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
1And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.
2And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.
3And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.
4And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders' work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
5And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier's voice, saying: Tomorrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
6And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace-victims: and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play.
7And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.
8They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
9And again the Lord said to Moses: See that this people is stiffnecked.
10Let me alone, that my wrath may be enkindled against them, and that I may destroy them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation kindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth. Let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.
13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and this whole land that I have spoken of I will give to you seed; and you shall possess it for ever.
14And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16And made by the work of God. The writing also of God was graven in the tables.
17And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.
18But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee. But I hear the voice of singers.
19And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount.
20And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.
21And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?
22And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.
23They said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.
24And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? And they took and brought it to me: and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.
25And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies,)
26Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh. Go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.
28And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses: and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.
29And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord: every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.
30And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin. I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.
31And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold. Either forgive them this trespass,
32Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.
33And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:
34But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee. My angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.
35The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.