The Journey Resumed

33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which (A)I swore to Abraham, (B)Isaac, and (C)Jacob, saying, ‘(D)To your [a]descendants I will give it.’ And I will send (E)an angel before you and (F)I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Go up to a land (G)flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are [b](H)an obstinate people, and (I)I might destroy you on the way.”

When the people heard this [c]sad word, (J)they went into mourning, and none of them put on his jewelry. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are [d](K)an obstinate people; if I [e]were to go up in your midst for just one moment, I would destroy you. So now, take off your [f]jewelry that I may know what I shall do to you.’” So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry, from Mount Horeb onward.

Now Moses used to take (L)the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And (M)everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. Whenever Moses entered the tent, (N)the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; (O)and [g]the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would stand and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. 11 So (P)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When [h]Moses returned to the camp, (Q)his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘(R)Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know (S)whom You will send with me. (T)Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now then, if I have found favor in Your sight in any way, please (U)let me know Your ways so that I may know You, in order that I may find favor in Your sight. (V)Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “(W)My presence shall go with you, and (X)I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “(Y)If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that (Z)we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the [i]earth?”

17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; (AA)for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” 18 (AB)Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “(AC)I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and (AD)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” 20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, (AE)for mankind shall not see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place [j]by Me, and (AF)you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and (AG)cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but (AH)My face shall not be seen.”

The Two Tablets Replaced

34 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself (AI)two stone tablets like the former ones, and (AJ)I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you smashed. So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to (AK)Mount Sinai, and [k]present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. And (AL)no one is to come up with you, nor let anyone be seen [l]anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.” So he cut out (AM)two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses got up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took the two stone tablets in his hand. And (AN)the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he [m]called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, (AO)compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and [n]truth; who (AP)keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He (AQ)will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, (AR)inflicting the [o]punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” And Moses hurried [p](AS)to bow low toward the ground and worship. Then he said, “(AT)If in any way I have found favor in Your sight, Lord, please may the Lord go along in our midst, even though [q](AU)the people are so obstinate, and (AV)pardon our wrongdoing and our sin, and (AW)take us as Your own [r]possession.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 Then [s]God said, “Behold, (AX)I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people (AY)I will perform miracles which have not been [t]produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people [u]among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

11 [v]Be sure to comply with what I am commanding you this day: behold, (AZ)I am going to drive out the Amorite from you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 (BA)Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. 13 (BB)But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their [w](BC)Asherim 14 —for (BD)you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and (BE)sacrifice to their gods, and someone (BF)might invite you [x]to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and (BG)you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods. 17 (BH)You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.

18 “You shall keep (BI)the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For (BJ)seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, [y]as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the (BK)month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 (BL)The [z]firstborn from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the [aa]firstborn from [ab]cattle and sheep. 20 (BM)You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem (BN)all the firstborn of your sons. [ac](BO)None are to appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “You shall work (BP)six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. 22 And you shall celebrate (BQ)the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 (BR)Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord [ad]God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will [ae](BS)drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 (BT)You shall not [af]offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, (BU)nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to [ag]be left over until morning.

26 “You shall bring (BV)the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(BW)Write [ah]down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made (BX)a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord for (BY)forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And [ai](BZ)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, (CA)the Ten [aj]Commandments.

Moses’ Face Shines

29 And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the (CB)two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that (CC)the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and (CD)they were afraid to approach him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken [ak]to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, (CE)he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, (CF)he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded, 35 (CG)the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

The Sabbath Emphasized

35 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, “(CH)These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to [al]do:

(CI)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, (CJ)a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; (CK)whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. (CL)You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying, (CM)Take from among you a [am]contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart is to bring it as the Lords [an]contribution: gold, silver, and [ao]bronze, and [ap]violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, and rams’ skins [aq]dyed red, and [ar]fine leather, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the [as]breastpiece.

Tabernacle Artisans

10 (CN)Have every skillful person among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the [at](CO)tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the (CP)ark and its poles, the [au]atoning cover, and the covering curtain; 13 the (CQ)table and its poles, and all its [av]utensils, and the bread of the [aw]Presence; 14 the (CR)lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the (CS)altar of incense and its poles, and the (CT)anointing oil and the (CU)fragrant incense, and the curtain for the doorway at the [ax]entrance of the tabernacle; 16 (CV)the altar of burnt offering with its [ay]bronze grating, its poles, and all its [az]utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 (CW)the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars and its bases, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the courtyard and their ropes; 19 the [ba](CX)woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests.’”

Gifts Received

20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence. 21 And (CY)everyone whose heart [bb]stirred him and everyone whose spirit [bc]moved him came and brought the Lords [bd]contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 Then all [be]whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and [bf]earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did everyone who [bg]presented an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone [bh]who was in possession of violet, purple, or scarlet material or fine linen or goats’ hair, or rams’ skins [bi]dyed red or fine leather, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a [bj]contribution of silver and [bk]bronze brought the Lords [bl]contribution; and everyone [bm]who was in possession of acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 And all the [bn]skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and in fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart [bo]stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The rulers, moreover, brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the [bp]breastpiece; 28 and (CZ)the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The [bq]Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart [br]moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a (DA)[bs]voluntary offering to the Lord.

30 (DB)Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all [bt]craftsmanship; 32 to create [bu]designs for working in gold, in silver, and in [bv]bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and (DC)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 (DD)He has filled them with [bw]skill to perform every work of an engraver, of a designer, and of an embroiderer, in violet, purple, and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 33:1 Lit seed
  2. Exodus 33:3 Or a stiff-necked
  3. Exodus 33:4 Lit evil
  4. Exodus 33:5 Or a stiff-necked
  5. Exodus 33:5 Or go up...I will destroy
  6. Exodus 33:5 Lit jewelry from you, that
  7. Exodus 33:9 Lit He
  8. Exodus 33:11 Lit he
  9. Exodus 33:16 Lit ground
  10. Exodus 33:21 Lit with
  11. Exodus 34:2 Or place yourself before Me
  12. Exodus 34:3 Lit on all
  13. Exodus 34:5 Or called out with the name of the Lord
  14. Exodus 34:6 Or trustworthiness
  15. Exodus 34:7 I.e., punishment for the wrongdoing
  16. Exodus 34:8 Lit and bowed...worshiped
  17. Exodus 34:9 Lit it is a people stiff-necked
  18. Exodus 34:9 Or inheritance
  19. Exodus 34:10 Lit He
  20. Exodus 34:10 Lit created
  21. Exodus 34:10 Lit in whose midst you are
  22. Exodus 34:11 Lit Observe for yourself
  23. Exodus 34:13 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  24. Exodus 34:15 Lit and you eat
  25. Exodus 34:18 Or which
  26. Exodus 34:19 Lit every firstborn of a womb
  27. Exodus 34:19 Lit every firstborn of a womb
  28. Exodus 34:19 Or oxen
  29. Exodus 34:20 Lit They shall not
  30. Exodus 34:23 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  31. Exodus 34:24 Or dispossess
  32. Exodus 34:25 Lit slaughter
  33. Exodus 34:25 Lit remain overnight
  34. Exodus 34:27 Lit for yourself
  35. Exodus 34:28 I.e., the Lord
  36. Exodus 34:28 Lit Words
  37. Exodus 34:32 Lit with
  38. Exodus 35:1 Lit do them
  39. Exodus 35:5 Or uplifted offering
  40. Exodus 35:5 Or uplifted offering
  41. Exodus 35:5 Or copper
  42. Exodus 35:6 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  43. Exodus 35:7 Or tanned
  44. Exodus 35:7 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, and so throughout the ch
  45. Exodus 35:9 Or pouch
  46. Exodus 35:11 Lit dwelling place
  47. Exodus 35:12 Also called mercy seat; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  48. Exodus 35:13 Or vessels
  49. Exodus 35:13 Lit Face
  50. Exodus 35:15 Or doorway
  51. Exodus 35:16 Or copper
  52. Exodus 35:16 Or vessels
  53. Exodus 35:19 Or service garments
  54. Exodus 35:21 Lit lifted him up
  55. Exodus 35:21 Or made him willing
  56. Exodus 35:21 Or uplifted offering
  57. Exodus 35:22 Or who were willing-hearted
  58. Exodus 35:22 Or nose rings
  59. Exodus 35:22 Lit waved a wave offering
  60. Exodus 35:23 Lit with whom was found
  61. Exodus 35:23 Or tanned
  62. Exodus 35:24 Or uplifted offering
  63. Exodus 35:24 Or copper
  64. Exodus 35:24 Or uplifted offering
  65. Exodus 35:24 Lit with whom was found
  66. Exodus 35:25 Lit women wise of heart
  67. Exodus 35:26 Lit lifted them up in wisdom
  68. Exodus 35:27 Or pouch
  69. Exodus 35:29 Lit sons of Israel
  70. Exodus 35:29 Lit made them willing
  71. Exodus 35:29 Or freewill offering
  72. Exodus 35:31 Or work
  73. Exodus 35:32 Lit devices
  74. Exodus 35:32 Or copper
  75. Exodus 35:35 Lit wisdom of heart

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