< Exodus 32 >
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, Up, make gods for us, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him.
2 And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.
3 And all the people broke off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf. And they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to Jehovah.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to revel.
7 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go, get thee down. For thy people, that thou brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made for them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9 And Jehovah said to Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may grow hot against them, and that I may consume them. And I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, why does thy wrath grow hot against thy people, whom thou have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, He brought them forth for evil, to kill them on the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and relent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swore by thine own self, and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven. And all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.
14 And Jehovah relented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, 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 were they written.
16 And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, It is not the voice of those who shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of those who cry for being overcome, but the noise of those who sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger grew hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the sons of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to thee, that thou have brought a great sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord grow hot. Thou know the people, that they are set on evil.
23 For they said to me, Make gods for us, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him.
24 And I said to them, Whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies, )
26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on Jehovah's side, come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27 And he said to them, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29 And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to Jehovah, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said to the people, Ye have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Jehovah, perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made gods of gold for them.
32 Yet now, if thou will forgive their sin-, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou have written.
33 And Jehovah said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 And now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to thee. Behold, my agent shall go before thee. Nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And Jehovah smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
