Exodus 32
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people assembled themselves together around Aaron, and they said unto him, Up, make us gods, that shall go before us; for of this man Moses, who hath brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
When the people saw that Moses delayed coming 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.”
2 And Aaron said unto them, Take out the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Aaron 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.”
3 And all the people took out the golden earrings, which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he took them from their hand, and fashioned it in a mould, and he made of it a molten calf; and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron called out, and said, A feast unto the Lord is tomorrow.
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought near peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
They 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.
7 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, hath become corrupt:
The LORD spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
8 They have turned aside quickly from the way which I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf: and they have bowed themselves to it, and have sacrificed unto it, and have said, These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded 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.’”
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.
The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people.
10 And now let me alone, and my wrath shall wax hot against them, and I will make an end of them; and I will make of thee a great nation.
Now 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.”
11 Thereupon Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Why, O Lord, shall thy wrath wax hot against thy people, that thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt, with great power and with a mighty hand?
Moses begged the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, 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?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians say thus, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to destroy them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent thee of the evil decreed against thy people.
Why should the Egyptians talk, 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 turn away from this evil against your people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thy own self, and speak unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Remember 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.’”
14 And the Lord bethought himself of the evil which he had spoken to do unto his people.
So the LORD turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15 And Moses turned about, and went down from the mount with the two tables of the testimony in his hand: tables inscribed on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they inscribed.
Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other.
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tables.
The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 And Joshua heard the noise of the people in its shouting, and he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”
18 And he said, It is not the voice of a shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of a cry for defeat; the noise of singing do I hear.
He 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.”
19 And it came to pass, when he came nigh unto the camp, and he saw the calf, and the dancing: that the anger of Moses waxed hot, and he cast from his hands the tables, and broke them at the foot of the mount.
As 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.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in fire, and ground it to a powder, and he strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
He 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.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What hath this people done unto thee, that thou hast brought upon it so great a sin?
Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that it is bent on mischief.
Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
23 And they said unto me, Make us gods that shall go before us; for of this man Moses, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what hath become of him.
For 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.’
24 And I said unto them, Who hath any gold? They took it off themselves and gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
I 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.”
25 And Moses saw the people that it had become unruly; for Aaron had made it unruly for a disgrace among their opponents.
When Moses saw that the people were out of control, (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies),
26 Moses then placed himself in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me! and there assembled themselves unto him all the sons of Levi.
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus hath said the Eternal, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword by his side, and go ye hither and thither, from gate to gate in the camp, and slay ye every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his relative.
He said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘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.’”
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people on that day about three thousand men.
The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day.
29 And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, yea even every man on his son, and on his brother; and to bestow upon you this day a blessing.
Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that he may give you a blessing today.”
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I may obtain an atonement for your sin.
On the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”
31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people hath sinned a great sin, and they have made themselves gods of gold.
Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; but if not, blot me out, I pray thee, from thy book which thou hast written.
Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out from my book.
The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.
34 And now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee; behold, my angel shall go before thee; but on the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
Now 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.”
35 And the Lord sent a plague among the people, because that they had made the calf which Aaron made.
The LORD struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.
