Exo 34 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now the Lord said to Moses , “ Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones , and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you smashed .

Exodus 34

The Two Tablets Replaced

1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself ^atwo stone tablets like the former ones, and ^bI will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you smashed. 2 So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to ^cMount Sinai, and ^{▼▼Or place yourself before Me}present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. 3 And ^eno one is to come up with you, nor let anyone be seen ^{▼▼Lit on all}anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.” 4 So he cut out ^gtwo 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. 5 And ^hthe Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he ^{▼▼Or called out with the name of the Lord}called upon the name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, ^jcompassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and ^{▼▼Or trustworthiness}truth; 7 who ^lkeeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He ^mwill by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ⁿinflicting the ^{▼▼I.e., punishment for the wrongdoing}punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” 8 And Moses hurried ^{▼▼Lit and bowed...worshiped
,} ^qto bow low toward the ground and worship. 9 Then he said, “ ^rIf in any way I have found favor in Your sight, Lord, please may the Lord go along in our midst, even though ^{▼▼Lit it is a people stiff-necked
,} ^tthe people are so obstinate, and ^upardon our wrongdoing and our sin, and ^vtake us as Your own ^{▼▼Or inheritance}possession.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 Then ^{▼▼Lit He}God said, “Behold, ^yI am going to make a covenant. Before all your people ^zI will perform miracles which have not been ^{▼▼Lit created}produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people ^{▼▼Lit in whose midst you are}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 “ ^{▼▼Lit Observe for yourself}Be sure to comply with what I am commanding you this day: behold, ^adI am going to drive out the Amorite from you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 ^aeBe 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 ^afBut rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their ^{▼▼I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
,} ^ahAsherim 14 --for ^aiyou 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 ^ajsacrifice to their gods, and someone ^akmight invite you ^{▼▼Lit and you eat}to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and ^amyou 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 ^anYou shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.

18 “You shall keep ^aothe Feast of Unleavened Bread. For ^apseven days you are to eat unleavened bread, ^{▼▼Or which}as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^armonth of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 “ ^asThe ^{▼▼Lit every firstborn of a womb}firstborn from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the ^{▼▼Lit every firstborn of a womb}firstborn from ^{▼▼Or oxen}cattle and sheep. 20 ^awYou 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 ^axall the firstborn of your sons. ^{▼▼Lit They shall not
,} ^azNone are to appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “You shall work ^basix days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. 22 And you shall celebrate ^bbthe Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 ^bcThree times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will ^{▼▼Or dispossess
,} ^bfdrive 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 “ ^bgYou shall not ^{▼▼Lit slaughter}offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, ^binor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to ^{▼▼Lit remain overnight}be left over until morning.

26 “You shall bring ^bkthe 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, “ ^blWrite ^{▼▼Lit for yourself}down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made ^bna covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord for ^boforty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And ^{▼▼I.e., the Lord
,} ^bqHe wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, ^brthe Ten ^{▼▼Lit Words}Commandments.

Moses’ Face Shines

29 And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the ^bttwo tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that ^buthe 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 ^bvthey 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 ^{▼▼Lit with}to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, ^bxhe put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, ^byhe 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 ^bzthe 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.