33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oathd to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’e 2 I will send an angelf before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.g 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.h But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-neckedi people and I might destroyj you on the way.”

4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mournk and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people.l If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroym you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’ ” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.n

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”o Anyone inquiringp of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,q watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloudr would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spokes with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.t 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,u as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshuav son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’w but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by namex and you have found favory with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your waysz so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”a

14 The Lord replied, “My Presenceb will go with you, and I will give you rest.”c

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presenced does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?e What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”f

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,g because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”h

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”i

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to passj in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,k the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.l 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may seem me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rockn and cover you with my hando until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,p and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,q which you broke.r 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.s Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain;t not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4 So Moses chiseledu out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.v 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloudw and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.x 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionatey and gracious God, slow to anger,z abounding in lovea and faithfulness,b 7 maintaining love to thousands,c and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.d Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;e he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”f

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favorg in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.h Although this is a stiff-neckedi people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,j and take us as your inheritance.”k

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenantl with you. Before all your people I will do wondersm never before done in any nation in all the world.n The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I commando you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.p 12 Be careful not to make a treatyq with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snarer among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.a s 14 Do not worship any other god,t for the Lord, whose nameu is Jealous, is a jealous God.v

15 “Be careful not to make a treatyw with those who live in the land; for when they prostitutex themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.y 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wivesz for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,a they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 “Do not make any idols.b

18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.c For seven days eat bread made without yeast,d as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,e for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 “The first offspringf of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.g Redeem all your firstborn sons.h

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.i

21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest;j even during the plowing season and harvestk you must rest.

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruitsl of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingatheringm at the turn of the year.b 23 Three timesn a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nationso before you and enlarge your territory,p and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast,q and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.r

26 “Bring the best of the firstfruitss of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”t

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Writeu down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenantv with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nightsw without eating bread or drinking water.x And he wrote on the tabletsy the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.z

The Radiant Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinaia with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands,b he was not aware that his face was radiantc because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the communityd came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commandse the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veilf over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant.g Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commandedh you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbathi rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.j 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.k”

Materials for the Tabernacle

35:4–9pp—Ex 25:1–7
35:10–19pp—Ex 39:32–41

4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leathera; acacia wood; 8 olive oill for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded:m 11 the tabernaclen with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the arko with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtainp that shields it; 13 the tableq with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstandr that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altars of incense with its poles, the anointing oilt and the fragrant incense;u the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;v 16 the altarw of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basinx with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;y 18 the tent pegsz for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garmentsa for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarnb or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled womanc spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leadersd brought onyx stones and other gemse to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.f 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willingg brought to the Lord freewill offeringsh for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

Bezalel and Oholiab

35:30–35pp—Ex 31:2–6

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skillsi—32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiabj son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teachk others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of workl as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.