Study Desk

The Lord spoke to Moses: "Go, leave here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring.^(a)

I will send an angel ahead of you and will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,^[a] Hivites, and Jebusites.^(b)

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way."^(c)

When the people heard this bad news, they mourned and didn't put on their jewelry.^(d)

For the Lord said to Moses: "Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you."

So the Israelites remained stripped of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

Now Moses took a tent and set it up outside the camp, far away from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.^(e)

Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent.

When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.^(f)

As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent.

The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.^(g)

Moses said to the Lord , "Look, You have told me, ‘Lead this people up,' but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name,^(h) and you have also found favor in My sight.'

Now if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, please teach me Your ways,⁽ⁱ⁾ and I will know You and find favor in Your sight. Now consider that this nation is Your people."^(j)

Then He replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."^(k)

"If Your presence does not go," Moses responded to Him, "don't make us go up from here.

How will it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight unless You go with us? I and Your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth."^(l)

The Lord answered Moses, "I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name."

Then Moses said, "Please, let me see Your glory."^(m)

He said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."⁽ⁿ⁾

But He answered, "You cannot see My face, for no one can see^(o) Me and live."

The Lord said, "Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock,

and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.^(p)

Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen."

The Lord said to Moses, "Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.^(a)

Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop.

No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain."^(b)

Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him.

The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh.

Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth,^(c)

maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin.^(d) But He will not leave the guilty^(e) unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

Then he said, "My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession."^(f)

And the Lord responded: "Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people^[a] that have never been done^[b] in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord 's work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring.^(g)

Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites,^[c] and Jebusites.

Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.^(h)

Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.⁽ⁱ⁾

You are never to bow down to another god because Yahweh, being jealous^(j) by nature,^[d] is a jealous God.

"Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.^(k)

Then you will take some of their daughters as brides for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.^(l)

"Do not make cast images^(m) of gods for yourselves.

"Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib^[e] as I commanded you. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.⁽ⁿ⁾

"The firstborn^(o) male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male^[f][g] livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep.

You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^(p) You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

"You are to labor six days but you must rest^(q) on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.

"Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering^[h] at the turn of the agricultural year.

Three times a year^(r) all your males are to appear before the Lord God , the God of Israel.

For I will drive out nations^(s) before you and enlarge your territory.^(t) No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

"Do not present^[i] the blood for My sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.^(u)

"Bring the best firstfruits^(v) of your land to the house of the Lord your God. "You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

The Lord also said to Moses, "Write^(w) down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words."

Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments,^(x) the words of the covenant, on the tablets.

As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord .^[j](y)

When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone!^(z) They were afraid to come near him.

But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them.

Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,^(aa)

and the Israelites would see that Moses' face^[k] was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord .