Moses and the Glory of the Lord

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’^(A) but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name^(B) and you have found favor^(C) with me.’ ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways^(D) so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”^(E)

¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence^(F) will go with you, and I will give you rest.”^(G)

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence^(H) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?^(I) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”^(J)

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,^(K) because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”^(L)

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”^(M)

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass^(N) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,^(O) the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.^{(P) 20} But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see^(Q) me and live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock^(R) and cover you with my hand^(S) until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,^(T) and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,^(U) which you broke.^{(V) 2} Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.^(W) Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain;^(X) not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses chiseled^(Y) out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.^{(Z) 5} Then the Lord came down in the cloud^(AA) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.^{(AB) 6} And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate^(AC) and gracious God, slow to anger,^(AD) abounding in love^(AE) and faithfulness,^{(AF) 7} maintaining love to thousands,^(AG) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.^(AH) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;^(AI) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”^(AJ)

⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor^(AK) in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.^(AL) Although this is a stiff-necked^(AM) people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,^(AN) and take us as your inheritance.”^(AO)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant^(AP) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders^(AQ) never before done in any nation in all the world.^(AR) The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. ¹¹ Obey what I command^(AS) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.^{(AT) 12} Be careful not to make a treaty^(AU) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare^(AV) among you. ¹³ Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.^{[a](AW) 14} Do not worship any other god,^(AX) for the Lord, whose name^(AY) is Jealous, is a jealous God.^(AZ)

¹⁵ “Be careful not to make a treaty^(BA) with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute^(BB) themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.^{(BC) 16} And when you choose some of their daughters as wives^(BD) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,^(BE) they will lead your sons to do the same.

¹⁷ “Do not make any idols.^(BF)

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^(BG) For seven days eat bread made without yeast,^(BH) as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,^(BI) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “The first offspring^(BJ) of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. ²⁰ Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^(BK) Redeem all your firstborn sons.^(BL)

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.^(BM)

²¹ “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest;^(BN) even during the plowing season and harvest^(BO) you must rest.

²² “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits^(BP) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering^(BQ) at the turn of the year.^{[b] 23} Three times^(BR) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁴ I will drive out nations^(BS) before you and enlarge your territory,^(BT) and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

²⁵ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast,^(BU) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.^(BV)

²⁶ “Bring the best of the firstfruits^(BW) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”^(BX)

¹⁸ This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁹ In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake^(A) in the land of Israel.^{(B) 20} The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble^(C) at my presence. The mountains will be overturned,^(D) the cliffs will crumble^(E) and every wall will fall to the ground.^{(F) 21} I will summon a sword^(G) against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.^{(H) 22} I will execute judgment^(I) on him with plague and bloodshed;^(J) I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones^(K) and burning sulfur^(L) on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.^{(M) 23} And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(N)’

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog^(O) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of^[a] Meshek^(P) and Tubal.^{(Q) 2} I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north^(R) and send you against the mountains of Israel.^{(S) 3} Then I will strike your bow^(T) from your left hand and make your arrows^(U) drop from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds^(V) and to the wild animals.^{(W) 5} You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.^{(X) 6} I will send fire^(Y) on Magog^(Z) and on those who live in safety in the coastlands,^(AA) and they will know^(AB) that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned,^(AC) and the nations will know^(AD) that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.^{(AE) 8} It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day^(AF) I have spoken of.

⁹ “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows,^(AG) the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.^{(AH) 10} They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder^(AI) those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(AJ)

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried^(AK) there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.^[b](AL)

¹² “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.^{(AM) 13} All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory^(AN) will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁴ People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. ¹⁵ As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, ¹⁶ near a town called Hamonah.^[c] And so they will cleanse the land.’

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival,^(A) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.^{(B) 38} Whoever believes^(C) in me, as Scripture has said,^(D) rivers of living water^(E) will flow from within them.”^{[a](F) 39} By this he meant the Spirit,^(G) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.^(H) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.^(I)

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”^(J)

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?^{(K) 42} Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants^(L) and from Bethlehem,^(M) the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided^(N) because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.^(O)