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So Moses cut two tablets of stone just like the originals. He got up early in the morning and climbed Mount Sinai as God had commanded him, carrying the two tablets of stone.
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God descended in the cloud and took up his position there beside him and called out the name, God.
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God passed in front of him and called out, "God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient - so much love, so deeply true -
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loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. Still, he doesn't ignore sin. He holds sons and grandsons responsible for a father's sins to the third and even fourth generation."
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At once, Moses fell to the ground and worshiped,
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saying, "Please, O Master, if you see anything good in me, please Master, travel with us, hard-headed as these people are. Forgive our iniquity and sin. Own us, possess us."
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And God said, "As of right now, I'm making a covenant with you: In full sight of your people I will work wonders that have never been created in all the Earth, in any nation. Then all the people with whom you're living will see how tremendous God's work is, the work I'll do for you.
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Take careful note of all I command you today. I'm clearing your way by driving out Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
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Stay vigilant. Don't let down your guard lest you make covenant with the people who live in the land that you are entering and they trip you up.
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"Tear down their altars, smash their phallic pillars, chop down their fertility poles.
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Don't worship any other god. God - his name is The-Jealous-One - is a jealous God.
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Be careful that you don't make a covenant with the people who live in the land and take up with their sex-and-religion life, join them in meals at their altars,
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marry your sons to their women, women who take up with any convenient god or goddess and will get your sons to do the same thing.
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"Don't make molten gods for yourselves.
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"Keep the Feast of Unraised Bread. Eat only unraised bread for seven days in the month of Abib - it was in the month of Abib that you came out of Egypt.
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"Every firstborn from the womb is mine, all the males of your herds, your firstborn oxen and sheep.
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"Redeem your firstborn donkey with a lamb. If you don't redeem it you must break its neck. "Redeem each of your firstborn sons. "No one is to show up in my presence empty-handed.
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"Work six days and rest the seventh. Stop working even during plowing and harvesting.
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"Keep the Feast of Weeks with the first cutting of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
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"All your men are to appear before the Master, the God of Israel, three times a year.
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You won't have to worry about your land when you appear before your God three times each year, for I will drive out the nations before you and give you plenty of land. Nobody's going to be hanging around plotting ways to get it from you.
