Storybook

The Book of Exodus · Sinai

The mountainthat sang.

Bread that falls out of the sky, a mountain on fire, ten sentences that reshaped the world — and a golden calf built while the ink was still wet. Every scene below is a real frame from our animated film.

Real film frames Exodus 16–40 Scroll to the mountain
Scroll to begin
An old woman laughs, still giddy from the sea From above, a great column of people winds along the shore Days later, the same column trudges through empty desert Even the goat has had enough A boy runs ahead to a pool among the rocks Moses tastes the water and recoils — it is bitter He throws a piece of wood into the pool The water runs sweet, and the people drink
Scene IThe Song Runs Out

Three days after the greatest deliverance in their history, they were thirsty — and the first water they found was undrinkable. That's the whole pattern of this book in one image: the song at the sea, and then the bitter pool. God showed Moses a tree, he threw it in, and the waters were made sweet. Exodus 15 : 22–25

The camp at dusk, purple and quiet and hungry A family divides the last of the bread by the fire At sunset a dark cloud of birds sweeps over the tents Quail land everywhere among the camp A boy runs delighted through the birds At dawn the ground is silver with dew The dew lifts — and the desert floor is white with flakes Hands pick it up and turn it over, baffled An old woman tastes it, astonished A boy eats a double handful, eyes shut with pleasure Children gather it with both arms
Scene IIWhat Is It?

They grumbled for meat and bread, and got both — quail in the evening, and in the morning something nobody had a word for. When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. They said to each other, man hu — literally what is it? And the name stuck: manna. They ate "what-is-it" for forty years. Exodus 16 : 13–15

“What is it?”

Moses on a rock explains the rule: only what you need for today A family gathers their day's portion into baskets One man hides an extra jar in his tent that night In the morning he opens it — and green stink boils out His neighbours back away from the smell He argues the rules with Moses, clutching his jar On the seventh day he sneaks out to gather anyway He finds nothing at all, and slinks back to his tent
Scene IIIOne Day at a Time

The rule was strange on purpose: gather only what you need for today. Keep any overnight and it bred worms and became foul — except on the sixth day, when a double portion kept perfectly for the Sabbath. Four hundred years of slavery teaches you to hoard. God spent forty years teaching them to trust the morning. Exodus 16 : 19–26

Raiders hit the edge of the camp at dusk A young man named Joshua steps forward Shepherds and slaves take up their staffs as weapons On the hill above, Moses lifts his staff over the battle Far below, the two armies close in the dust His arms begin to fail Aaron and Hur take an arm each and hold him up They sit him on a stone and steady his hands Three men silhouetted on the hill against the sunset One raised staff, held up by two pairs of hands
Scene IVThe Tide of the Staff

Amalek attacked the stragglers at the back — the tired, the old, the children. Joshua fought; Moses climbed the hill with the staff. When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. His arms gave out, as arms do. So Aaron and Hur sat him on a stone and held his hands up, one on each side, until the going down of the sun. Exodus 17 : 8–12

One held up by two.

A family arrives at the camp on a donkey Moses runs out to meet them He gathers his wife and sons into his arms At the fire, Jethro listens to everything that happened The old priest's face: now I know Next morning: a queue of people stretching out of sight Moses judges case after case, grey with exhaustion Jethro sits him down and tells him the obvious Appointed judges take their own tables among the tents
Scene VMany Small Lines

His father-in-law arrived with the wife and sons Moses had sent to safety, watched him judge disputes from morning to night, and said the kindest hard thing in the book: “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear away… for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone.” Appoint able men over thousands, hundreds, tens. One long line became many small ones. Even Moses was allowed help. Exodus 18 : 17–23

The camp settles at the foot of a dark mountain People stop and look up at it Purple lightning crawls across the peak The mountain goes black under a boiling sky Lightning strikes the summit again and again The whole camp stands in the smoke, looking up A mother holds her child against her A small girl clutches her doll and stares
Scene VIThe Mountain Is Alive

Three months out of Egypt they camped in front of Sinai, and on the third morning the mountain woke up. There were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet… and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Smoke went up like a furnace. The whole mountain quaked greatly. And the trumpet — which no one was blowing — grew louder and louder. Exodus 19 : 16–19

And the trumpet grew louder and louder.

By candlelight, an old woman carves a little household idol Her hands stop as the words reach her tent She turns the small carved figure over in her fingers Wood shavings and the idol, set down A man hurries home with a sack over his shoulder He embraces his elderly parents in the doorway Three generations bake bread together at one low table Two men have each other by the collar A clenched fist slowly opens One holds out a jar to the other — the quarrel ends
Scene VIITen Sentences

Then God spoke ten sentences, and something clever happens with them: it cuts away from the mountain into the tents, where they land. An old woman with a carving knife and a household god. A man who has not spoken to his parents in years. Two neighbours with fists in each other's clothes. You shall have no other gods before me. Honour your father and your mother. You shall not covet. Law, arriving as ordinary evenings. Exodus 20 : 1–17

Twelve standing stones and an altar before the burning mountain The pillars stand in the dawn light Moses reads the covenant aloud from a scroll The people listen, packed to the horizon A tiny figure on the altar steps before an ocean of people The crowd erupts — fists and voices raised Children on shoulders, everyone shouting together Horns blow over the assembly
Scene VIII"We Will Do"

Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve stone pillars, one for each tribe, and read the covenant out loud to everybody. And the whole nation answered with one voice: “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and be obedient.” They meant it. That is the heartbreaking part — they absolutely meant it. Exodus 24 : 3–7

“All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.”

The elders beg Moses to go up in their place Moses turns toward the smoking mountain He walks away from the camp alone The dark mountain wearing a crown of light The summit burns above the sleeping camp
Scene IXUp, Alone

The people had heard enough. “You speak with us, and we will listen; but don't let God speak with us, lest we die.” So Moses went up into the thick darkness where God was, and stayed there forty days and forty nights. Down below, forty days is a very long time to wait for someone who might not come back. Exodus 20 : 19 · 24 : 18

The people crowd Aaron, demanding something they can see Aaron alone in front of the crowd, out of arguments He gives in — bring me your gold Gold rings pour onto a spread cloth A furnace roars among the tents Molten gold pours into the mould The calf is hauled up, glowing, above the crowd A golden bull, finished, gleaming in the firelight
Scene XOut of the Smoke

Forty days. That was all it took. “Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses… we don't know what has become of him.” And Aaron — who had watched the plagues, the sea, the mountain — asked for their earrings. His excuse comes later, and it is one of the great lies in scripture: “I cast it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Exodus 32 : 1–4, 24

The calf stands garlanded on a stone plinth Fires and dancing spiral around it A man throws his arms wide in the firelight A boy's delighted face in the glow From high above: rings of firelight circling the idol The whole camp revolves around the golden calf Above it all, the mountain still burns, unnoticed
Scene XIThe Festival

Aaron built an altar in front of it and announced a feast — to Yahweh, he said, which somehow makes it worse. They rose early, offered sacrifices, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. It is seen from above, as a spiral of firelight turning round a golden animal, with the real mountain burning behind them the entire time. Exodus 32 : 5–6

High on the rock, Moses holds two glowing tablets The stone glows in his hands, written on both sides He stops — there is singing coming up the mountain He starts down fast, Joshua behind him From the ridge: the whole camp spiralling round the calf Moses' face as he understands what he is seeing The tablets in his hands, the fires reflected in the stone He raises them over his head The tablets shatter into a burst of light and fragments Broken stone scattered across the mountainside
Scene XIIThe Shatter

He came down carrying the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. Joshua thought he heard fighting. Moses knew better: it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery… but the noise of them that sing. Then he saw the calf and the dancing — and Moses' anger burned hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain. Exodus 32 : 16–19

He broke them beneath the mountain.

The music stops. Moses walks into the middle of the festival He faces the golden calf on its plinth He puts his hands on it and heaves The calf goes into the fire Gold sags and runs in the flames as the camp watches By morning: a slumped lump of gold in cold ashes Moses turns on his brother Aaron spreads his hands: out came this calf
Scene XIIIThe Calf Falls

He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. Then he asked his brother the simplest question in the world — what did these people do to you, that you brought such a great sin on them? And Aaron blamed the fire. Exodus 32 : 20–24

Night. Moses climbs back up the black mountain alone He labours up the rock in the wind His face, close — this is the hardest climb of his life From below: one small figure against a vast dark mountain He pulls himself over the last ridge He stands at the summit in the storm and speaks
Scene XIVTake Me Instead

God offered Moses the thing every leader is secretly tempted by: I will destroy them, and I will make of you a great nation. Start over, with better people. Moses said no — and then said something almost too large to read: “Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin — and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.” Take my name out instead of theirs. Exodus 32 : 10, 31–32

“Blot me out instead.”

A narrow split in a vast grey cliff Moses presses himself into the cleft of the rock Gold light and cloud pour over the mountain Light crosses his face as something passes by Rays flood the crevice, blinding A figure of pure light stands in the gap Moses goes down on his face on the rock He comes down the mountain carrying new tablets The people shield their eyes — his face is shining Aaron holds out a veil to him
Scene XVThe Cleft of the Rock

After all of it, Moses asked for one thing: “Please show me your glory.” He was told no man could see God's face and live — but there was a rock with a crack in it. “I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by.” And what passed by was a description, not a shape: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness. He came down with a face nobody could look at. Exodus 33 : 18–23 · 34 : 6

Merciful and gracious, slow to anger.

The whole camp streams in carrying things Moses stands beside a growing mountain of gold and cloth He shouts over the pile: stop! stop bringing gifts! A craftsman works gold leaf at his bench Hands embroider a winged figure in blue and gold thread Weavers work the great curtains on their looms The gold ark takes shape inside the tent The lampstand is hammered out, branch by branch The finished tent stands ready in the evening light
Scene XVIStop Bringing Gifts

Then the same people who had emptied their pockets for a calf emptied them again for a tent — and this time nobody had to ask twice. The craftsmen came to Moses with a complaint no building project has ever made since: “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work.” So Moses gave the strangest order in the Bible. Stop. Let no one bring anything more. Exodus 36 : 5–7

A column of cloud descends over the desert It comes down toward the small tent below The cloud settles on the tabernacle, blazing at its base The camp gathers in rings around the burning tent By day the column stands over the moving column of people A family loads their cart beneath it The whole nation walks out behind the pillar At night the pillar burns over a camp laid out in rings One fire in the middle of the dark, and everyone sleeping around it
Scene XVIIGod Moves In

And when it was finished — every loop, every clasp, exactly as told — the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle. Not a mountain they couldn't touch. A tent in the middle of the camp, with everybody's washing lines around it. For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40 : 34–38

God moved into the neighbourhood.

◆ Throughout all their journeys

The book that began with a baby in a basket ends with a tent in the middle of a camp. Everything in between — the bush, the plagues, the sea, the bread, the mountain, even the calf — was moving toward one sentence: God came to live with them. Not because they earned it; they demonstrably didn't. Forty days after promising "all that Yahweh has spoken we will do," they were dancing round a cow they'd made from their own jewellery. He moved in anyway. That is the mountain's real song.

The pillar of fire burning over the sleeping camp The camp in rings around one burning pillar at night
Every night for forty years, the light in the middle of the camp.

Voices of the mountain · hover or tap to turn

Moses Moses

"Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt…?"

— Exodus 32:11
The people, looking up at the mountain The People

"All that Yahweh has spoken we will do."

— Exodus 19:8
Lightning striking the summit of Sinai Yahweh

"I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

— Exodus 20:2

Before the judges and the kings

How much of the mountain did you catch?

1. What does "manna" actually mean?

2. How did Israel win the battle against Amalek?

3. What did the people promise at the foot of the mountain?

4. How does the book of Exodus end?

What this story teaches

Enough for today is enough.

The manna rule trained a nation of ex-slaves out of hoarding: gather what you need, trust tomorrow's morning. The man who saved extra found worms; the family who trusted found breakfast.

“Gather of it every man according to his eating.” Exodus 16 : 16

Nobody holds their arms up alone.

The battle turned on a raised staff — and the man holding it ran out of strength, exactly as everyone does. What kept it up was two friends and a stone to sit on.

“Aaron and Hur held up his hands… until the going down of the sun.” Exodus 17 : 12

He moved in anyway.

They broke the covenant before the ink dried, and the book still ends with God taking up residence in the middle of the camp. Grace isn't God overlooking the calf. It's God pitching his tent beside it.

“Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40 : 34
Read the scripture itself. Exodus 16, 19, 20, 32, 34 & 40 · World English Bible

Exodus 16 : 1–21

1They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

2The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;

3and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

5It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

6Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt;

7and in the morning, then you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?”

8Moses said, “Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.”

9Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.’”

10As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud.

11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

12“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”

13In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.

14When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.

15When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”

16This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: “Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.”

17The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

18When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating.

19Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.”

20Notwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them.

21They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.

Exodus 19

1In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

2When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain.

3Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall tell the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.

5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;

6and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

7Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him.

8All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh.

9Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

10Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,

11and be ready against the third day; for on the third day Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai.

12You shall set bounds to the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death.

13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.”

14Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”

16On the third day, when it was morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.

17Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lower part of the mountain.

18All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

20Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to gaze, and many of them perish.

22Let the priests also, who come near to Yahweh, sanctify themselves, lest Yahweh break out on them.”

23Moses said to Yahweh, “The people can’t come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain, and sanctify it.’”

24Yahweh said to him, “Go down! You shall bring Aaron up with you, but don’t let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them.”

25So Moses went down to the people, and told them.

Exodus 20 : 1–21

1God spoke all these words, saying,

2“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3“You shall have no other gods before me.

4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

13“You shall not murder.

14“You shall not commit adultery.

15“You shall not steal.

16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

20Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 32

1When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”

2Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

4He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”

6They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!

8They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

9Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people.

10Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

11Moses begged Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?’ Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against your people.

13Remember 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 the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

14Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.

15Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”

18He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome; but the noise of those who sing that I hear.”

19As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain.

20He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”

22Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

23For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’

24I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off:’ so they gave it to me; and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25When Moses saw that the people had broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies),

26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on Yahweh’s side, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

27He said to them, “Yahweh says, the God of Israel, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”

28The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

29Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to Yahweh, yes, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may give you a blessing today.”

30On the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”

31Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold.

32Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”

33Yahweh said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35Yahweh struck the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

Exodus 34 : 1–9

1Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

3No one shall come up with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

4He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets.

5Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name.

6Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,

7keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”

8Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

9He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us; although this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Exodus 40 : 34–38

34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle.

35Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle.

36When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys;

37but if the cloud wasn’t taken up, then they didn’t travel until the day that it was taken up.

38For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

World English Bible (WEB) — a public-domain modern English translation. Read it freely, share it freely.

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Another generation, who didn't know.

They walked out through a parted sea and buried Joshua in the land they were promised — and inside one lifetime their grandchildren had forgotten the whole of it.

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