Exodus 32
32
The Golden Calf
1#Ex 24:18; Ac 7:40Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us gods which will go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2#Ex 12:35–36; Jdg 8:24–27Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4#Dt 9:16; Ne 9:18He received them from their hand, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
5#2Ki 10:20; Lev 23:2When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord.” 6#1Co 10:7; Nu 25:2So 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#Dt 9:12; Ex 32:11The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go, and get down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8#Ex 20:3–4; 20:23They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molded calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, which has brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ”
9#Ex 33:3; 33:5Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and certainly, it is a stiff-necked people. 10#Dt 9:14; Nu 14:12; Dt 9:19Now therefore let Me alone, so that My wrath may burn against them and I may destroy them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
11#Dt 9:18–20; 9:26–29But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your wrath burn against Your people, whom You have brought forth from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12#Nu 14:13–16; Dt 9:28Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent of this harm against Your people. 13#Ge 12:7; 22:16Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” 14#Ps 106:45; 2Sa 24:16Then the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15#Dt 9:15Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of testimony in his hand. The tablets were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other. 16#Ex 31:18The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.
17#Ex 17:9; 24:13When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18But he said:
“It is not the sound of those who shout for victory,
nor is it the sound of those who cry because of being overcome,
but I hear the sound of singing.”
19#Dt 9:16–17As soon as he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses’ anger burned, so he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the bottom of the mountain. 20#Dt 9:21Then he took the calf which they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
21#Ge 20:9Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
22#Dt 9:24; Ex 14:11Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn. You know that the people are set on evil. 23#Ex 32:1–4For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us which will go before us, for this Moses, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24#Ex 32:4I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and then I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.’ ”
25Now when Moses saw the people were in a frenzy, for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies, 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered themselves together around him.
27#Nu 25:5He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man fasten his sword on his side, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28#Dt 33:9The Levites did according to the word of Moses, and about three thousand men of the people died that day. 29#Nu 25:11–13; Zec 13:3For Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow a blessing on you this day, for every man opposes his son and his brother.”
30#1Sa 12:20; Nu 25:13On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin, and now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31#Ex 20:23; 32:30Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has committed a great sin and have made a god of gold for themselves. 32#Ps 69:28; Da 12:1Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin, but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
33#Eze 18:4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34#Ex 23:20; Dt 32:35So go now, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Indeed, My angel will go before you. Nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”
35And the Lord plagued the people because they had made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
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Exodus 32: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Exodus 32
32
The Gold Calf
1When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods#32:1 Or make a god, also in v. 23 for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has happened to him!” #Ex 13:21; 24:18; Dt 9:9; Ac 7:40
2Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings#Ex 35:22; Jdg 8:24–27 that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods,#32:4 Or “Israel, this is your god or “Israel, this is your God, also in v. 8 who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” #Dt 9:16; Jdg 17:3–4; 1Kg 12:28; Neh 9:18; Ps 106:19; Ac 7:41
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival#Lv 23:2,37; 2Kg 10:20 to the Lord tomorrow.” 6Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party.#Nm 25:2; 1Co 10:7
7The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly.#Gn 6:11–12; Dt 9:12 8They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”#Ex 20:3–4,23; 34:15; Dt 32:17; 1Kg 12:28 9The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked#Ex 33:3,5; 34:9; 2Ch 30:8; Is 48:4; Ac 7:51 people. 10Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”#Ex 22:24; Nm 14:12; Dt 9:14
11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people.#Nm 14:13–16; Dt 9:18,26–29 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — you swore to them by yourself#Gn 22:16–18; Heb 6:13 and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’”#Gn 12:7; 13:15; 15:7,18; 26:4; 35:11–12 14So the Lord relented#2Sm 24:16; Ps 106:45 concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides — inscribed front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.#Ex 31:18; Dt 9:15
17When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18But Moses replied,
It’s not the sound of a victory cry
and not the sound of a cry of defeat;
I hear the sound of singing!
19As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
21Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”
22“Don’t be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.#Gn 20:9; 26:10; Ex 14:11; Dt 9:16–17,21 23They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a laughingstock to their enemies.#32:25 Hb obscure 26And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. 27He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”#Nm 25:5; Dt 33:9 28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people. 29Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated#32:29 Text emended; MT reads “Today dedicate yourselves; LXX, Vg read “Today you have dedicated yourselves to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”#Nm 25:11–13; Zch 13:3
30The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”#1Sm 12:20; 2Sm 16:12
31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves.#Ex 20:23; Dt 9:18 32Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.”#Ps 69:28; Dn 12:1; Rm 9:3; Php 4:3; Rv 3:5; 21:27
33The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book.#Dt 29:20; Ps 9:5 34Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”#Dt 32:35; Rm 2:5–6 35And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
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