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34 Adonai said to Moses, “Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write upon them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, come up to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. No one is to come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout the entire mountain. Even the flocks and herds must not graze in front of that mountain.”

So he carved two tablets of stone like the first. Then Moses rose up early in the morning, went up onto Mount Sinai as Adonai had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Then Adonai descended in the cloud, stood with him there, as he called on the Name of Adonai.

Thirteen Attributes of God

Then Adonai passed before him, and proclaimed, “Adonai, Adonai, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Then Moses quickly bowed his head down to the earth and worshipped. He said, “If now I have found grace in Your eyes, my Lord, let my Lord please go within our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own inheritance.”

Exclusive Covenant

10 Then He said, “I am cutting a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders, such as have not been done in all the earth, or in any nation. All the people you are among will see the work of Adonai—for what I am going to do with you will be awesome! 11 Obey what I am commanding you today. Behold, I am going to drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites before you. 12 Watch yourself, and make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a snare among you. 13 Instead you must break down their altars, smash their pillars and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you are to bow down to no other god, because Adonai is jealous for His Name—He is a jealous God.

15 “See that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. Otherwise when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifice. 16 Do not take their daughters for your sons, for their daughters will prostitute themselves with their own gods, and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

17 “You are not to make for yourselves metal gods.

18 “You are to keep the Feast of Matzot. For seven days you are eat matzot, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for in the month Aviv you came out from Egypt.

19 “Every firstborn of the womb is Mine, and from all your cattle you are to sanctify the males, the firstborn of the ox and sheep. 20 A firstborn donkey you are to redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you are to break its neck. You must redeem all your firstborn sons. No one should appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “For six days you will work, but on the seventh day you will rest. During plowing time and harvest you must rest.

22 “You are to observe the Feast of Shavuot, which is the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times during the year all your males are to appear before Adonai Elohim, God of Israel. 24 For I am going to cast out nations before you, then enlarge your territory. So no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before Adonai your God three times in the year.

25 “You are not to offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz, nor should the sacrifice of the Passover Festival remain until morning.

26 “You are to bring the choicest firstfruits of your land to the House of Adonai your God.

“You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Write these words, for based on these words I have cut a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he stayed there with Adonai for 40 days and 40 nights, and he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant: the Ten Words.[a]

29 Now it happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face was radiant, because God had spoken with him. 30 When Aaron and all Bnei-Yisrael saw Moses, the skin of his face shone in rays, so they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all Bnei-Yisrael came near, and he gave them all the mitzvot that Adonai had spoken to him in Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But when Moses went before Adonai, so that He could speak with him, he took the veil off until he came out. When he came out and spoke to Bnei-Yisrael what he was commanded, 35 Bnei-Yisrael saw the face of Moses and that the skin of his face glistened. So Moses put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:28 Or Ten Commandments.