Exodus 31:18-34:35

International Children’s Bible

¹⁸ So the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then the Lord gave him the two stone tablets with the agreement written on them. The finger of God wrote the commands on the stones.

The People Make a Gold Calf

32 The people saw that a long time had passed. And Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.”

² Aaron said to the people, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons and daughters are wearing. Bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ Aaron took the gold from the people. Then he melted it and made a statue of a calf. He finished it with a tool. Then the people said, “Israel! These are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ Aaron saw all this, and he built an altar before the calf. Then he made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” ⁶ The people got up early the next morning. They offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. First the people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.

⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have done a terrible sin. ⁸ They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf of melted gold. They have worshiped that calf and offered sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people. I know that they are very stubborn people. ¹⁰ So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants a great nation.”

¹¹ But Moses begged the Lord his God. Moses said, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought these people out of Egypt with your great power and strength. ¹² Don’t let the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt. But he planned to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.’ So stop being angry. Don’t destroy your people. ¹³ Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You promised with an oath to them. You said, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them. It will be theirs forever.’” ¹⁴ So the Lord changed his mind. He did not destroy the people as he had said he might.

¹⁵ Then Moses went down the mountain. In his hands he had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. ¹⁶ God himself had made the stones. And God himself had written the commands on the stones.

¹⁷ Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”

¹⁸ Moses answered:

¹⁹ When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing. He became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets which he was carrying. He broke them at the bottom of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. And he ground the gold until it became powder. He threw the powder into the water. And he forced the Israelites to drink that water.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”

²² Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. ²³ The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.’ ²⁴ So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ So they gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. He saw that Aaron had let them get out of control. Their enemies would laugh at them. ²⁶ So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.

²⁷ Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend and his neighbor.’” ²⁸ The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3,000 of the people of Israel died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers. And God has blessed you for this.”

³⁰ The next day Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can do something so your sins will be removed. Then you will belong to God again.” ³¹ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terrible it is! These people have sinned horribly. They have made for themselves gods from gold. ³² Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name. Erase it from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”

³³ But the Lord told Moses, “I will erase from my book the names of the people who sin against me. ³⁴ So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you. My angel will lead you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵ So the Lord caused terrible things to happen to the people. He did this because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said, ‘I will give that land to your descendants.’ ² I will send an angel to lead you. And I will force these people out of the land: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ³ Go up to the land where much food grows. But I will not go with you. This is because I might destroy you on the way. You are such a stubborn people.”

⁴ The people heard this bad news, and they became very sad. None of them put on jewelry. ⁵ This was because the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.’” ⁶ So the people of Israel took off their jewelry at Mount Sinai.

The Meeting Tent

⁷ Moses used to take a tent and set it up a long way outside the camp. Moses called it the “Meeting Tent.” A person might want to ask the Lord about something. Then he would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. ⁸ Anytime Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise. They stood at the entrances of their tents and watched Moses until he entered the Meeting Tent. ⁹ When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would always come down. It would stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ The people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent. Then they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But Moses’ young helper, Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to lead these people. But you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you very well. I am pleased with you.’ ¹³ If I have truly pleased you, show me your plans. Then I may know you and continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you. And I will give you victory.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. ¹⁶ If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and your people. These people and I would be no different from any other people on earth.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask. This is because I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.”

Moses and God’s Greatness

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your greatness.”

¹⁹ The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you. I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone I want to show kindness. I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy. ²⁰ But you cannot see my face. No one can see me and stay alive.

²¹ “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² My greatness will pass that place. I will put you in a large crack in that rock. And I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”

Moses Gets New Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first two. I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke. ² Be ready tomorrow morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. ³ No one may come with you. No one should even be seen any place on the mountain. Not even the sheep or cattle may eat grass near that mountain.”

⁴ So Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses. And the Lord called out his name, the Lord.

⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy and is kind. The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love and faithfulness. ⁷ The Lord is kind to thousands of people. The Lord forgives people for wrong and sin and turning against him. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. The Lord will punish not only the guilty people. He will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.”

⁸ Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. ⁹ Moses said, “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people. But forgive our evil and our sin. Take us as your own people.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people. These things have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. ¹¹ Obey the things I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites ahead of you. ¹² Be careful. Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. It will bring you trouble. ¹³ But destroy their altars. Break their stone pillars. Cut down their Asherah idols. ¹⁴ Don’t worship any other god. This is because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God.

¹⁵ “Be careful. Don’t make any agreements with the people who live in that land. They will worship their false gods. And they will invite you to join them. Then you will join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶ You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters worship false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷ “Do not make gods of melted metal.

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib. This is because in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every firstborn cow or sheep that is born to each animal belongs to me. ²⁰ You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb. But if you don’t want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.

“No one is to come before me without a gift.

²¹ “You must work for six days. But on the seventh day you must rest. You must do this even during the planting season and harvest season.

²² “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the fall.

²³ “Three times each year all your men must come before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁴ I will force out nations ahead of you. I will expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. And at that time no one will try to take your land from you.

²⁵ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast. And do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover. It must not be left until the next morning.

²⁶ “Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground. Bring those things to the Tent of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words. This is because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel.”

²⁸ Moses stayed there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. During that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

The Face of Moses Shines

²⁹ Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai. In his hands he was carrying the two stone tablets of the agreement. But Moses did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. ³⁰ Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining. So they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses. Moses talked with them. ³² After that, all the people of Israel came near him. And he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. ³⁴ Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the people of Israel the things the Lord had commanded. ³⁵ The Israelites would see that Moses’ face was shining. So he would cover his face again. He did this until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.