Exodus 34ASV
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Exodus34

American Standard Version · Public Domain

1And Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou brakest.

2And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount.

3And no man shall come up with thee; neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

4And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.

5And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.

6And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;

7keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.

8And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9And he said, If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

10And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Jehovah; for it is a terrible thing that I do with thee.

11Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13but ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim

14(for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God);

15lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice;

16and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods, and make thy sons play the harlot after their gods.

17Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

19All that openeth the womb is mine; and all thy cattle that is male, the firstlings of cow and sheep.

20And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

21Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

23Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel.

24For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in the year.

25Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

27And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

30And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

31And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses spake to them.

32And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

33And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 34.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The tables of the law renewed. (1–4). The name of the Lord proclaimed, The entreaty of Moses. (5–9). God's covenant. (10–17). The festivals. (18–27). The vail of Moses. (28–35).

vv1-4

When God made man in his own image, the moral law was written in his heart, by the finger of God, without outward means. But since the covenant then made with man was broken, the Lord has used the ministry of men, both in writing the law in the Scriptures, and in writing it in the heart. When God was reconciled to the Israelites, he ordered the tables to be renewed, and wrote his law in them. Even under the gospel of peace by Christ, the moral law continues to bind believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet not from the commands of it. The first and the best evidence of the pardon of sin, and peace with God, is the writing the law in the heart.

vv5-9

The Lord descended by some open token of his presence and manifestation of his glory in a cloud, and thence proclaimed his NAME; that is, the perfections and character which are denoted by the name JEHOVAH. The Lord God is merciful; ready to forgive the sinner, and to relieve the needy. Gracious; kind, and ready to bestow undeserved benefits. Long-suffering; slow to anger, giving time for repentance, only punishing when it is needful. He is abundant in goodness and truth; even sinners receive the riches of his bounty abundantly, though they abuse them. All he reveals is infallible truth, all he promises is in faithfulness. Keeping mercy for thousands; he continually shows mercy to sinners, and has treasures, which cannot be exhausted, to the end of time. Forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; his mercy and goodness reach to the full and free forgiveness of sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; the holiness and justice of God are part of his goodness and love towards all his creatures. In Christ's sufferings, the Divine holiness and justice are fully shown, and the evil of sin is made known. God's forgiving mercy is always attended by his converting, sanctifying grace. None are pardoned but those who repent and forsake the allowed practice of every sin; nor shall any escape, who abuse, neglect, or despise this great salvation. Moses bowed down, and worshipped reverently. Every perfection in the name of God, the believer may plead with Him for the forgiveness of his sins, the making holy of his heart, and the enlargement of the Redeemer's kingdom.

vv10-17

The Israelites are commanded to destroy every monument of idolatry, however curious or costly; to refuse all alliance, friendship, or marriage with idolaters, and all idolatrous feasts; and they were reminded not with idolaters, and all idolatrous feats; and they were reminded not to repeat the crime of making molten images. Jealously is called the rage of a man, Pr 6:34; but in God it is holy and just displeasure. Those cannot worship God aright, who do not worship him only.

Cross References

Exodus 34

Moses is commanded to hew two new tables of stone like the first, parallel to Deuteronomy 10:1.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

Paul refers to the glory of Moses' shining face as the glory of the passing dispensation.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Paul explains that Moses put a veil over his face so Israel could not look to the end.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Paul contrasts the glory of the ministration of death written on stones with the Gospel's glory.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v5Numbers 14:17thematic

Moses appeals directly to this proclamation of the Name of the Lord for pardoning Israel.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v7Numbers 14:18thematic

Direct parallel reciting God's attributes of mercy, forgiveness, and visiting iniquity.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v14Exodus 20:3-5thematic

Repeats the Second Commandment prohibition of idolatry and the description of God's holy jealousy.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v28Deuteronomy 9:18thematic

Moses recalls his second forty-day fast of intercession for Israel's sin.

Supported by JFB

v28Deuteronomy 10:4thematic

Confirms that God wrote the Ten Commandments on the second set of stone tables.

Supported by JFB

When Moses went in before the Lord, he took the veil off, typifying turning to the Lord.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v5Exodus 33:19thematic

Fulfillment of God's promise to make His goodness pass before Moses and proclaim His Name.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v12Deuteronomy 7:2thematic

Prohibition of making covenants with Canaan's inhabitants to prevent them from becoming a snare.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v13Exodus 23:24thematic

Command to completely overthrow idolatrous altars and shatter their sacred pillars/groves.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v16Deuteronomy 7:3thematic

Express prohibition against intermarrying with the Canaanites, lest they turn Israel to false gods.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v19Exodus 13:2thematic

Direct reference to God's law sanctifying all the firstborn males and firstlings to Himself.

Supported by John Calvin

v20Exodus 13:13thematic

Specific instruction on redeeming the firstling of an ass with a lamb, or breaking its neck.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin

v25Deuteronomy 16:3thematic

Commands unleavened bread with the Passover sacrifice as the memorial bread of affliction.

Supported by John Calvin

v26Exodus 23:19thematic

Identical covenant mandate regarding firstfruits and the prohibition against seething a kid in its mother's milk.

Repeats the prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother's milk.

v3Exodus 19:12thematic

Repetition of strict boundaries set around Sinai to preserve holiness and prevent unauthorized approach.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v6Psalms 86:15thematic

Echoes the identical confession of God as full of compassion, gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v9Exodus 33:14-16thematic

Moses pleads for God's presence to go among them, following up the previous chapter's dialogue.

Supported by JFB

Confirms the command that none shall appear before the Lord empty at the three feasts.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v23Exodus 23:17thematic

Parallel command requiring all males to appear before the Lord three times a year.

Reiterates the three annual national pilgrim feasts for all Hebrew males.

v25Exodus 23:18thematic

Parallel prohibition against offering sacrifice with leaven or leaving Passover fat until morning.

v29Matthew 17:2typology

Jesus' face shines like the sun at His Transfiguration, fulfilling and surpassing Moses' reflected glory.

v28Exodus 24:18thematic

Compares this forty-day period on the mount with Moses' first forty-day stay.