Exodus 34
1 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Cut two slabs of stone that will be like the first slabs, the ones that you broke. Then I will engrave on them the words that were on the first slabs.
The Lord told Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them again the same words that were on the first tablets—the ones you broke.
2 Get ready tomorrow morning, and come up to the top of Sinai Mountain again to talk with me there.
Get ready in the morning, and then come up Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the mountain top.
3 Do not allow anyone to come up with you. I do not want anyone [else] to be anywhere on the mountain. Do not allow any sheep or cattle to graze (at the base of/near) the mountain.”
Nobody else can come up with you—I don't want to see anyone anywhere on the mountain, and no flocks or herds should graze at the foot of the mountain.”
4 So Moses/I cut two slabs of stone that were like the first ones. He/I arose early the next morning. He/I took the slabs and carried them in his/my hands up to the top of Sinai Mountain, as Yahweh had commanded.
So Moses cut out two stone tablets like the previous ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning as the Lord had ordered him, taking with him the two stone tablets.
5 Then Yahweh descended in the [tall] cloud and stood with Moses/me there. He proclaimed that it was he, Yahweh, [who was going to speak to Moses/me].
The Lord descended in a cloud, stood there with him, and called out the name “Yahweh.”
6 Then Yahweh passed in front of him/me and proclaimed, “I am Yahweh God. I always act mercifully and kindly [toward people]. I do not get angry quickly. I [truly] love [people] and I do what I promise to do for them, without changing.
The Lord passed in front of him, calling out, “Yahweh! Yahweh! I am the God of grace and mercy! I am slow to become angry, full of trustworthy love and always faithful.
7 I love people for thousands of generations. I forgive people for all kinds of sins [TRI]. But I will certainly punish [LIT] those who are guilty. I will punish not only them, but I will punish (their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren).”
I go on showing my trustworthy love to thousands, forgiving guilt, rebellion, and sin. But I will not leave the guilty unpunished—the impact of sin will affect not only the parents, but also their children and grandchildren, up until the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses/I quickly prostrated himself/myself on the ground and worshiped [Yahweh].
Moses quickly bowed down to the ground, and worshiped.
9 He/I said, “Yahweh, if you are now pleased with me, I ask that you go with us. These people are very stubborn [IDM], but forgive us for all our sins [DOU], and accept us to be people who belong to you [forever].”
He said, “Lord, if it's true that you're happy with me, please accompany us. Admittedly this is a rebellious people, but please forgive our guilt and sin. Accept us as specially belonging to you.”
10 Yahweh replied, “Note this: I am going to make a solemn agreement [with the Israeli people]. As they are watching, I will perform great miracles. They will be miracles that no one has ever done on the earth in any nation. All the people who are near you will see the great things that I, Yahweh, will do. I will do awesome things for you [all].
The Lord said, “Look, I'm making an agreement with you. Right in front of all of you I will do miracles that have never been done before—not among anyone anywhere on earth. Everyone here and those around will see the Lord at work, for what I'm going to do for you will be incredible.
11 [Each Israeli] person must obey what I am commanding you this day. Do not forget that [if you obey me], I will expel the Amor, Canaan, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups [from the land]. But be careful that you do not make any [peace] agreements with any of the people who live in the land into which you are going, because if you do that, [you will begin to do the evil things that they do]. It will be [like] falling into a trap.
But you must carefully follow what I tell you to do today. Pay attention! I'm going to drive out ahead of you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Make sure you don't agree to a peace treaty with the people living in the land where you are going. Otherwise they will become a trap for you.
13 You must tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down [the poles that they use to worship their female goddess] Asherah.
For you must tear down their altars, knock down their idolatrous pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles,
14 You must worship only me, [and] not worship any other god, because I, Yahweh, cannot endure any rivals.
because you must not worship any other gods than the Lord. His name stands for being exclusive, because he is a God who demands an exclusive relationship.
15 Do not make peace agreements with [any group] that lives in that land. When they worship their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you to join them, do not join them. If [you join them], you will eat the food that they sacrifice to their gods, and [you will not be faithful to me. You will be like people who] commit adultery, [who are not being faithful to their spouses] [MET].
Make sure you don't agree to a peace treaty with the people living in the land, for when they prostitute themselves by worshiping and sacrificing to their gods, they will invite you to join them, and you will eat from their pagan sacrifices.
16 If you take some of their women to be wives for your sons, and these women worship their own gods, they will persuade your sons also to worship their gods.
When you have their daughters marry your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons worship their gods in the same way.
17 Do not pour melted metal into molds to make statues for you to worship.
Don't make any idols for yourselves.
18 [Each year], during the month [of/named] Abib, celebrate the Festival of Eating Bread Made Without Yeast. [During that festival], for seven days you must not eat bread made with yeast, as I commanded you, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.
Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast, as I ordered you to do. You are to do this at the specified time in the month of Abib, because that was the month when you left Egypt.
19 Your firstborn sons and the firstborn [male] animals of your cattle and sheep [and goats] belong to me.
Every firstborn is mine. That includes all the firstborn males of your livestock from your cattle herds, and flocks.
20 The firstborn of your [male] donkeys [also belong to me]. But you may buy them back by [offering to me] lambs [in their place]. If you do not do that, you must [kill these animals by] breaking their necks. You must also buy back your firstborn sons. You must bring an offering to me [LIT] each time you come to [worship] me.
You can redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb, but if you don't, you must break its neck. All your firstborn sons must be redeemed. No one is to come before me without an offering.
21 [Each week] you may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. [Even] during the times when you plow [the ground] and harvest [your crops], you must rest [on the seventh day].
You shall work for six days, but you shall rest on the seventh day. Even during the times of sowing and harvest you shall rest.
22 [Each year] celebrate the Harvest Festival, when you begin to harvest the first crop of wheat, and also celebrate the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters, when you finish harvesting [the grain and fruit].
Observe the Festival of Weeks when you offer the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Harvest Festival at the end of the agricultural year.
23 Three times each year all the men must come to worship me, Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people.
Three times every year all your males must appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.
24 I will expel the people-groups that live in the land [where you will be], and I will cause your territory to become very large. As a result, no group will try to conquer your country if you come to worship me each year during those three festivals.
I will drive out the nations ahead of you and expand your borders, and no one will come and take your land when you go three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
25 When you sacrifice an animal [MTY] to me, do not offer with it bread that is made with yeast. And during the Passover Festival, when you sacrifice lambs, do not keep any of the meat until the next morning.
Don't offer bread made with yeast when you present a sacrifice to me, don't keep any sacrifice from the Passover Feast until the morning.
26 I am Yahweh God. You must bring to my Sacred Tent the first part of the grain that you harvest each year. When you kill a young animal/kid [either a lamb or a calf], do not [prepare to eat it by] boiling it in its mother’s milk.”
When you harvest your crops, bring the firstfruits to the house of the Lord your God. Don't cook a young goat in milk from its mother.”
27 Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Write down the words that I have told you. By giving you these commands, I have made a solemn agreement with you and with the [other] Israeli people.”
Then the Lord told Moses, “Write down these words, because these are the basis for the agreement I have made with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses/I was there [on the top of the mountain] with Yahweh for 40 days and nights. During that time he/I did not eat or drink anything [SYN]. He/I engraved on the stone slabs the words of the Ten Commandments, [which were part of Yahweh’s] solemn agreement.
Moses spent forty days and forty nights there with the Lord without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote down on the tablets the words of the agreement, the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses/I came back down the mountain, carrying in his/my hand the two stone slabs on which were written the Ten Commandments, his/my face was shining because he/I had been talking with Yahweh, but he/I did not know that his/my face was shining.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of the Law, he didn't realize that his face was shining brightly because he had been speaking with the Lord.
30 When Aaron and the [other] Israeli people saw Moses/me, they were amazed/surprised that his/my face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him/me.
When Aaron and the Israelites saw Moses with his face shining so brightly they were frightened to approach him.
31 But Moses/I called to them. Then Aaron and the other Israeli leaders came to him/me, and he/I talked with them.
But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the community leaders went over to him, and he talked with them.
32 Afterwards, all the other Israeli people came near, and he/I told them all the laws that Yahweh had given to him/me on Sinai Mountain.
Afterwards all the Israelites came over and he gave them all the Lord's instructions he'd received on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses/I finished talking to the people, he/I put a veil over his/my face.
After Moses finished talking with them, he put a veil over his face.
34 But whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I removed the veil. When he/I came back out, he/I would always tell to the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me [to tell them].
However, whenever Moses went in to talk with the Lord, he would take off the veil until he came out again. Then he would tell the Israelites the Lord's instructions,
35 The Israeli people would see that Moses’/my face was [still] shining. Then he/I would put the veil back on his/my face again until the next time that he/I went into [the Sacred Tent] to talk with Yahweh.
and the Israelites would see his face shining brightly. So he would put the veil over his face until the next time he went to talk with the Lord.
