January 28
Exodus 32:15 34:35


     15 After that Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand, tablets written upon on both their sides. On this side and on that they were written upon. 16 And the tablets were the workmanship of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved upon the tablets. 17 And Joshua began to hear the noise of the people because of their shouting, and he proceeded to say to Moses: “There is a noise of battle in the camp.” 18 But he said:

     “It is not the sound of the singing over mighty performance,
     And it is not the sound of the singing of defeat;
     It is the sound of other singing that I am hearing.”

     19 So it came about that as soon as he got near the camp and could see the calf and the dances, Moses’ anger began to blaze, and he at once threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf that they had made and he burnt it with fire and crushed it till it was fine, after which he scattered it upon the surface of the waters and made the sons of Israel drink it. 21 After that Moses said to Aaron: “What did this people do to you that you have brought a great sin upon it?” 22 To this Aaron said: “Do not let the anger of my lord blaze. You yourself well know the people, that they are evil-inclined. 23 So they said to me, ‘Make for us a god who will go ahead of us, because as regards this Moses, the man who led us up out of the land of Egypt, we certainly do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 Hence I said to them, ‘Who have any gold? They must tear it off themselves that they may give it to me.’ And I proceeded to throw it into the fire and this calf came on out.”

     25 And Moses got to see that the people went unrestrained, because Aaron had let them go unrestrained for a disgrace among their opposers. 26 Then Moses took his stand in the gate of the camp and said: “Who is on Jehovah’s side? To me!” And all the sons of Levi began gathering themselves to him. 27 He now said to them: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘Put each one of YOU his sword on his side. Pass through and return from gate to gate in the camp and kill each one his brother and each one his fellow and each one his intimate acquaintance.’” 28 And the sons of Levi proceeded to do as Moses had said, so that there fell of the people on that day about three thousand men. 29 And Moses went on to say: “Fill YOUR hand today with power for Jehovah, because each one of YOU is against his own son and his own brother, and that he may confer a blessing upon YOU today.”

     30 And it came about on the very next day that Moses proceeded to say to the people: “YOU—YOU have sinned with a great sin, and now I shall go up to Jehovah. Perhaps I can make amends for YOUR sin.” 31 So Moses returned to Jehovah and said: “Ah, but this people has sinned with a great sin, in that they made a god of gold for themselves! 32 But now if you will pardon their sin,—and if not, wipe me out, please, from your book that you have written.” 33 However, Jehovah said to Moses: “Whoever has sinned against me, I shall wipe him out of my book. 34 And now, come, lead the people to where I have spoken to you of. Look! My angel will go ahead of you, and on the day of my bringing punishment I shall certainly bring punishment upon them for their sin.” 35 And Jehovah began plaguing the people because they had made the calf, which Aaron had made.

33  And Jehovah said further to Moses: “Go, move up from here, you and the people whom you led up out of the land of Egypt, to the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘To your seed I shall give it.’ 2 And I will send an angel ahead of you and drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Hittites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; 3  to a land flowing with milk and honey, for I shall not go up in the midst of you, because you are a stiff-necked people, that I may not exterminate you on the way.”

     4 When the people got to hear this evil word, they began to mourn; and none of them put his ornaments on himself. 5 And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘YOU are a stiff-necked people. In one moment I could go up into the midst of you and certainly exterminate you. So now put down your ornaments off yourself, as I want to know what I am going to do to you.’” 6 And the sons of Israel went stripping their ornaments off themselves from Mount Horeb onward.

     7 As for Moses, he proceeded to take his tent away and he pitched it outside the camp, far away from the camp; and he called it a tent of meeting. And it occurred that everyone inquiring of Jehovah would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 And it occurred that as soon as Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise, and they stationed themselves each one at the entrance of his own tent, and they gazed after Moses until he went into the tent. 9 It also occurred that as soon as Moses had gone into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down, and it stood at the entrance of the tent and he spoke with Moses. 10 And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, and all the people rose and bowed down each one at the entrance of his own tent. 11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man would speak to his fellow. When he returned to the camp, his minister Joshua, the son of Nun, as attendant, would not withdraw from the midst of the tent.

     12 Now Moses said to Jehovah: “See, you are saying to me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you yourself have not let me know whom you will send with me. Moreover, you yourself have said, ‘I do know you by name and, besides, you have found favor in my eyes.’ 13 And now, if, please, I have found favor in your eyes, make me know, please, your ways, that I may know you, in order that I may find favor in your eyes. And consider that this nation is your people.” 14 So he said: “My own person will go along and I shall certainly give you rest.” 15 At this he said to him: “If your own person is not going along, do not lead us up from here. 16 And by what, now, will it be known that I have found favor in your eyes, I and your people? Is it not by your going along with us, in that I and your people have been made distinct from all the other people who are upon the surface of the ground?”

     17 And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: “This thing, too, of which you have spoken, I shall do, because you have found favor in my eyes and I know you by name.” 18 At this he said: “Cause me to see, please, your glory.” 19 But he said: “I myself shall cause all my goodness to pass before your face, and I will declare the name of Jehovah before you; and I will favor the one whom I may favor, and I will show mercy to the one to whom I may show mercy.” 20 And he added: “You are not able to see my face, because no man may see me and yet live.”

     21 And Jehovah said further: “Here is a place with me, and you must station yourself upon the rock. 22 And it has to occur that while my glory is passing by I must place you in a hole in the rock, and I must put my palm over you as a screen until I have passed by. 23 After that I must take my palm away, and you will indeed see my back. But my face may not be seen.”


34  Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Carve out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I must write upon the tablets the words that appeared on the first tablets, which you shattered. 2 And get ready for the morning, as you must go up in the morning into Mount Sinai and station yourself by me there on the top of the mountain. 3 But nobody may go up with you and, too, let nobody else be seen in all the mountain. What is more, no flock or herd should be pasturing in front of that mountain.”

     4 Accordingly Moses carved out two tablets of stone like the first ones and got up early in the morning and went on up into Mount Sinai, just as Jehovah had commanded him, and he was taking the two tablets of stone in his hand. 5 And Jehovah proceeded to come down in the cloud and station himself with him there and declare the name of Jehovah. 6 And Jehovah went passing by before his face and declaring: “Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, 7 preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons and upon grandsons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation.”

     8 Moses at once hurried to bow low to the earth and prostrate himself. 9 Then he said: “If, now, I have found favor in your eyes, O Jehovah, let Jehovah, please, go along in the midst of us, because it is a stiff-necked people, and you have to forgive our error and our sin, and you must take us as your possession.” 10 In turn he said: “Here I am concluding a covenant: Before all your people I shall do wonderful things that have never been created in all the earth or among all the nations; and all the people in the midst of whom you are will indeed see the work of Jehovah, because it is a fear-inspiring thing that I am doing with you.

     11 “For your part keep what I am commanding you today. Here I am driving out from before you the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 12 Watch yourself that you do not conclude a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, for fear it may prove itself a snare in your midst. 13 But their altars YOU people are to pull down, and their sacred pillars YOU are to shatter, and their sacred poles YOU are to cut down. 14 For you must not prostrate yourself to another god, because Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, he is a jealous God; 15 for fear that you may conclude a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, as they will certainly have immoral intercourse with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone will be certain to invite you, and you will certainly eat some of his sacrifice. 16 Then you will have to take some of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters will be certain to have immoral intercourse with their gods and make your sons have immoral intercourse with their gods.

     17 “You must not make molten idol gods for yourself.
    
18 “The festival of unfermented cakes you are to keep. You will eat unfermented cakes, just as I have commanded you, seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because it was in the month of Abib that you came out of Egypt.
    
19 “Everything that first opens the womb is mine, and, as regards all your livestock, the male firstling of bull and of sheep. 20 And the firstling of an ass you are to redeem with a sheep. But if you will not redeem it, then you must break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you are to redeem. And they must not appear before me empty-handed.
    
21 “Six days you are to labor, but on the seventh day you will keep sabbath. In plowing time and in harvest you will keep sabbath.
    
22 “And you will carry on your festival of weeks with the first ripe fruits of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year.
    
23 “Three times in the year every male of yours is to appear before the [true] Lord, Jehovah, the God of Israel. 24 For I shall drive the nations away from before you, and I will make your territory spacious; and nobody will desire your land while you are going up to see the face of Jehovah your God three times in the year.
    
25 “You must not slaughter along with what is leavened the blood of my sacrifice. And the sacrifice of the festival of the passover should not stay overnight until the morning.
    
26 “The best of the first ripe fruits of your soil you are to bring to the house of Jehovah your God.
     “You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”

     27 And Jehovah went on to say to Moses: “Write down for yourself these words, because it is in accordance with these words that I do conclude a covenant with you and Israel.” 28 And he continued there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights. He ate no bread and he drank no water. And he proceeded to write upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.

     29 Now it came about when Moses came down from Mount Sinai that the two tablets of the Testimony were in the hand of Moses when he came down from the mountain, and Moses did not know that the skin of his face emitted rays because of his having spoken with him. 30 When Aaron and all the sons of Israel got to see Moses, why, look! the skin of his face emitted rays and they grew afraid of coming near to him.

     31 And Moses proceeded to call them. So Aaron and all the chieftains among the assembly came back to him, and Moses began to speak to them. 32 First after that all the sons of Israel came near to him, and he began commanding them all that Jehovah had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses would finish speaking with them, he would put a veil over his face. 34 But when Moses would go in before Jehovah to speak with him, he would take away the veil until his going out. And he went out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he would be commanded. 35 And the sons of Israel saw Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face emitted rays; and Moses put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with him.