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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.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:13 shameful idols, or Asherim. They were carved statues of male and female genital organs.
  2. Exodus 34:15 they are spiritual prostitutes . . . sacrificing to their gods, literally, “they play the harlot worshiping their gods.”
  3. Exodus 34:19 Every firstborn male, literally, “All that opens the womb.”
  4. Exodus 34:27 Write down these laws, that is, the preceding laws in vv. 12-26.
  5. Exodus 34:28 At that time God, implied; see 34:1; Deuteronomy 10:1-4.

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.

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. Exodus 34:14 I hate … gods Or “I am El Kanah—the Jealous God.”
  3. Exodus 34:22 fall Literally, “at the changing of the year.”
  4. Exodus 34:26 house The “Holy Tent” where the people went to meet with God. See Ex. 25:8, 9.

11 Keep thou all things, which I command to thee today (Obey thou everything which I command to thee today); I myself shall cast out before thy face (the) Amorites, and Canaanites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites.

12 Beware, lest any time thou join friendships with the dwellers of that land, which friendships (shall) be into falling to thee.

13 But also destroy thou their altars, (and) break the(ir) images, and cut thou down their [maumet] woods;

14 do not thou worship an alien God; a jealous lover is the Lord’s name, God is a fervent lover; (do not thou worship any foreign, or any other, god; for the Lord’s name is Jealous, and he is a jealous God;)

15 make thou not (a) covenant with the men of those countries, lest when they have done fornication, that is, idolatry, with their gods, and have worshipped the simulacra of them, any man call thee (someone call thee), that thou eat (some) of the things offered to an idol.

16 Neither thou shalt take a wife of their daughters to thy sons, lest after those daughters have done fornication, that is, idolatry, they make also thy sons to do fornication into their gods (they also make thy sons to do idolatry with their gods).

17 Thou shalt not make to thee molten gods. (Thou shalt not make gods for thyselves out of melted metal.)

18 Thou shalt keep the solemnity of therf loaves; seven days thou shalt eat therf loaves, as I commanded to thee, in the time of the month of new fruits; for in the month of ver time thou wentest out of Egypt. (Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded to thee, at the time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib thou wentest out of Egypt.)

19 All thing of male kind that (first) openeth the womb shall be mine, of all living beasts, as well of oxen, as of sheep, it shall be mine. (All the males that first openeth the womb shall be mine, yea, of people, and of all living beasts, of oxen, as well as of sheep, they all be mine.)

20 Thou shalt again-buy with a sheep the first engendered of an ass, else if thou givest not [the] price therefore, it shall be slain. Thou shalt again-buy the first begotten of thy sons; neither thou shalt appear void in my sight. (Thou shalt buy back the first-born of a donkey with a sheep, but if thou wilt not buy it back, it shall be killed. Thou shalt buy back the first-born of thy sons; thou shalt not appear empty-handed before me.)

21 Six days thou shalt work, in the seventh day thou shalt cease to ear and to reap. (For six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt cease to plow and to harvest.)

22 Thou shalt make to thee the solemnity of weeks, in the first things of fruits of thy ripe corn of wheat, and the solemnity when all things be gathered into barns, when the time of the year cometh again. (Thou shalt keep the Feast of Weeks, with the first fruits of thy wheat harvest, and also the Feast of Ingathering, when all things be gathered into the barns, when that time of the year cometh again.[a])

23 Each male kind of thee shall appear in three times of the year in the sight of the Lord Almighty, thy God of Israel. (All thy adult males shall appear before the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, three times each year.)

24 For when I shall take away (the) folks from thy face, and I shall alarge thy terms, none shall set treasons to thy land, while thou goest up (when thou goest up), and appearest in the sight of thy Lord God, thrice in the year.

25 Thou shalt not offer on sourdough the blood of my sacrifice, neither anything of the slain sacrifice of the solemnity of pask shall abide unto the morrowtide. (Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything made with yeast, nor shall anything of the slain sacrifice of the Feast of Passover remain until the morning.)

26 (Each year) Thou shalt offer in the house of thy Lord God the first of the fruits of thy land. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in the milk of his mother (Thou shalt not boil a goat-kid in its mother’s milk).

27 And the Lord said to Moses, Write thou (down) these words, by which I smote a bond of peace (by which I make a covenant), both with thee and with Israel.

28 Therefore Moses was there with the Lord by forty days and forty nights, and he ate not bread, and drank not water; and he wrote in [the] tables the ten words of the bond of peace. (And so Moses was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and he ate no bread, and drank no water; and he wrote on the tablets the Ten Commandments of the covenant.)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:22 See Exodus 23:16, and footnote #7.

11 Observe 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.

12 Take 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:

13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

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

19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

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

22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

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

26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

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

28 And he was there with the Lord 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.

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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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Footnotes

  1. 34.13 sacred poles: Or “trees,” used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility.
  2. 34.18 Abib: See the note at 12.2.
  3. 34.20 donkey: See the note at 13.13.
  4. 34.22 Harvest Festival: See the note at 23.16.
  5. 34.22 Festival of Shelters: See the note at 23.16.