Exodus 34:10-28
Good News Translation
The Covenant Is Renewed(A)
10 The Lord said to Moses, “I now make a covenant with the people of Israel. In their presence I will do great things such as have never been done anywhere on earth among any of the nations. All the people will see what great things I, the Lord, can do, because I am going to do an awesome thing for you. 11 Obey the laws that I am giving you today. I will drive out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as you advance. 12 Do not make any treaties with the people of the country into which you are going, because this could be a fatal trap for you. 13 (B)Instead, tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down their symbols of the goddess Asherah.
14 “Do not worship any other god, because I, the Lord, tolerate no rivals. 15 Do not make any treaties with the people of the country, because when they worship their pagan gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you to join them, and you will be tempted to eat the food they offer to their gods. 16 Your sons might marry those foreign women, who would lead them to be unfaithful to me and to worship their pagan gods.
17 (C)“Do not make gods of metal and worship them.
18 (D)“Keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I have commanded you, eat unleavened bread for seven days in the month of Abib, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.
19 (E)“Every first-born son and first-born male domestic animal belongs to me, 20 (F)but you are to buy back every first-born donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not buy it back, break its neck. Buy back every first-born son.
“No one is to appear before me without an offering.
21 (G)“You have six days in which to do your work, but do not work on the seventh day, not even during plowing time or harvest.
22 (H)“Keep the Harvest Festival when you begin to harvest the first crop of your wheat, and keep the Festival of Shelters in the autumn when you gather your fruit.
23 “Three times a year all of your men must come to worship me, the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 After I have driven out the nations before you and extended your territory, no one will try to conquer your country during the three festivals.
25 (I)“Do not offer bread made with yeast when you sacrifice an animal to me. Do not keep until the following morning any part of the animal killed at the Passover Festival.
26 (J)“Each year bring to the house of the Lord the first grain that you harvest.
“Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother's milk.”
27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write these words down, because it is on the basis of these words that I am making a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
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Exodus 34:10-28
Easy-to-Read Version
10 Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with all of your people. I will do amazing things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see that I, the Lord, am very great. They will see the wonderful things that I will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 12 Be careful! Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you make an agreement with them, it will bring you trouble. 13 So destroy their altars, break the stones they worship, and cut down their idols.[a] 14 Don’t worship any other god. I am Yahweh Kanah—the jealous Lord. That is my name. I hate for my people to worship other gods.[b]
15 “Be careful not to make any agreements with the people who live in that land. If you do this, you might join them when they worship their gods. They will invite you to join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters serve false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Don’t make idols.
18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, eat the bread made without yeast as I commanded you before. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because that is the month you came out of Egypt.
19 “A woman’s first baby always belongs to me. Even the first animals that are born from your cattle or sheep belong to me. 20 If you want to keep a donkey that is the first born, then you can buy it with a lamb. But if you don’t buy that donkey with a lamb, you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back all of your firstborn sons from me. No one should come before me without a gift.
21 “You will work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. You must rest even during the times of planting and harvesting.
22 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest. Use the first grain from the wheat harvest for this festival. And in the fall[c] celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
23 “Three times each year all your men must go to be with the Lord God, the God of Israel.
24 “When you go into your land, I will force your enemies out of that land. I will expand your borders—you will get more and more land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. At that time no one will try to take your land from you.
25 “When you kill an animal and offer its blood as a sacrifice, you must not include anything that has yeast in it.
“Don’t let any of the meat from the Passover meal remain until morning.
26 “Give the Lord the very first crops that you harvest. Bring them to the house[d] of the Lord your God.
“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write everything that I have told you. This is the agreement that I made with you and the Israelites.”
28 Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 34:13 stones … idols Literally, “memorials … Asherah poles.” These were stone markers and wood poles that the people set up to help them remember and honor false gods.
- Exodus 34:14 I hate … gods Or “I am El Kanah—the Jealous God.”
- Exodus 34:22 fall Literally, “at the changing of the year.”
- Exodus 34:26 house The “Holy Tent” where the people went to meet with God. See Ex. 25:8, 9.
Exodus 34:10-28
Contemporary English Version
A Promise and Its Demands
(Exodus 23.14-19; Deuteronomy 7.1-5; 16.1-17)
10 The Lord said:
I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. 11 I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. 12 Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. 13 (A) Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles[a] they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah. 14 I demand your complete loyalty—you must not worship any other god! 15 Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshiping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. 16 Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods.
17 (B) Don't make metal images of gods.
18 (C) Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib.[b] Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt.
19 (D) The first-born males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.
20 (E) You can save the life of a first-born donkey[c] by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son.
Bring an offering every time you come to worship.
21 (F) Work for six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting. 22 (G) Celebrate the Harvest Festival[d] each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters[e] each autumn when you pick your fruit.
23 Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the Lord God of Israel. 24 As you advance, I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.
25 (H) When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.
26 (I) I am the Lord your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
27 The Lord told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. 28 Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.
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Exodus 34:10-28
Living Bible
10 The Lord replied, “All right, this is the contract I am going to make with you. I will do miracles such as have never been done before anywhere in all the earth, and all the people of Israel shall see the power of the Lord—the terrible power I will display through you. 11 Your part of the agreement is to obey all of my commandments; then I will drive out from before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
12 “Be very, very careful never to compromise with the people there in the land where you are going, for if you do, you will soon be following their evil ways. 13 Instead, you must break down their heathen altars, smash the obelisks they worship, and cut down their shameful idols.[a] 14 For you must worship no other gods, but only Jehovah, for he is a God who claims absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion.
15 “No, do not make a peace treaty of any kind with the people living in the land, for they are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods.[b] If you become friendly with them and one of them invites you to go with him and worship his idol, you are apt to do it. 16 And you would accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons—and then your sons would commit adultery against me by worshiping their wives’ gods. 17 You must have nothing to do with idols.
18 “Be sure to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, just as I instructed you, at the dates appointed each year in March; that was the month you left Egypt.
19 “Every firstborn male[c] is mine—cattle, sheep, and goats. 20 The firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by giving a lamb in its place. If you decide not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. But your sons must all be redeemed. And no one shall appear before me without a gift.
21 “Even during plowing and harvest times, work only six days, and rest on the seventh.
22 “And you must remember to celebrate these three annual religious festivals: the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of the First Wheat, and the Harvest Festival. 23 On each of these three occasions all the men and boys of Israel shall appear before the Lord. 24 No one will attack and conquer your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God those three times each year. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your boundaries.
25 “You must not use leavened bread with your sacrifices to me, and none of the meat of the Passover lamb may be kept over until the following morning. 26 And you must bring the best of the first of each year’s crop to the Tabernacle of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these laws[d] that I have given you, for they represent the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time God[e] wrote out the Covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 34:13 shameful idols, or Asherim. They were carved statues of male and female genital organs.
- Exodus 34:15 they are spiritual prostitutes . . . sacrificing to their gods, literally, “they play the harlot worshiping their gods.”
- Exodus 34:19 Every firstborn male, literally, “All that opens the womb.”
- Exodus 34:27 Write down these laws, that is, the preceding laws in vv. 12-26.
- Exodus 34:28 At that time God, implied; see 34:1; Deuteronomy 10:1-4.
Exodus 34:10-28
New King James Version
The Covenant Renewed(A)
10 And He said: “Behold, (B)I make a covenant. Before all your people I will (C)do [a]marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is (D)an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 (E)Observe what I command you this day. Behold, (F)I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 (G)Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall (H)destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and (I)cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship (J)no other god, for the Lord, whose (K)name is Jealous, is a (L)jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they (M)play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them (N)invites you and you (O)eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of (P)his daughters for your sons, and his daughters (Q)play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
17 (R)“You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.
18 “The Feast of (S)Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the (T)month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
19 (U)“All [b]that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But (V)the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.
“And none shall appear before Me (W)empty-handed.
21 (X)“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.
23 (Y)“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 For I will (Z)cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, (AA)nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.
26 (AB)“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write (AC)these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 (AD)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And (AE)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the [c]Ten Commandments.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 34:10 wonderful acts
- Exodus 34:19 the firstborn
- Exodus 34:28 Lit. Ten Words
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
