Exodus 19:1-34:30

Tree of Life Version

Theophany at Sinai

19 In the third month after Bnei-Yisrael had gone out of the land of Egypt, that same day they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. ² They travelled from Rephidim, came into to the wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp in the wilderness. Israel camped there, right in front of the mountain.

³ Moses went up to God, and Adonai called to him from the mountain saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell Bnei-Yisrael, ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now then, if you listen closely to My voice, and keep My covenant, then you will be My own treasure from among all people, for all the earth is Mine. ⁶ So as for you, you will be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you are to speak to Bnei-Yisrael.”

⁷ So Moses went, called for the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that Adonai had commanded him. ⁸ All the people answered together and said, “Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do.” Then Moses reported the words of the people to Adonai.

⁹ Adonai said to Moses, “I am about to come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to Adonai.

¹⁰ Adonai said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing. ¹¹ Be ready for the third day. For on the third day Adonai will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² You are to set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Be very careful not to go up onto the mountain, or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. ¹³ Not a hand is to touch it, but he will surely be stoned or shot through. Whether it is an animal or a man, it will not live.’ When the shofar sounds, they may come up to the mountain.”

¹⁴ Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people, consecrated them, and then, they washed their clothing. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not draw near your wives.”

¹⁶ In the morning of the third day, there was thundering^[a] and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and the blast of an exceedingly loud shofar. All the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the lowest part of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now the entire Mount Sinai was in smoke, because Adonai had descended upon it in fire. The smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. The whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹ When the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a thunderous sound.

²⁰ Then Adonai came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Adonai called Moses to the top of the mountain, so Moses went up. ²¹ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to see Adonai, and many of them die. ²² Even the kohanim who come near to Adonai must consecrate themselves, so that Adonai does not break out against them.”

²³ Moses said to Adonai, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You are the One who warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain, and consecrate it.’”

²⁴ Then Adonai said to him, “Go down. You are to come back up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the kohanim and the people break through to come up to Adonai, or He will break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Words

20 Then God spoke all these words saying,

² “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ Do not make for yourself a graven image^[b], or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth. ⁵ Do not bow down to them, do not let anyone make you serve them. For I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing lovingkindness to the thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep My mitzvot.

⁷ “You must not take the Name of Adonai your God in vain, for Adonai will not hold him guiltless that takes His Name in vain.

⁸ “Remember Yom Shabbat, to keep it holy. ⁹ You are to work six days, and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Shabbat to Adonai your God. In it you shall not do any work—not you, nor your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, nor the outsider that is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Thus Adonai blessed Yom Shabbat, and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which Adonai your God is giving you.

¹³ “Do not murder.

¹⁴ “Do not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “Do not steal.

¹⁶ “Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “Do not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹⁸ All the people witnessed the thundering and the lightning, and the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood far off. ¹⁹ So they said to Moses, “You, speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”

²⁰ So Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that His fear may be in you, so that you do not sin.” ²¹ The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

²² Then Adonai said to Moses, “Say this to Bnei-Yisrael: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ Do not make gods of silver alongside Me, and do not make gods of gold for yourselves. ²⁴ You are to make an altar of earth for Me, and there you will sacrifice your burnt offerings, your fellowship offerings—your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ When you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it from cut stone, for if you use a tool on it, you will have profaned it. ²⁶ Nor are you to go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness would not be uncovered while on it.”

Parashat Mishpatim

Ordinances for the Covenant

21 “Now these are the ordinances which you will set before them.

² “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh he is to go free, without payment. ³ If he comes in by himself, he is to go out by himself. If he was married, then his wife will go out with him. ⁴ If his master gave him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will be her master’s, and he will go free by himself.

⁵ “But if the servant plainly states, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I will not go out free,’ ⁶ then his master is to bring him to God,^[c] then take him to a door or to a doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear through with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant, she is not to go free as the male servants do. ⁸ If she does not please her master who has selected her for himself, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He will have no power to sell her to a foreign people, seeing as he has dealt deceitfully toward her. ⁹ If he betroths her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife, he is not to diminish her food, her clothing, or her marriage rights. ¹¹ If he does not provide these three to her, then she is to go free without payment.

¹² “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must surely be put to death. ¹³ But if he did not hunt him down, yet God caused it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may run. ¹⁴ If a man presumes to kill his neighbor with craftiness, you are to take him from My altar and put him to death.

¹⁵ “Anyone who strikes his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “Anyone who steals a person and sells him, or is found with him under his hand, must surely be put to death.

¹⁷ “Whoever curses his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “If people quarrel, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the other does not die but lies in bed, ¹⁹ if he rises again and walks around on his staff, then the one that struck him he will be cleared. But he must pay for the loss of his time and help him to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or female servant with a staff, who dies by his hand, he must surely be punished. ²¹ Notwithstanding, if the servant gets up in a day or two he will not be punished, for he is his property.^[d]

²² “If men fight, and hit a pregnant woman so that her child is born early, yet no harm follows, the one who hit her is to be strictly fined, according to what the woman’s husband demands of him. He must pay as the judges determine. ²³ But if any harm follows,^[e] then you are to penalize life for life, ²⁴ eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow.

²⁶ “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let him go free for the sake of his eyesight. ²⁷ If he strikes out his slave’s tooth, he must let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman so that they die, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat is not to be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be cleared. ²⁹ If the ox was given to goring in times past, and a warning has been given to its owner, yet he has not kept it pent up, and it has killed a man or a woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death. ³⁰ If instead a ransom is placed on him, then he is to pay for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded. ³¹ Whether it has gored a son or daughter, this rule is to be applied to him. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, he is to pay 30 shekels of silver to their master, and the ox is to be stoned.

³³ “If one uncovers a pit or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in, ³⁴ the owner of the pit must pay compensation. He is to give money to the owner, and the dead animal will be his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox hurts another’s ox so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the price. They are also to divide the dead one. ³⁶ Or if it becomes known that the ox was given to violence in times past, and its owner has not kept it pent up, he must surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his own. ^37 [f] If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for one ox or four sheep for one sheep.

22 “If a thief found breaking in is struck so that he dies, there is no bloodguilt for him. ² But if the sun has risen, there is bloodguilt, and he is to make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he must be sold for his theft. ³ If the item is found in his hand alive—whether ox, donkey or sheep—he is to pay double.

⁴ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten by letting his animal loose, and it feeds in another man’s field, then he is to make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁵ “If fire breaks out and spreads among thorns, so that stalks of grain, standing grain or the fields themselves are consumed, then the one who lit the fire must make full restitution.

⁶ “If a man entrusts his neighbor with money or items for safekeeping, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, when the thief is found, he must pay double. ⁷ If the thief is not found, then the master of the house is to present himself to God, to see whether he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods. ⁸ For any transgression—whether ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or anything else lost—when someone says, ‘This is mine!’ the case of both parties is to be brought before God. The one whom God convicts is to pay double to his neighbor.

⁹ “If a man entrusts his neighbor with a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal to care for, and it dies, is hurt or taken away with no one seeing, ¹⁰ then there must be an oath before Adonai between the two of them, to determine whether or not he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods. The owner is to accept it with no restitution. ¹¹ But if indeed it was stolen from him, he is to make restitution to the owner. ¹² If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it as evidence. He is not required to pay for what has been torn to pieces.

¹³ “If a man borrows anything belonging to his neighbor, and it is harmed or dies in the absence of the owner, he must make full restitution. ¹⁴ But if the owner is present, he is not required to pay restitution. If it was rented, it is covered by the rental fee.

¹⁵ “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁶ But if her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he must weigh out silver equal to the dowry for virgins.

¹⁷ “You must not permit a sorceress to live.

¹⁸ “Anyone who lies with an animal must surely be put to death.

¹⁹ “Anyone who sacrifices to the gods, except to Adonai alone, is to be put under a ban of destruction.

²⁰ “You must not exploit or oppress an outsider, for you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.

²¹ “You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²² If you mistreat them in any way, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry. ²³ My wrath will burn hot, and I will kill you with the sword. So your wives will become widows and your children will become orphans.

²⁴ “If you lend money to any of My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act like a debt collector with him, and you are not to charge him interest. ²⁵ If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁶ for that is his only covering, his cloak for his skin. What will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me I will hear, because I am gracious.

²⁷ “Do not despise God, or curse a ruler of your people.

²⁸ “Do not hold back the fullness of your crops or your vintage. You are to present the firstborn of your sons to Me. ²⁹ “Do the same with your cattle and with your sheep. For seven days it is to be with its mother, and on the eighth day you are to give it to Me.

³⁰ “You are to be a holy people for Me. You must not eat any flesh torn by beasts in the field. You may throw it out to the dogs.

23 “Do not to spread a false report. Do not join hands with the wicked by becoming a malicious witness. ² “Do not follow a crowd to do evil. Nor are you to testify in a case, to follow a crowd and pervert justice. ³ On the other hand, nor should you takes sides with a poor man in his case.

⁴ “If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you must surely bring it back to him again. ⁵ If you see the donkey of the one that hates you lying down under its burden, do not leave it. Rather, you are to release it with him.

⁶ “You are not to pervert justice to your poor in his dispute. ⁷ Stay far away from a false charge. Do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty. ⁸ Take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight, and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Do not oppress an outsider, for you know the heart of an outsider, since you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your land and gather the increase. ¹¹ But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat. Whatever they leave behind, the animals of the field may eat. You are to deal with your vineyard and your olive grove in the same way.

¹² “You are to do your work for six days, but on the seventh day you will rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and also the son of your handmaid and the outsider may be refreshed.

¹³ “With all the things that I have said to you, take heed. Make no mention of the names of other gods, and do not let them be heard in your mouth.

Three Harvest Festivals

¹⁴ “Three times in the year you are to ce-lebrate a festival for Me. ¹⁵ You are to observe the Feast of Matzot.^[g] For seven days you will eat matzot as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for that is when you came out from Egypt. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Also you are to observe the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you sow in the field, as well as the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your crops from the field. ¹⁷ Three times in the year all your men are to appear before Adonai Elohim.

¹⁸ “Do not offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz. Nor is the fat of My feast to remain out all night until the morning. ¹⁹ Bring the choicest firstfruits of your land into the House of Adonai your God.

“Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

²⁰ “Behold, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. ²¹ Watch for Him and listen to His voice. Do not rebel against Him because He will not pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him. ²² But if you listen closely to His voice, and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ²³ For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off. ²⁴ You are not to bow down to their gods or serve them, or do what they do. Rather, you are to utterly overthrow them, and break their pillars in pieces. ²⁵ You are to serve Adonai your God, and He will bless your food and your water. Moreover I will take sickness away from your midst. ²⁶ None will miscarry nor be barren in your land, and I will fill up the number of your days.

²⁷ “I will send My terror before you and throw all the people to whom you will come into panic, and make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites, from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in a single year. Otherwise the land would become desolate, and the animals of the field will multiply against you. ³⁰ But little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you are fruitful. Then you will possess the land.

³¹ “I will set your border from the Sea of Reeds to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you are to drive them out before you. ³² Make no covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ They must not dwell in your land and cause you to sin against Me, for if you worship their gods, they will be a snare to you.”

Cutting the Covenant at Sinai

24 Then to Moses He said, “Come up to Adonai, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ² Moses alone is to approach Adonai, but the others may not draw near, nor are the people to go up with him.”

³ So Moses came and told the people all the words of Adonai as well as all the ordinances. All the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which Adonai has spoken, we will do.”

⁴ So Moses wrote down all the words of Adonai, then rose up early in the morning, and built an altar below the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He then sent out young men of Bnei-Yisrael, who sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings of oxen to Adonai. ⁶ Then Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and the other half he poured out against the altar. ⁷ He took the Scroll of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. Again they said, “All that Adonai has spoken, we will do and obey.”

⁸ Then Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Adonai has cut with you, in agreement with all these words.”^[h]

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. ¹⁰ They saw the God of Israel, and under His feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the very heavens. ^{[i] 11} Yet He did not raise His hand against the nobles of Bnei-Yisrael. So they beheld God, and ate and drank.

¹² Then Adonai said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the Torah and the mitzvot, which I have written so that you may instruct them.”

¹³ So Moses rose up along with his attendant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. ¹⁴ To the elders he said, “Wait for us here until we come back to you. See, Aaron and Hur are with you—whoever has a dispute should go to them.”

¹⁵ When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it. ¹⁶ The glory of Adonai settled upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. Then on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ The appearance of the glory of Adonai was like a consuming fire^[j] on the top of the mountain in the sight of Bnei-Yisrael. ¹⁸ So Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and went up onto the mountain. Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Parashat Terumah

Tabernacle: Ark, Table, Menorah

25 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Tell Bnei-Yisrael to take up an offering for Me. From anyone whose heart compels him you are to take My offering. ³ These are the contributions which you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple and scarlet cloth; fine linen and goat hair; ⁵ ram skins dyed red, sealskins, acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; ⁷ onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate.

⁸ “Have them make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. ⁹ You are to make it all precisely according to everything that I show you—the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all the furnishings within—just so you must make it.

¹⁰ “Now they are to make an Ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹ You are to overlay it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a crown of gold around it. ¹² You are to cast four rings of gold for it, and place them in its four feet. Two rings will be on one side, and two rings on the other side. ¹³ Also make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ You are to put the poles into the rings on the sides of the Ark, in order to carry the Ark. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of the Ark, and not be taken from it. ¹⁶ You are to put the Testimony, which I will give you, into the Ark.

¹⁷ “Then you are to make an atonement cover^[k] of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, one cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ Also make two cheruvim of gold, from hammered work, at the two ends of the atonement cover. ¹⁹ Make one cheruv at one end and one cheruv at the other end. Of one piece with the atonement cover you are to make the cheruvim at its two ends. ²⁰ The cheruvim are to spread out their wings above, shielding the atonement cover with their wings, each facing its companion. The faces of the cheruvim are to be turned toward the atonement cover. ²¹ You are to put the atonement cover on top of the Ark, and inside the Ark you will put the Testimony that I will give you.

²² “I will meet with you there. I will speak with you from above the atonement cover—from between the two cheruvim that are on the Ark of the Testimony—about all that I will command you, for Bnei-Yisrael.

²³ “You will make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²⁴ You are to overlay it with pure gold, and make a crown of gold around it. ²⁵ Make a border a single handwidth wide around it and a golden crown for the border all around. ²⁶ Also make four gold rings for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. ²⁷ The rings are to be close to the borders, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. ²⁹ You are also to make the dishes, pans, jars and bowls to pour drink offerings, from pure gold. ³⁰ Always set the bread of the Presence^[l] on the table before Me.

³¹ “You are to make a menorah of pure gold, by hammered work. Its base, stem, cups, bulbs and flowers are to be one piece. ³² There are to be six branches coming out of the sides, three branches of the menorah out of one side, and three branches out of the other. ³³ There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms in one branch, each with a bulb and flower, then three cups made like almond blossoms in the next branch, each with a bulb and flower, and so forth for the six branches coming out of the menorah. ³⁴ Within the menorah will be four cups made like almond blossoms, with bulbs and flowers. ³⁵ There is to be a bulb under two branches of the first piece, a bulb under two branches of the second piece, and a bulb under two branches of the third piece, for the six branches coming out of the menorah. ³⁶ Their bulbs and their branches are to be one piece—all of it a single hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷ “You are also to make the seven lamps for it, and set the lamps up to shed light over the space before it.

³⁸ “The tongs and the censers are to be of pure gold. ³⁹ It is to be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these pieces. ⁴⁰ See that you make them according to their pattern being shown to you on the mountain.

Curtains

26 “Moreover you are to make the Tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, of blue^[m], purple and scarlet, with cheruvim made by the work of a skillful craftsman. ² The length of each curtain is to be 28 cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains are to have the same measure. ³ Five curtains are to be coupled together one to another, and the other five curtains are also to be coupled one to another. ⁴ Also make loops of violet on the edge of the one curtain that is outermost in the first set, and do likewise within the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. ⁵ You are to make 50 loops in the first curtain and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops are to be opposite one another. ⁶ Then make 50 clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to another with the clasps, so that the Tabernacle may be one piece.

⁷ “You are to make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the Tabernacle, 11 curtains in all. ⁸ The length of each curtain is to be 30 cubits and the width of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains are to have the same measurement. ⁹ You are to couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and double over the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tent. ¹⁰ Then make 50 loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outermost in the first set, along with 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. ¹¹ Make 50 bronze clasps, put them into the loops, and couple the tent together, so that it may be one. ¹² As for the overhanging part that remains of the tent curtains, the half curtain that remains is to hang over the back of the Tabernacle. ¹³ The extra cubit on one side, as well as the cubit on the other side, which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, is to hang over the sides of the Tabernacle on each side, to cover it. ¹⁴ You are to make a covering for the tent of ram skins, dyed red, and a covering of sealskins above.

¹⁵ “You are to make the framework of boards for the Tabernacle from acacia wood, standing upright. ¹⁶ The length of each board is to be 10 cubits by one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁷ There are to be two supports in each board, joined one to another. Do this for all the boards of the Tabernacle. ¹⁸ You are to make the 20 boards for the south side of the Tabernacle, ¹⁹ and 40 silver bases underneath the 20 boards. Two bases go underneath one board for its supports and two bases under another board for its supports. ²⁰ Likewise, for the second side of the Tabernacle, on the north side, there are to be 20 boards, ²¹ with their 40 bases of silver. Two bases go under one board and two bases under the next board. ²² For the back part of the Tabernacle, westward, you are to make six boards. ²³ Make two boards for the corners of the Tabernacle on the back side. ²⁴ They are also to be doubled at the bottom, and in the same way joined at the top by the first ring. It is to be this way for them both, and they will provide for the two corners. ²⁵ So there will be eight boards, with 16 silver bases, two bases under each board.

²⁶ “Also make crossbeams of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the Tabernacle, ²⁷ five for the boards on the other side of the Tabernacle, and five for the boards on the back part of the Tabernacle to the west. ²⁸ The middle crossbeam in the center of the boards will pass through from end to end. ²⁹ Then overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold as holders for the crossbeams, and overlay the crossbeams with gold.

³⁰ “You are to raise up the Tabernacle according to the plan which you were shown on the mountain.

³¹ “Make a fine woven linen curtain^[n] of blue, purple and scarlet, with cheruvim. It is to be the work of a skillful craftsman. ³² You are to hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks being made of gold, atop four bases of silver. ³³ You are to hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the Ark within the curtain of the Testimony. The parokhet will divide for you between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

³⁴ “Then you are to put the atonement cover on the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies. ³⁵ You shall set the table outside the curtain, and the menorah opposite the table on the side of the Tabernacle toward the south. You are to put the table on the north side.^[o]

³⁶ “For the entrance of the tent, also make a screen of blue, purple and scarlet, finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver. ³⁷ You are also to make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks are to be made of gold, and you are to cast five bases of bronze for them.

Altar, Courtyard, Oil

27 “Make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar will be square and its height is to be three cubits. ² Make horns on the four corners—of one piece. Overlay it with bronze. ³ You are to make pots for it to take away ashes, along with shovels, basins, forks and fire pans—make all the utensils of bronze. ⁴ Also make a bronze grating net for it, and on the net you are to make four bronze rings on the four corners. ⁵ You are to place it under the ledge around the altar beneath, so that the net may reach halfway up the altar. ⁶ Make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ Its poles are to be put into the rings, on the two sides of the altar, for carrying it. ⁸ You are to make it with planks so that it is hollow. As it has been shown to you in the mountain, they are to make it just so.

⁹ “You are also to make a courtyard for the Tabernacle. For the south side there are to be hangings for the courtyard of finely twisted linen, 100 cubits long. ¹⁰ There are to be 20 pillars with 20 bronze bases, and the hooks on the pillars along with their bands are to be made of silver. ¹¹ Likewise for the north side, in length there are to be 100 cubit long hangings, 20 pillars and 20 bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their clasps are to be made of silver.

¹² “Now for the width of the courtyard on the west side there are to be 50 cubits of hangings, ten pillars and ten bases. ¹³ The width of the courtyard on the east side is to be 50 cubits. ¹⁴ The hangings on one side of the gate are to be 15 cubits, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁵ For the other side there is also to be 15 cubits of hangings, with three pillars and three bases.

¹⁶ “For the gate of the courtyard there is to be a 20 cubit curtain of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver, along with their four pillars and their four bases. ¹⁷ The pillars of the courtyard are to be banded with silver, their hooks of silver, and their bases of bronze all around. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard is to be 100 cubits, and the width 50 throughout. The height is to be five cubits, with hangings of finely twisted linen, with their bronze bases. ¹⁹ All the articles of the Tabernacle for all the services there, along with all the pegs, including all the pegs of the courtyard, are to be bronze.

Parashat Tetzaveh

²⁰ “Also you are to command Bnei-Yisrael, that they are to bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. ²¹ In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons will set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before Adonai. It will be a statute forever throughout their generations, on behalf of Bnei-Yisrael.

Kohen’s Garments

28 “Bring your brother Aaron near with his sons from among Bnei-Yisrael, so that they may minister to Me as kohanim—Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² You are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for splendor and for beauty. ³ You are to speak to all who are skilled, whom I have filled with a spirit of artistry, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him, so that he may minister to Me as a kohen. ⁴ These are the garments that they are to make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may minister to Me as a kohen. ⁵ They are to use the gold, blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen.

⁶ “They are to make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, the work of the skillful craftsman. ⁷ It is to have two shoulder pieces stitched to the two ends, so that it may be joined together. ⁸ The skillfully woven band which is upon it, with which it is to be bound, is to be made like the design, and from the same piece of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen.

⁹ “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Bnei-Yisrael: ¹⁰ six of their names on one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ With the work of a gem cutter engraving a seal, etch the two stones, in the order of the names of Bnei-Yisrael. Make them enclosed in settings of gold. ¹² Fasten the two stones upon the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be memorial stones for Bnei-Yisrael. So Aaron is to bear their names before Adonai on his two shoulders as a reminder. ¹³ Fashion filigree settings of gold, ¹⁴ along with two chains of pure gold, of braided work, and you will attach the chains to the filigree settings.

¹⁵ “Make a breastplate of judgment, the work of a skillful craftsman. You are to make it like the design of the ephod—of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. ¹⁷ Set within it four rows of jewels: a row of ruby, topaz and emerald for the first row; ¹⁸ a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond for the second row; ¹⁹ a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst for the third; ²⁰ and a beryl, an onyx and a jasper for the fourth row. They are to be enclosed in gold filigree settings. ²¹ The stones are to be engraved in the order of the names of Bnei-Yisrael, twelve according to their names, like the etchings of a signet seal, one corresponding to each name of the twelve tribes.^[p]

²² “Also you are to make, upon the breastplate, braided chains of wreathed work from pure gold. ²³ Forge on the breastplate two rings of gold and fasten the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. ²⁴ Then attach the two wreathed chains of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. ²⁵ The other two ends of the chains you are to place on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod in front. ²⁶ So you are to make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it that is toward the inner side of the ephod. ²⁷ Also make two gold rings and place them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod underneath, in the front, close to where it is joined, above the artfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ Then they will bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue thread, so that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate will not come loose from it.

²⁹ “Aaron will bear the names of Bnei-Yisrael in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, whenever he enters the holy place, as a continual memorial before Adonai. ³⁰ Also put the Urim and the Thummim within the breastplate of judgment, so they will be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Adonai. Aaron will bear the judgment of Bnei-Yisrael on his heart before Adonai continually.

³¹ “You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue. ³² It is to have a hole for the head in the center, and a binding of woven work around the hole, as a collar, so that it may not be torn. ³³ On the hem of it you are to make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet, all around the hem, with golden bells between them: ³⁴ one golden bell and a pomegranate, then another golden bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all around. ³⁵ It must be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers. The sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before Adonai and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

³⁶ “Also you are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘HOLY TO Adonai.’ ³⁷ Attach it with a violet cord onto the turban, on the front of the turban. ³⁸ So it will rest on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron will bear away the iniquity committed regarding the holy things, which Bnei-Yisrael set apart as all their holy gifts. It is to be always on his forehead, so that they may have favor before Adonai.

³⁹ “You are to weave the tunic in checkered work of fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make a sash, the work of a color weaver. ⁴⁰ For Aaron’s sons you are to make tunics, sashes and headwear for them—for splendor and for beauty. ⁴¹ Put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him, and anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, so that they may minister to Me as kohanim.

⁴² “You are to make linen undergarments for them, to cover the skin of their nakedness, from the hips to the thighs. ⁴³ They are to be worn by Aaron and his sons when they go into the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not become subject to guilt and die. It is to be a statute forever, to him and to his offspring after him.

How to Consecrate Kohanim

29 “Now this is what you are to do to consecrate them, so that they may minister as kohanim. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, ² along with matzot, cakes of matzot mixed with oil, and matzot wafers spread with oil. Make them from fine wheat flour. ³ You are to put them into one basket and present them, along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ You are to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. ⁵ Then take the garments, and put the tunic on Aaron, along with the robe, the ephod and the breastplate. Gird him with the artfully woven band of the ephod, ⁶ set the turban on his head, and put the holy coronet on the turban. ⁷ Then you are to take the anointing oil, pour it upon his head and anoint him. ⁸ Also you are to bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ You are to gird Aaron and his sons with sashes, tie headwear on them, and they shall hold the priesthood by a perpetual statute. In this way you are to consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “You are to bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head. ¹¹ You are to slaughter the bull before Adonai at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Then take the blood of the bull, put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ Also take all the fat that covers the innards, the lobe above the liver, the two kidneys, along with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, along with its skin and its dung, you are to burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Then take one ram, have Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the head of the ram, ¹⁶ then slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it around the altar. ¹⁷ You are to cut the ram into pieces, wash its innards and its legs, and place them with its head and other pieces. ¹⁸ Then you are to offer the whole ram up in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering to Adonai, a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai.

¹⁹ “Then take the other ram, and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the head of that ram. ²⁰ Slaughter the ram, take its blood, and dab it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, on the tip of the right ears of his sons, on the thumb of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, then pour the blood on the altar all around. ²¹ Also you are to take some of the blood that is on the altar, along with the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. In this way he and his garments are to be consecrated, along with his sons and their garments.

²² “Moreover, take some of the fat from the ram, along with the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the covering over the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, along with the right thigh, because it is a ram of consecration. ²³ Also take one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of matzot that is before Adonai. ²⁴ You are to put the entirety into Aaron’s hands and the hands of his sons, and present them as a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁵ Then you are to take them out of their hands and offer them up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before Adonai, an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁶ Also take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration and wave it as a wave offering before Adonai—so it will be your portion.

²⁷ “Set apart the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution, which is waved and offered up, from the ram of consecration, including what belongs to Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ It is to belong to Aaron and his sons as their due share forever from Bnei-Yisrael, because it is a contribution. It is to be a contribution from Bnei-Yisrael from their sacrifices of fellowship offerings, their contribution to Adonai.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron are to pass to his sons after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. ³⁰ The son that succeeds him as kohen, who comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place, is to put them on for seven days.

³¹ “You are to take the ram of consecration and boil its meat in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They are to eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them, but a layman is not to eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ If some of the meat of the consecration or the bread remains until the morning, you are to burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “Do for Aaron and his sons everything according to what I have commanded you. Consecrate them for seven days. ³⁶ Each day you are to offer a bull as a sin offering,^[q] apart from the other offerings of atonement. Also purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to sanctify it. ³⁷ You are to make atonement for the altar for seven days, and so sanctify it. The altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will become holy.

³⁸ “Now this is what you are to offer upon the altar: two one-year-old lambs, each day, continually. ³⁹ You are to offer one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at dusk. ⁴⁰ Offer along with the first lamb a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you are to offer at dusk, like the grain offering and drink offering of the morning, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai. ⁴² It is to be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Adonai. There I will meet with you, to speak with you there. ⁴³ I will meet with Bnei-Yisrael there. So it will be sanctified by My glory.

⁴⁴ “So I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as kohanim. ⁴⁵ So I will dwell among Bnei-Yisrael and be their God. ⁴⁶ Then they will know that I am Adonai their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, so that I may live among them. I am Adonai their God.

Incense Altar

30 “You are to make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. ² It is to be square—one cubit in length, one cubit wide, and two cubits high. The horns must be of one piece with it. ³ You are to overlay it with pure gold on top, all around the sides and over the horns. Also you are to make a crown of gold for it all around. ⁴ Make two golden rings for it under the crown on the two sides, and they will be holders for poles to carry it. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You are to set it in front of the curtain that is in front of the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the atonement cover that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷ “Aaron must burn sweet spices of incense there every morning. When he attends to the lamps, he is to burn it. ⁸ Also when Aaron keeps the lamps lit at dusk he must burn it. There must be incense continually before Adonai, throughout your generations. ⁹ You must not offer up unauthorized incense on it. Nor should any burnt offering or grain offering be there, nor should you pour any drink offering there. ¹⁰ Aaron is to make atonement upon the horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering throughout your generations. It is most holy to Adonai.”

Parashat Ki Tisa

Census and Ransom Money

¹¹ Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹² “When you tally the sum of Bnei-Yisrael by numbering them, then every man must pay a ransom for his soul to Adonai when you count them, so that no plague will fall on them. ¹³ Everyone among them who crosses over must give half a shekel according to the Sanctuary shekel (which is 20 gerahs): half a shekel as an offering to Adonai. ¹⁴ Everyone who crosses over among them who is counted, from 20 years old and upward, is to give the offering to Adonai. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more and the poor are not to give less than the half shekel, when they present the offering of Adonai to make atonement for your souls. ¹⁶ You are to take the atonement money from Bnei-Yisrael and give it for the service of the Tent of Meeting, so that it may be a memorial for Bnei-Yisrael before Adonai, to make atonement for your souls.”

Basin for Washing

¹⁷ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹⁸ “You will also make a basin of bronze with a bronze stand for washing. You are to place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and their feet there. ²⁰ Whenever they go into the Tent of Meeting or come near to the altar to minister, to present an offering made by fire in smoke to Adonai, they are to wash with water so that they do not die. ²¹ They are to wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die. It is to be an eternal statute for them, to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

Holy Anointing Oil

²² Moreover Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ²³ “Now take for yourself the best spices: 500 shekels of flowing myrrh, half as much sweet cinnamon (250), also 250 shekels of sweet calamus, ²⁴ 500 of cassia, after the Sanctuary shekel, plus a hin^[r] of olive oil. ²⁵ You are to make holy anointing oil from it, a fragrant mixture, blended as the work of a perfumer. It will be holy anointing oil. ²⁶ You are to anoint the Tent of Meeting with it, the Ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ as well as the table and all its articles, the menorah and its articles, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin along with its stand. ²⁹ You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.

³⁰ “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them, so that they may minister to Me as kohanim. ³¹ Speak to Bnei-Yisrael saying, ‘This is to be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³² It must not be poured on human flesh, nor are you to make any like it, with its formula. It is holy and it must be holy to you. ³³ Whoever mixes any like it, or whoever puts any of it on anyone unauthorized, will be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Take the sweet spices—stacte, onycha and galbanum. The spices and pure frankincense are to be in equal measures. ³⁵ Make a fragrant mixture from them, a blend like the work of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ You are to beat some of it into powder, and set it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It is to be most holy to you. ³⁷ But the incense which you make, with its formula, you are not to make for yourselves. It is to be holy to you, for Adonai. ³⁸ Whoever makes any like it, to breathe in its smell, will be cut off from his people.”

Ruach-filled Craftsmen

31 Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, ⁴ to make ingenious designs, to forge with gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ as well as cutting stones for setting and carving wood, to work in all manner of craftsmanship. ⁶ Also look, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Within the hearts of all who are wise-hearted I have placed skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you: ⁷ the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, the atonement cover that is to be on it, all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, ⁸ the table and its utensils, the menorah of pure gold with all of its utensils, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the kohen, the garments for his sons to minister as kohanim, ¹¹ the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the holy place. They are to make them just as how I commanded you.”

Shabbat: A Perpetual Covenant Sign

¹² Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹³ “Speak now to Bnei-Yisrael saying, ‘Surely you must keep My Shabbatot, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so you may know that I am Adonai who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it will die, for whoever does any work during Shabbat, that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people. ¹⁵ Work is to be done for six days, but on the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, holy to Adonai. Whoever does any work on the Shabbat will surely be put to death. ¹⁶ So Bnei-Yisrael is to keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and Bnei-Yisrael forever, for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’”

¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave the two tablets of the Testimony to Moses—tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

Molten Calf and Smashing Tablets

32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what’s become of him!”

² So Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the golden rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He received them from their hand, and made a molten calf, fashioned with a chiseling tool.

Then they said, “This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. Then Aaron made a proclamation saying, “Tomorrow will be a feast to Adonai.” ⁶ They rose up early the next morning, sacrificed burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to make merry.

⁷ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Go down! For your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have become debased. ⁸ They quickly turned aside from the path that I commanded for them. They have made a molten calf, worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

⁹ Adonai said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now therefore, leave Me alone, so My wrath may burn hot against them, and so I may consume them—and make from you a great nation!”

¹¹ Then Moses sought Adonai his God and said, “Adonai, why should Your wrath burn hot against Your people, whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out to do evil, to slay them in the mountains, and to annihilate them from the face of the earth?’ Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this destruction against Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they will inherit it forever.’”

¹⁴ So Adonai relented from the destruction that He said He would do to His people.

¹⁵ Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides, on one and on the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war within the camp.” ¹⁸ But Moses said:

¹⁹ Then it happened, as soon as Moses came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and his anger burned hot. So he threw the tablets out of his hands, and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the surface of the water and made Bnei-Yisrael drink it.

²¹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, to make you bring such a great sin upon them?”

²² Aaron said, “Don’t be angry, my lord! You know these people yourself, and how they are set on evil. ²³ They said to me, ‘Make gods for us, to go before us! As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what happened to him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me and I threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were unrestrained, because Aaron had let them run wild, to become a joke among their enemies, ²⁶ Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on Adonai’s side, let him come to me.” Then all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

²⁷ He said to them, “This is what Adonai, the God of Israel says, ‘Every man put on his sword, and go to and fro, from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did as Moses said, and that day from among the people there fell about 3,000 men.

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Consecrate your hands today to Adonai so that He may give you a blessing today, for every man has been against his son and his brother.”

³⁰ So it happened the following day, Moses said to the people, “You have committed a horrendous sin. So now I will go up to Adonai—perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

³¹ Then Moses returned to Adonai and said, “Alas, these people have sinned greatly, and made gods of gold! ³² Yet now, please forgive their sin. But if not, please blot me out of Your book that You have written.”

³³ Adonai said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book. ³⁴ Now go, lead the people to the place that I told you about. My angel will go before you. Nevertheless, on the day when I take account, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”

³⁵ So Adonai struck the people because of what they did with the calf that Aaron had made.

33 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Leave, get out of this place, you and the people that you have brought out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob saying, ‘I will give it to your seed.’ ² I will send an angel before you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and the Jebusites. ³ Head up into a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not move within the midst of you, so that I do not destroy you along the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

⁴ When the people heard these dreadful words, they mourned, and no one put on any ornaments. ⁵ Adonai said to Moses, “Say to Bnei-Yisrael, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were going up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Take off your ornaments, so that I may consider what to do to you.’” ⁶ So Bnei-Yisrael stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward.

Show Me Your Glory!

⁷ Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the Tent of Meeting. So it happened, everyone who sought Adonai would go out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would arise and stand, everyone at the door of his own tent, and look after Moses, until he had gone into the Tent. ⁹ After Moses entered, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door, and He would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the Tent, they all rose up and worshipped, every man at the entrance of his own tent. ¹¹ So Adonai spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the Tent.

¹² So Moses said to Adonai “You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My eyes.’ ¹³ Now then, I pray, if I have found grace in Your eyes, show me Your ways, so that I may know You, so that I might find favor in Your sight. Consider also that this nation is Your people.”

¹⁴ “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest,” He answered.

¹⁵ But then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with me, don’t let us go up from here! ¹⁶ For how would it be known that I or your people have found favor in Your sight? Isn’t it because You go with us, that distinguishes us from all the people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ Adonai answered Moses, “I will also do what you have said, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then he said, “Please, show me Your glory!”

¹⁹ So He said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass before you, and call out the Name of Adonai before you. I will be gracious toward whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will be merciful.” ²⁰ But He also said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live.”

²¹ Then Adonai said, “See, a place near Me—you will stand on the rock. ²² While My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and cover you with My hand, until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen.”

34 Adonai said to Moses, “Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write upon them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready by the morning, come up to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout the entire mountain. Even the flocks and herds must not graze in front of that mountain.”

⁴ So he carved two tablets of stone like the first. Then Moses rose up early in the morning, went up onto Mount Sinai as Adonai had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. ⁵ Then Adonai descended in the cloud, stood with him there, as he called on the Name of Adonai.

Thirteen Attributes of God

⁶ Then Adonai passed before him, and proclaimed, “Adonai, Adonai, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, ⁷ showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

⁸ Then Moses quickly bowed his head down to the earth and worshipped. ⁹ He said, “If now I have found grace in Your eyes, my Lord, let my Lord please go within our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own inheritance.”

Exclusive Covenant

¹⁰ Then He said, “I am cutting a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders, such as have not been done in all the earth, or in any nation. All the people you are among will see the work of Adonai—for what I am going to do with you will be awesome! ¹¹ Obey what I am commanding you today. Behold, I am going to drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites before you. ¹² Watch yourself, and make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a snare among you. ¹³ Instead you must break down their altars, smash their pillars and cut down their Asherah poles. ¹⁴ For you are to bow down to no other god, because Adonai is jealous for His Name—He is a jealous God.

¹⁵ “See that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. Otherwise when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifice. ¹⁶ Do not take their daughters for your sons, for their daughters will prostitute themselves with their own gods, and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

¹⁷ “You are not to make for yourselves metal gods.

¹⁸ “You are to keep the Feast of Matzot. For seven days you are eat matzot, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for in the month Aviv you came out from Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every firstborn of the womb is Mine, and from all your cattle you are to sanctify the males, the firstborn of the ox and sheep. ²⁰ A firstborn donkey you are to redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you are to break its neck. You must redeem all your firstborn sons. No one should appear before Me empty-handed.

²¹ “For six days you will work, but on the seventh day you will rest. During plowing time and harvest you must rest.

²² “You are to observe the Feast of Shavuot, which is the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. ²³ Three times during the year all your males are to appear before Adonai Elohim, God of Israel. ²⁴ For I am going to cast out nations before you, then enlarge your territory. So no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before Adonai your God three times in the year.

²⁵ “You are not to offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz, nor should the sacrifice of the Passover Festival remain until morning.

²⁶ “You are to bring the choicest firstfruits of your land to the House of Adonai your God.

“You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Write these words, for based on these words I have cut a covenant with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ So he stayed there with Adonai for 40 days and 40 nights, and he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant: the Ten Words.^[s]

²⁹ Now it happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face was radiant, because God had spoken with him. ³⁰ When Aaron and all Bnei-Yisrael saw Moses, the skin of his face shone in rays, so they were afraid to come near him.