Exodus 33

The Command to Leave Sinai

1 The Lord said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you o and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To p your offspring I will give it.' 2 I will send an q angel before you, r and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 s Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; t but I will not go up among you, u lest I consume you on the way, for you are a v stiff-necked people."

4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they w mourned, and x no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a v stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would y consume you. So now x take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.'" 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and z he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who a sought the Lord 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 rise up, and b each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the c pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord 1 would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus d the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his e assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses' Intercession

12 Moses said to the Lord, "See, f 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, g 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please h show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is i your people." 14 And he said, j "My presence will go with you, and k I will give you rest." 15 And he said to him, l "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? m Is it not in your going with us, n so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?"

17 And the Lord said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, o for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." 18 Moses said, "Please p show me your glory." 19 And he said, q "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And r I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for s man shall not see me and live." 21 And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a t cleft of the rock, and I will u cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall v not be seen."

  1. Cross References
    Exodus 32:7
    And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
  2. Cross References
    Exodus 32:13
    Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 14:19
    Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.
  4. Cross References
    Exodus 13:5
    And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
  5. Cross References
    Exodus 3:8
    And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 33:15 - 17
    And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
  7. Cross References
    Exodus 32:10
    Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.
    Numbers 16:21
    "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."
    Numbers 16:45
    Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 32:9
    And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
  9. Cross References
    Numbers 14:39
    When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly.
  10. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:17
    Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
    Ezekiel 24:23
    Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
    Ezekiel 26:16
    Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 33:3
    Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.
  12. Cross References
    Exodus 32:12
    Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
  13. Cross References
    Exodus 33:4
    When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.
  14. Cross References
    Exodus 29:42 - 43
    It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.
  15. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:29
    But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
    2 Samuel 21:1
    Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.
    1 Chronicles 16:10 - 11
    Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
    Psalms 40:16
    But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!
  16. Cross References
    Numbers 16:27
    So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
  17. Cross References
    Exodus 13:21
    And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
  18. Cross References
    Numbers 12:8
    With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
    Deuteronomy 34:10
    And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.
    Genesis 32:30
    So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.
  19. Cross References
    Exodus 17:9 - 10
    So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.
    Exodus 24:13
    So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
    Exodus 32:17
    When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp.
  20. Cross References
    Exodus 32:34
    But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.
  21. Cross References
    Exodus 33:17
    And the Lord said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.
  22. Cross References
    Psalms 25:4
    Make me to know your ways, O Lord ; teach me your paths.
    Psalms 103:7
    He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:29
    For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.
    Joel 2:17
    Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, "Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'
  24. Cross References
    Joshua 1:5
    No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
    Isaiah 63:9
    In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
    Exodus 40:34 - 38
    Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
  25. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 3:20
    Until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.
    Joshua 21:44
    And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands.
    Joshua 22:4
    And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
    Joshua 23:1
    A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years.
    Psalms 95:11
    Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest.
  26. Cross References
    Exodus 33:1 - 3
    The Lord said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.
  27. Cross References
    Numbers 14:14
    And they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
  28. Cross References
    Exodus 19:5 - 6
    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.
    1 Kings 8:53
    For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
  29. Cross References
    Exodus 33:12 - 13
    Moses said to the Lord, "See, 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 favor in my sight.
  30. Cross References
    Exodus 33:20
    But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.
    1 Timothy 6:16
    Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
  31. Cross References
    Psalms 31:19
    Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
    Jeremiah 31:14
    I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.
    Exodus 34:5 - 7
    The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
  32. Cross References
    Romans 9:15
    For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
  33. Cross References
    Genesis 32:30
    So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, s...
    Deuteronomy 5:24
    And you said, 'Behold, the Lord our God has sho...
    Judges 6:22 - 23
    Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of ...
    Judges 13:22
    And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely d...
    Isaiah 6:5
    And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am...
    Revelation 1:17
    When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though de...
    Exodus 24:10 - 11
    And they saw the God of Israel. There was under...
  34. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:21
    To enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 91:1
    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
    Psalms 91:4
    He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
  36. Cross References
    Exodus 33:20
    But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.
    John 1:18
    No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
    1 Timothy 6:16
    Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
    1 John 4:12
    No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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