Exodus 34:1-35, NLT
Exodus 34
A New Copy of the Covenant
1Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.
4So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
5Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.*34:5 Yahweh is a transliteration of the proper name YHWH that is sometimes rendered “Jehovah”; in this translation it is usually rendered “the Lord” (note the use of small capitals).
“Yahweh!*34:6 See note on 34:5. The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
7I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.*34:7 Hebrew for thousands.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.”
8Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.
10The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you.
12“Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.
15“You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them.
18“You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib,*34:18 Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April. for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
19“The firstborn of every animal belongs to me, including the firstborn males*34:19 As in Greek version; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. from your herds of cattle and your flocks of sheep and goats.
“No one may appear before me without an offering.
21“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
22“You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest*34:22a Hebrew Festival of Weeks; compare 23:16. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost. It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth). with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest*34:22b Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth). at the end of the harvest season.
25“You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And none of the meat of the Passover sacrifice may be kept over until the next morning.
26“As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”
28Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord*34:28a Hebrew he. wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments*34:28b Hebrew the ten words.—on the stone tablets.
29When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,*34:29 Hebrew the two tablets of the Testimony; see note on 25:16. he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.
31But Moses called out to them and asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over, and he talked with them.