Exodus 34
Names of God Bible
The Lord Meets with Moses on the Mountain
34 Yahweh said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed. 2 Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai, and stand in my presence on the top of the mountain. 3 No one may come with you or even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds may not graze in front of this mountain.”
4 So Moses cut two more stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets.
5 Yahweh came down in a cloud and stood there with him and called out his name “Yahweh.”
6 Then Yahweh passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a compassionate and merciful El, patient, always faithful and ready to forgive. 7 He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Immediately, Moses knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground. 9 Then he said, “Adonay, please go with us! Even though we are impossible to deal with, forgive our sin and the wrong we have done, and accept us as your own people.”
The Lord Makes His Promise with Israel Again
10 Yahweh said, “I’m making my promise[a] again. In front of all your people I will perform miracles that have never been done in any other nation in all the world. All the people around you will see how awesome these miracles are that I will perform for you. 11 Do everything that I command today. Then I will force the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites out of your way. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you’re going. This will prove to be a trap to you. 13 But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. 14 (Never worship any other god, because Yahweh is El Kanna. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.) 15 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in that land. When they chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes and sacrifice to them, they may invite you to eat the meat from their sacrifices with them. 16 Then your sons will end up marrying their daughters. When their daughters chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes, they’ll lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Never make an idol.
18 “You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 “Every first male offspring is mine, even the firstborn males[b] of all your livestock, whether cattle, sheep, or goats. 20 It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy back the firstborn donkey. If you don’t buy it back, then you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back every firstborn of your sons.
“No one may come into my presence without an offering.
21 “You may work six days, but on the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work on this day.
22 “You must celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first grain from your wheat harvest, and the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the season.
23 “Three times a year all your men must come into the presence of the Adonay, Yahweh Elohim of Israel. 24 I will force nations out of your way and will expand your country’s borders. No one will want to take away your land while you’re gone three times a year to Yahweh’s festivals.
25 “Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. No part of the sacrifice at the Passover Festival should be left over in the morning.
26 “You must bring the first and best of the produce harvested from your soil to the house of Yahweh your Elohim.
“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Write down these words, because on the basis of these words I’m making a promise to Israel and to you.”
28 Moses was there with Yahweh 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the promise, the ten commandments.
Moses Returns to the People
29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets with God’s words on them. His face was shining from speaking with Yahweh, but he didn’t know it.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses and saw his face shining, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him. Then Moses spoke to them. 32 After that, all the other Israelites came near him, and he commanded them to do everything Yahweh told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went into Yahweh’s presence to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. Whenever he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they would see that Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:10 Or “covenant.”
- Exodus 34:19 Greek, Latin; Hebrew meaning of the Masoretic Text uncertain.
Exodus 34
Easy-to-Read Version
The New Stone Tablets
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make two more stone tablets like the first two that were broken. I will write the same words on these stones that were written on the first two stones. 2 Be ready tomorrow morning and come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one will be allowed to come with you. No one should even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even your herds of animals or flocks of sheep will not be allowed to eat grass at the bottom of the mountain.”
4 So Moses made two more stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning Moses went up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. 5 Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. 6 That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. 7 He shows his faithful love to thousands of people.[a] He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but he does not forget to punish guilty people. Not only will he punish the guilty people, but their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren will also suffer for the bad things these people do.”
8 Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord. Moses said, 9 “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people, but forgive us for the bad things we did. Accept us as your people.”
10 Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with all of your people. I will do amazing things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see that I, the Lord, am very great. They will see the wonderful things that I will do for you. 11 Obey what 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. 12 Be careful! Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you make an agreement with them, it will bring you trouble. 13 So destroy their altars, break the stones they worship, and cut down their idols.[b] 14 Don’t worship any other god. I am Yahweh Kanah—the jealous Lord. That is my name. I hate for my people to worship other gods.[c]
15 “Be careful not to make any agreements with the people who live in that land. If you do this, you might join them when they worship their gods. They will invite you to join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters serve false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Don’t make idols.
18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, eat the bread made without yeast as I commanded you before. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because that is the month you came out of Egypt.
19 “A woman’s first baby always belongs to me. Even the first animals that are born from your cattle or sheep belong to me. 20 If you want to keep a donkey that is the first born, then you can buy it with a lamb. But if you don’t buy that donkey with a lamb, you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back all of your firstborn sons from me. No one should come before me without a gift.
21 “You will work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. You must rest even during the times of planting and harvesting.
22 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest. Use the first grain from the wheat harvest for this festival. And in the fall[d] celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
23 “Three times each year all your men must go to be with the Lord God, the God of Israel.
24 “When you go into your land, I will force your enemies out of that land. I will expand your borders—you will get more and more land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. At that time no one will try to take your land from you.
25 “When you kill an animal and offer its blood as a sacrifice, you must not include anything that has yeast in it.
“Don’t let any of the meat from the Passover meal remain until morning.
26 “Give the Lord the very first crops that you harvest. Bring them to the house[e] of the Lord your God.
“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write everything that I have told you. This is the agreement that I made with you and the Israelites.”
28 Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets.
Moses’ Shining Face
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he carried the two stone tablets of the agreement. Because he had talked with the Lord, his face was shining, but he did not know it. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining bright. So they were afraid to go near him. 31 But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people went to him. Moses talked with them. 32 After that all the Israelites came near Moses, and he gave them 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 Any time Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering. Then Moses would come out and tell the Israelites what the Lord commanded. 35 The people would see that Moses’ face was shining bright, so he would cover his face again. He kept his face covered until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.
Footnotes
- Exodus 34:7 people Or “generations.”
- Exodus 34:13 stones … idols Literally, “memorials … Asherah poles.” These were stone markers and wood poles that the people set up to help them remember and honor false gods.
- Exodus 34:14 I hate … gods Or “I am El Kanah—the Jealous God.”
- Exodus 34:22 fall Literally, “at the changing of the year.”
- Exodus 34:26 house The “Holy Tent” where the people went to meet with God. See Ex. 25:8, 9.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International