שמות 32
| וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר ויקהל העם על אהרן ויאמרו אליו קום עשה לנו אלהים אשר ילכו לפנינו כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו׃ | 1 |
[(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!”
| ויאמר אלהם אהרן פרקו נזמי הזהב אשר באזני נשיכם בניכם ובנתיכם והביאו אלי׃ | 2 |
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.”
| ויתפרקו כל העם את נזמי הזהב אשר באזניהם ויביאו אל אהרן׃ | 3 |
So the people did that. They took off all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
| ויקח מידם ויצר אתו בחרט ויעשהו עגל מסכה ויאמרו אלה אלהיך ישראל אשר העלוך מארץ מצרים׃ | 4 |
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!”
| וירא אהרן ויבן מזבח לפניו ויקרא אהרן ויאמר חג ליהוה מחר׃ | 5 |
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!”
| וישכימו ממחרת ויעלו עלת ויגשו שלמים וישב העם לאכל ושתו ויקמו לצחק׃ | 6 |
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.
| וידבר יהוה אל משה לך רד כי שחת עמך אשר העלית מארץ מצרים׃ | 7 |
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)!
| סרו מהר מן הדרך אשר צויתם עשו להם עגל מסכה וישתחוו לו ויזבחו לו ויאמרו אלה אלהיך ישראל אשר העלוך מארץ מצרים׃ | 8 |
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!’”
| ויאמר יהוה אל משה ראיתי את העם הזה והנה עם קשה ערף הוא׃ | 9 |
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I have seen that these people are very stubborn.
| ועתה הניחה לי ויחר אפי בהם ואכלם ואעשה אותך לגוי גדול׃ | 10 |
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.”
| ויחל משה את פני יהוה אלהיו ויאמר למה יהוה יחרה אפך בעמך אשר הוצאת מארץ מצרים בכח גדול וביד חזקה׃ | 11 |
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]!
| למה יאמרו מצרים לאמר ברעה הוציאם להרג אתם בהרים ולכלתם מעל פני האדמה שוב מחרון אפך והנחם על הרעה לעמך׃ | 12 |
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]
| זכר לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל עבדיך אשר נשבעת להם בך ותדבר אלהם ארבה את זרעכם ככוכבי השמים וכל הארץ הזאת אשר אמרתי אתן לזרעכם ונחלו לעלם׃ | 13 |
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.’”
| וינחם יהוה על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו׃ | 14 |
So Yahweh changed his mind. He did not do to his people the terrible thing that he said he would do.
| ויפן וירד משה מן ההר ושני לחת העדת בידו לחת כתבים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתבים׃ | 15 |
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.
| והלחת מעשה אלהים המה והמכתב מכתב אלהים הוא חרות על הלחת׃ | 16 |
God [himself] had made the slabs, and he was the one who had engraved the commandments on them.
| וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה ויאמר אל משה קול מלחמה במחנה׃ | 17 |
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!”
| ויאמר אין קול ענות גבורה ואין קול ענות חלושה קול ענות אנכי שמע׃ | 18 |
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!”
| ויהי כאשר קרב אל המחנה וירא את העגל ומחלת ויחר אף משה וישלך מידו את הלחת וישבר אתם תחת ההר׃ | 19 |
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.
| ויקח את העגל אשר עשו וישרף באש ויטחן עד אשר דק ויזר על פני המים וישק את בני ישראל׃ | 20 |
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.
| ויאמר משה אל אהרן מה עשה לך העם הזה כי הבאת עליו חטאה גדלה׃ | 21 |
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?”
| ויאמר אהרן אל יחר אף אדני אתה ידעת את העם כי ברע הוא׃ | 22 |
Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, sir. You know that these people are very determined to do evil things.
| ויאמרו לי עשה לנו אלהים אשר ילכו לפנינו כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו׃ | 23 |
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!’
| ואמר להם למי זהב התפרקו ויתנו לי ואשלכהו באש ויצא העגל הזה׃ | 24 |
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!”
| וירא משה את העם כי פרע הוא כי פרעה אהרן לשמצה בקמיהם׃ | 25 |
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.
| ויעמד משה בשער המחנה ויאמר מי ליהוה אלי ויאספו אליו כל בני לוי׃ | 26 |
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.
| ויאמר להם כה אמר יהוה אלהי ישראל שימו איש חרבו על ירכו עברו ושובו משער לשער במחנה והרגו איש את אחיו ואיש את רעהו ואיש את קרבו׃ | 27 |
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.”
| ויעשו בני לוי כדבר משה ויפל מן העם ביום ההוא כשלשת אלפי איש׃ | 28 |
The descendants of Levi did what Moses/I told them to do, and they killed 3,000 men on that day.
| ויאמר משה מלאו ידכם היום ליהוה כי איש בבנו ובאחיו ולתת עליכם היום ברכה׃ | 29 |
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.”
| ויהי ממחרת ויאמר משה אל העם אתם חטאתם חטאה גדלה ועתה אעלה אל יהוה אולי אכפרה בעד חטאתכם׃ | 30 |
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].”
| וישב משה אל יהוה ויאמר אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדלה ויעשו להם אלהי זהב׃ | 31 |
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.
| ועתה אם תשא חטאתם ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת׃ | 32 |
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].”
| ויאמר יהוה אל משה מי אשר חטא לי אמחנו מספרי׃ | 33 |
But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “It is [only] those who have sinned against me whose names I will erase from that book.
| ועתה לך נחה את העם אל אשר דברתי לך הנה מלאכי ילך לפניך וביום פקדי ופקדתי עליהם חטאתם׃ | 34 |
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.”
| ויגף יהוה את העם על אשר עשו את העגל אשר עשה אהרן׃ | 35 |
[Later] Yahweh caused a plague to strike the people because they had told Aaron to make the gold [statue of a] young bull.
