name Yahweh.

6 Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:
Yahweh-Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth,

7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand [generations], forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave [the guilty] unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.
8 Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

9 Then he said, "My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession."

Covenant Obligations

10 And the Lord responded: "Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people that have never been done in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord's work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring. 11 Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. 13 Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.

14 You are never to bow down to another god because Yahweh, being jealous by nature, is a jealous God.
15 "Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.

16 Then you will take some of their daughters [as brides] for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

17 "Do not make cast images of gods for yourselves.

18 "Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib as I commanded you. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.
19 "The firstborn male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep.

20 You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem [it], break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

21 "You are to labor six days but you must rest on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.
22 "Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the [agricultural] year. 23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory. No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 "Do not present the blood for My sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.

26 "Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
"You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

27 The Lord also said to Moses, "Write down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words."

28 Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets.

Moses' Radiant Face

29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai-with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain-he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them [to do] everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,

35 and the Israelites would see that Moses' face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.

Exodus 34

The second set of commandments

(Deuteronomy 10.1-5)

1 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke. 2 Be ready tomorrow morning to come up Mount Sinai and meet me at the top. 3 No one is to come with you or to be on the mountain at all. Don't even let the sheep and cattle graze at the foot of the mountain.”

4 So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones, and early the next morning he carried them to the top of Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded.
5 The Lord God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, “the Lord”.t 6 Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted.t

7 I keep my promises to my people for ever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
8 Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshipped the Lord.

9 He prayed, “Lord, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people.”

A promise and its demands

(Exodus 23.14-19; Deuteronomy 7.1-5; 16.1-17)

10 The Lord said:
I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighbouring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvellous things. 11 I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. 12 Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. 13 Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred polest they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah.t 14 I demand your complete loyalty—you must not worship any other god! 15 Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshipping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals.

16 Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods.

17 Don't make metal images of gods.t

18 Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib.t Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt.t

19 The firstborn males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.t

20 You can save the life of a firstborn donkeyt by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every firstborn son.t
Bring an offering every time you come to worship.
21 Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for ploughing and harvesting.t

22 Celebrate the Harvest Festivalt each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelterst each autumn when you pick your fruit.t
23 Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the Lord God of Israel.

24 I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.

25 When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.t

26 I am the Lord your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.t
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
27 The Lord told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel.

28 Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.

Moses comes down from Mount Sinai

32 Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. 34 Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the Lord. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the Lord had told him to say. 35 They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.