Exodus 34
The full text of Exodus 34 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.
3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
7 maintaining steadfast love to a thousand generations, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he holds the children and their children to account for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation."
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
9 "Lord," he said, "if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."
10 Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you.
11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.
13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.
14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
17 Do not make any idols.
18 Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock.
20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21 Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
22 Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel.
24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.
25 Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.
26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
34 But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
Translation notes (8)
- Exodus 34:6a This passage is a significant self-revelation of God's character, often referred to as 'the thirteen attributes.' 'Steadfast love and faithfulness' translates the Hebrew chesed ve-'emet—where chesed means covenant loyalty or loving-kindness, and 'emet means truth or reliability. The doubled phrase 'the LORD, the LORD' reproduces the Hebrew text exactly. The full theological significance of this passage is preserved and not interpreted or decided upon here.
- Exodus 34:7a The closing phrase (poqed 'avon 'avot 'al banim ... 'al shilleshim ve-'al ribbe'im) is translated in various ways, such as 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children ... to the third and fourth generation.' Whether this describes consequences across generations, the unity of a group, or something else—and how it relates to other Bible passages like Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18—is debated throughout religious tradition and is intentionally not resolved here. 'To a thousand generations' translates la-'alafim ('to thousands'), which stands in clear contrast to 'the third and fourth.'
- Exodus 34:13a 'Asherah poles' ('asherav) refers to wooden objects or trees used in religious worship ('cultic') that were associated with the goddess Asherah; their precise form is uncertain.
- Exodus 34:14a 'Whose name is Jealous' translates the Hebrew qanna' shemo. The Hebrew word qanna', used only for God, encompasses both 'jealous' and 'zealous,' describing an exclusive, passionate refusal to share covenant loyalty. The fact that God's divine name itself is given as 'Jealous/Zealous' is striking and is preserved rather than softened; its theological meaning is not interpreted or decided upon here.
- Exodus 34:15a 'Prostitute themselves' translates the Hebrew word zanu, which is the prophets' usual metaphor, or symbolic comparison, for unfaithful worship of other gods. This vivid imagery is preserved rather than being made more abstract by simply saying 'are unfaithful.'
- Exodus 34:26a 'Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk' is the literal Hebrew text. Its original reason, or 'rationale,' is debated, with possibilities including a pagan ritual, an ethical principle, or a humane concern, and it serves as the textual foundation for later dietary practices. The plain command is presented without resolving this debate.
- Exodus 34:28a The subject of 'he wrote' is grammatically unclear; it could refer to Moses or the LORD. While verse 1 states the LORD will write, the plain grammatical structure (syntax) here reads 'he [Moses] wrote.' This ambiguity is left unresolved. 'The Ten Commandments' translates 'aseret ha-devarim, which literally means 'the ten words.'
- Exodus 34:29a The Hebrew phrase qaran 'or panav, translated as "His face was radiant," uses the verb qaran. This verb comes from qeren, meaning "horn," and can mean either "sent out rays" (shone/was radiant) or "grew horns." The translation "radiant" follows the sense of shining, acknowledging the word's connection to "horn" without resolving the ambiguity.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Exodus, are free to read on this site.
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