¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart¹, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast² brought up out of the land³ of Egypt, unto⁴ the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

And I will send an angel⁵ before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite⁶, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

Unto a land⁷ flowing with milk and honey: for I⁸ will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked⁹ people: lest I¹⁰ consume thee in the way.

And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned¹¹: and no¹² man did put on him his ornaments.

For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are¹³ a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment¹⁴, and consume thee: therefore now put off¹⁵ thy ornaments from thee, that I may¹⁶ know what to do unto thee.

¹⁷And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

¶ And Moses took the tabernacle¹⁸, and pitched it without the camp, afar off¹⁹ from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of²⁰ the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought²¹ the LORD went out²² unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood²³ every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy²⁴ pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked²⁵ with Moses.

¶ And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped²⁶, every man in his tent door.

And the LORD spake²⁷ unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend²⁸. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant²⁹ Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, See³⁰, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know³¹ thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

Now therefore, I pray thee, if³² I have found grace in thy sight, shew³³ me now thy way, that I³⁴ may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider³⁵ that this nation is thy people.

And he said, My presence³⁶ shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest³⁷.

³⁸And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that³⁹ thou goest with us? so shall we be separated⁴⁰, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do⁴¹ this thing also that thou hast⁴² spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

⁴³And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

And he said, I will make all my goodness⁴⁴ pass before thee, and I will proclaim⁴⁵ the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be⁴⁶ gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

¶ And he said, Thou canst not⁴⁷ see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by⁴⁸ me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift⁴⁹ of the rock, and will cover thee⁵⁰ with my hand while I pass by:

And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt⁵¹ see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.