Exodus 34:33
New International Version
When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

New Living Translation
When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil.

English Standard Version
And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

Berean Standard Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

King James Bible
And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

New King James Version
And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

New American Standard Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

NASB 1995
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

NASB 1977
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Moses finished speaking with them and put a veil over his face.

Amplified Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

Christian Standard Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

American Standard Version
And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

Contemporary English Version
The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil.

English Revised Version
And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

Good News Translation
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil.

International Standard Version
When Moses finished speaking with them he put a veil over his face,

Majority Standard Bible
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

NET Bible
When Moses finished speaking with them, he would put a veil on his face.

New Heart English Bible
When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

Webster's Bible Translation
And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

World English Bible
When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Moses finishes speaking with them, and puts a veil on his face;

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses finisheth speaking with them, and putteth on his face a vail;

Smith's Literal Translation
And Moses will finish speaking to them and he will give a vail upon his face.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And having completed these words, he placed a veil over his face.

New American Bible
When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

New Revised Standard Version
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And then all of the children of Israel approached him and he commanded them everything that LORD JEHOVAH spoke with him in the mountain of Sinai.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And when he ceased speaking to them, he put a veil on his face.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD Renews the Covenant
32And after this all the Israelites came near, and Moses commanded them to do everything that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,…

Cross References
2 Corinthians 3:13-16
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away. / But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. / And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ...

2 Corinthians 3:7-9
Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory, / will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? / For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:12
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

2 Corinthians 3:6
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 17:2
There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

Hebrews 3:5
Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 8:3-4
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, / so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 3:20
Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

Galatians 3:19
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.

Galatians 3:24
So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.


Treasury of Scripture

And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

a vail

Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

2 Corinthians 3:13-18
And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: …

2 Corinthians 4:4-6
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them…

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End Ended Face Finished Finisheth Moses Putteth Speaking Talk Vail Veil
Exodus 34
1. The tablets are replaced
5. The name of the Lord proclaimed
8. Moses entreats God to go with them
10. God makes a covenant with them, repeating certain duties
28. Moses after forty days on the mount, comes down with the tablets
29. His face is radiant, and he covers it with a veil














When Moses had finished speaking to them
This phrase marks the conclusion of a significant moment of communication between Moses and the Israelites. The Hebrew root for "speaking" is דָּבַר (dabar), which implies not just casual conversation but authoritative declaration. Moses, as the mediator of God's covenant, conveys divine instructions and revelations. Historically, this moment follows the renewal of the covenant after the Israelites' transgression with the golden calf. It underscores the gravity and solemnity of Moses' role as God's chosen leader and prophet, who speaks with divine authority.

he put a veil over his face
The act of Moses veiling his face is rich with symbolic meaning. The Hebrew word for "veil" is מַסְוֶה (masveh), which suggests a covering or concealment. This action was necessary because Moses' face shone with the glory of God after being in His presence, as described earlier in the chapter. The veil served as a barrier between the divine radiance and the people, who were unable to bear the direct reflection of God's glory. This symbolizes the separation between a holy God and sinful humanity, a theme prevalent throughout Scripture. Theologically, it points to the need for a mediator, which Moses was at that time, and foreshadows the ultimate mediation of Christ, who removes the veil and grants believers direct access to God. Historically, this practice of veiling also reflects ancient Near Eastern customs where sacredness and divine encounters were often veiled or hidden from the common people, emphasizing the holiness and otherness of God.

(33) Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.--This translation exactly inverts the meaning, which is that "when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face." The vail became part of his ordinary costume, and was worn excepting upon occasions of two kinds: (1) When Moses was alone with God, either in the temporary "tent of meeting" or in the permanent Tabernacle, he ceased to wear the vail, and spoke with God face to face; (2) when he had a message to the people from God, and spoke to them as God's representative, he authenticated his message by uncovering himself, and allowing the glory of his face to be seen. Otherwise, in his ordinary dealings with the people he went about veiled.

Verses 33-35. - Till Moses had done speaking with them. The Hebrew text will not bear this rendering. All the ancient versions (LXX. Vulg. Syr. etc.) and the Targums agree that the meaning is - "when Moses had done speaking, he put a veil on his face." And this agrees with the plain meaning of vers. 34 and 35, which are to be taken connectedly. Moses first delivered his message with face unveiled, then he veiled himself, and thenceforth he wore a veil at all times except when he sought the Divine presence in the "tent of meeting" or the tabernacle, and when he delivered to the people any message sent them from God by him. He wore the veil ordinarily to prevent them from being dazzled. He took it off when he entered the tabernacle, that the Divine presence might shine fully on him and renew his strength. He kept it off when he returned, if he had any message to the people, until he had delivered it, in order the more fully to authenticate the message and shew to the people that it was from God. Then the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone (ver. 35). Having discharged himself of the message intrusted to him, he once more covered himself, and continued veiled until he again entered the tabernacle. The only objection that can be taken to this exegesis is derived from 2 Corinthians 3:7-16, which has been thought to imply that Moses wore the veil whenever he was in the sight of the people. But the passage does not really assert any such thing. It is quite enough for the argument, that under the old covenant a veil had been worn to conceal some of its glory. This concealment St. Paul contrasts with the openness of Christianity (vers. 13, 18); while at the same time he argues that it may be viewed as typical of that blindness and darkness which was characteristic of the Jewish nation of his day.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When Moses
מֹשֶׁ֔ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

had finished
וַיְכַ֣ל (way·ḵal)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3615: To be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, or spent

speaking
מִדַּבֵּ֖ר (mid·dab·bêr)
Preposition-m | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

to them,
אִתָּ֑ם (’it·tām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

he put
וַיִּתֵּ֥ן (way·yit·tên)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

a veil
מַסְוֶֽה׃ (mas·weh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4533: A veil

over
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

his face.
פָּנָ֖יו (pā·nāw)
Noun - common plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face


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Exodus 34:32
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