1 Then the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Promiser} said to Moses, “Go up from here—you and the people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt {Mitsrayim: place of oppression}—to the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’”
2 I {YHWH, Supreme Commander} will dispatch an angel ahead of you, and I will drive out {gerashti: expel forcibly} the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
3 You are to go to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I {anokhi: Covenant Judge} will not go up in your midst, because you are a stiff-necked {qeshe-oref: resistant to guidance} people; otherwise I might consume you on the way.
4 When the people heard this harsh message {davar: severe report}, they mourned, and no one {ish: every person} donned any ornaments.
5 And the LORD {YHWH, Just Judge} said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people {am-qesheh-oref: stubborn hearts}. If I were to go up among you for even a moment, I would consume you. So now remove your ornaments, and I will decide what I will do to you.’”
6 The Israelites {benei yisrael: descendants of Jacob} stripped off their ornaments {edyam: symbols of status}, from Mount Horeb onward.
7 Now Moses would take the tent and pitch it for himself far outside the camp; he called it the tent of meeting {ohel moed: appointed assembly}. And it came to pass that everyone seeking the LORD {YHWH, Divine Approacher} went out to the tent of meeting outside the camp.
8 And it happened that whenever Moses went out to the tent {ohel: sacred meeting place}, all the people would stand up and each man would station himself at the entrance {petach: point of access} of his tent. They would then gaze after Moses until he entered the tent.
9 As Moses entered the tent {ohel: sacred dwelling}, the pillar of cloud came down and stood at the entrance of the tent, and He {YHWH, Divine Communicator} spoke with Moses.
10 When the whole assembly saw the cloud’s pillar {ammud: sign of guidance} stationed at the tent’s entrance, they rose and prostrated themselves {hishtahavu: act of homage}, each one at the opening of his own tent.
11 The LORD {YHWH, Personal Revealer} would speak with Moses face to face {panim el panim: undivided presence}, just as one converses with a friend; afterward Moses returned to the camp, but his attendant Joshua son of Nun, a youth, did not depart from the tent.
12 Moses said to the LORD {YHWH, Prayer Recipient}, “See, You keep urging me, ‘Bring up these people,’ yet You have not disclosed {hodatani: full disclosure} to me whom You will send to accompany me; still, You have said, ‘I know You by name, and You have found favor in My sight.’”
13 Now then, if I have found favor {chen: gracious acceptance} in Your {YHWH, Divine Guide} eyes, please make known to me Your way, so that I may know You and find favor in Your eyes again. And consider that this nation is Your people.
14 And He {YHWH, Faithful Guide} said, “My presence {panai: face of guidance} will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Moses said to Him {YHWH, Faithful Companion}, “If Your face {panekha: manifest presence} does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
16 By what means will it be known that both I and Your {YHWH, Covenant Companion} people have found favor {khen: gracious acceptance} in Your eyes? Is it not through Your going with us that we—both I and Your people—will be distinguished from all the nations on the face of the earth?
17 And the LORD {YHWH, Promise Keeper} said to Moses, “I will do this matter that you have spoken, for you have found favor {chen: gracious acceptance} in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses said, “Please {na: Earnest Plea} let me see Your {YHWH, Merciful Guide} glory.”
19 And the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Revealer} said, “I will cause all my goodness {tuvi: abundant benefit} to pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will show grace to those I choose and compassion to whoever I choose.”
20 And He {YHWH, Sovereign Revealer} said, “You are not able to see My face {panay: divine presence}, for no human being will see Me and live.”
21 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Revealer} said, “Look, there is a place {makom: appointed location} beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock.”
22 And it will come to pass, when my glory {kevodi: radiant presence} passes by, that I {YHWH, Sovereign Protector} will place you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I {YHWH, Majestic Revealer} will draw back My hand {kaf: protective palm}, and you will behold My back, but My face shall remain unseen.