Exodus 32
1 And the people see that Moses is delaying to come down from the mount, and the people assemble against Aaron, and say unto him, 'Rise, make for us gods who go before us, for this Moses — the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt — we have not known what hath happened to him.'
[(Moses/I) stayed on top of the mountain a long time]. When the people realized that he/I was not returning quickly, they gathered near Aaron and said to him, “We do not know what has happened to that man Moses who brought us here out of Egypt. So quickly, make us ([an idol/a statue of a god]) who will lead us!”
2 And Aaron saith unto them, 'Break off the rings of gold which [are] in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring in unto me;'
Aaron replied to them, “All right, [I will do that, but] tell your wives and your sons and your daughters to take off all their gold earrings and bring them to me.”
3 and all the people themselves break off the rings of gold which [are] in their ears, and bring in unto Aaron,
So the people did that. They took off all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
4 and he receiveth from their hand, and doth fashion it with a graving tool, and doth make it a molten calf, and they say, 'These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'
He took all those gold earrings and melted them in a fire. He [poured the gold into a mold and] made a statue that looked like a young bull. The people saw it and said, “This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt!”
5 And Aaron seeth, and buildeth an altar before it, and Aaron calleth, and saith, 'A festival to Jehovah — to-morrow;'
When Aaron saw [what was happening], he built an altar in front of the [statue of the] young bull. Then he announced, “Tomorrow we will have a festival to honor Yahweh!”
6 and they rise early on the morrow, and cause burnt-offerings to ascend, and bring nigh peace-offerings; and the people sit down to eat and to drink, and rise up to play.
So the people got up early the next morning and brought animals to kill and burn as sacrifices on the altar. They also brought sacrifices to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then they sat down to eat and drink [wine]. Then they got up and started dancing in a very immoral way.
7 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go, descend, for thy people whom thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt hath done corruptly,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back down from the mountain, because your people, the ones that you brought up here from Egypt, have [already] (become very depraved/wicked)!
8 they have turned aside hastily from the way that I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and bow themselves to it, and sacrifice to it, and say, These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'
They have already (left the road that I showed them/stopped obeying me)! They have made [a statue of] a young bull from melted gold. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. And they are saying, ‘This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from Egypt!’”
9 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'I have seen this people, and lo, it [is] a stiff-necked people;
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I have seen that these people are very stubborn.
10 and now, let Me alone, and My anger doth burn against them, and I consume them, and I make thee become a great nation.'
I am very angry with them, and so I am going to get rid of them. Do not try to stop me! Then I will cause you and your descendants to become a great nation.”
11 And Moses appeaseth the face of Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Why, O Jehovah, doth Thine anger burn against Thy people, whom Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?
But Moses/I pleaded with his/my God, Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, (you should not be very angry with your people!/why are you so angry with your people [RHQ]?) These are the people whom you rescued from Egypt with very great power [MTY, DOU]!
12 why do the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil He brought them out to slay them among mountains, and to consume them from off the face of the ground? turn back from the heat of Thine anger, and repent of the evil against Thy people.
Do not [do anything that would] allow the people of Egypt to say, ‘Their god led them out from our country, but [he did that] only [because he wanted] to kill them in the mountains and get rid of them completely [RHQ]!’ Stop being so angry! (Change your mind/Do not do what you have told me that you will do)! Do not do to your people this terrible thing [that you have just said that you will do]
13 'Be mindful of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou hast sworn by Thyself, and unto whom Thou speakest: I multiply your seed as stars of the heavens, and all this land, as I have said, I give to your seed, and they have inherited to the age;'
Think about your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You solemnly promised them, ‘I will enable you to have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.’ You said to them, ‘I will give to your descendants all the land that I am promising to give them. It will be their land forever.’”
14 and Jehovah repenteth of the evil which He hath spoken of doing to His people.
So Yahweh changed his mind. He did not do to his people the terrible thing that he said he would do.
15 And Moses turneth, and goeth down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [are] in his hand, tables written on both their sides, on this and on that [are] they written;
Moses/I turned away from God and went down the mountain, carrying in his hands the two stone slabs on which Yahweh had engraved his commandments. He had written on both sides of the slabs.
16 and the tables are the work of God, and the writing is the writing of God, graven on the tables.
God [himself] had made the slabs, and he was the one who had engraved the commandments on them.
17 And Joshua heareth the voice of the people in their shouting, and saith unto Moses, 'A noise of battle in the camp!'
Joshua heard the very loud noise of the people shouting. So when he and I got near the camp, Joshua said, “There is a noise in the camp that sounds like [the noise of] a battle!”
18 and he saith, 'It is not the voice of the crying of might, nor is it the voice of the crying of weakness — a voice of singing I am hearing.'
But Moses/I replied, [“No], that is not the shouting that people do when they have won a victory or when they have been defeated [in a battle] What I hear is the sound of [loud] singing!”
19 And it cometh to pass, when he hath drawn near unto the camp, that he seeth the calf, and the dancing, and the anger of Moses burneth, and he casteth out of his hands the tables, and breaketh them under the mount;
As soon as Moses/I came close to the camp and saw the statue of the young bull and saw the people dancing, he/I became extremely angry. He/I threw the stone tablets that he/I was carrying down onto the ground, there at the base of the mountain.
20 and he taketh the calf which they have made, and burneth [it] with fire, and grindeth until [it is] small, and scattereth on the face of the waters, and causeth the sons of Israel to drink.
Then he/I took the statue of the young bull that they had made and melted it in the fire. [When it cooled], he/I ground it into [fine] powder. Then he/I mixed the powder with water and forced the Israeli people to drink it.
21 And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'What hath this people done to thee, that thou hast brought in upon it a great sin?'
Then he/I said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, with the result that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?”
22 and Aaron saith, 'Let not the anger of my lord burn; thou — thou hast known the people that it [is] in evil;
Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, sir. You know that these people are very determined to do evil things.
23 and they say to me, Make for us gods, who go before us, for this Moses — the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt — we have not known what hath happened to him;
They said to me, ‘As for that man Moses, the one who brought us up here from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. So make for us an idol that will lead us!’
24 and I say to them, Whoso hath gold, let them break [it] off, and they give to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf cometh out.'
So I said to them, ‘Everyone who is wearing [gold earrings] should take them off.’ So they [took them off and] gave them to me. I threw them into the fire, and out came this statue of a young bull!”
25 And Moses seeth the people that it [is] unbridled, for Aaron hath made it unbridled for contempt among its withstanders,
Moses/I saw that Aaron had allowed the people to become completely out of control and to do things that would make their enemies think the Israeli people were foolish.
26 and Moses standeth in the gate of the camp, and saith, 'Who [is] for Jehovah? — unto me!' and all the sons of Levi are gathered unto him;
So he/I stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is loyal to Yahweh should come [closer] to me!” So the descendants of Levi gathered around him/me.
27 and he saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Put each his sword by his thigh, pass over and turn back from gate to gate through the camp, and slay each his brother, and each his friend, and each his relation.'
Then he/I said to them, “Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people, commands that every one of you should fasten your sword to your side, and then go through the camp from this entrance to the other one, and kill some of your relatives and your companions and your neighbors.”
28 And the sons of Levi do according to the word of Moses, and there fall of the people on that day about three thousand men,
The descendants of Levi did what Moses/I told them to do, and they killed 3,000 men on that day.
29 and Moses saith, 'Consecrate your hand to-day to Jehovah, for a man [is] against his son, and against his brother, so as to bring on you to-day a blessing.'
Moses/I said to the descendants of Levi, “Today you have dedicated yourselves to serving Yahweh by (killing/not sparing) [even] your own sons and brothers, and as a result Yahweh will bless you.”
30 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses saith unto the people, 'Ye — ye have sinned a great sin, and now I go up unto Jehovah, if so be I atone for your sin.'
The next day, Moses/I said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But I will now climb up the mountain again to talk with Yahweh. Perhaps I can [persuade him] to forgive you for sinning [like this].”
31 And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Oh this people hath sinned a great sin, that they make to themselves a god of gold;
So Moses/I went back up the mountain and said to Yahweh, “I am sorry to admit that these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made for themselves a gold idol and have worshiped it.
32 and now, if Thou takest away their sin — and if not — blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.'
But now I ask you to please forgive them for having sinned. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from the book in which you have written [the names of your people].”
33 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Whoso hath sinned against Me — I blot him out of My book;
But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “It is [only] those who have sinned against me whose names I will erase from that book.
34 and now, go, lead the people whithersoever I have spoken to thee of; lo, My messenger goeth before thee, and in the day of my charging — then I have charged upon them their sin.'
Now you go back down and lead the [Israeli] people to the place that I told you about. Keep in mind that my angel will go in front of you. But, at the time that I determine, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 And Jehovah plagueth the people, because they made the calf which Aaron made.
[Later] Yahweh caused a plague to strike the people because they had told Aaron to make the gold [statue of a] young bull.
