Exodus 32
32
1 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.”
2Aaron 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 All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4He 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 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 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 The LORD spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! 8They 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 The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. 10Now 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 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? 12Why 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. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring#32:13 or, seed 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 So the LORD turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15 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. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”
18He 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.” 19As 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. 20He 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 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
22Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For 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.’ 24I 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 When Moses saw that the people were out of control, (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies), 26then 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. 27He 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.’” 28The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day. 29Moses 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 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 Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold. 32Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. 34Now 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.” 35The LORD struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Exodus 32
32
The Gold Bull Calf
(Deut 9.6–29)
1 #
Acts 7.40
When the people saw that Moses had not come down from the mountain but was staying there a long time, they gathered round Aaron and said to him, “We do not know what has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt; so make us a god#32.1 a god; or some gods. to lead us.”
2Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold earrings which your wives, your sons, and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4#1 Kgs 12.28; Acts 7.41He took the earrings, melted them, poured the gold into a mould, and made a gold bull calf.
The people said, “Israel, this is our god, who led us out of Egypt!”
5Then Aaron built an altar in front of the gold bull calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to honour the LORD.” 6#1 Cor 10.7Early the next morning they brought some animals to burn as sacrifices and others to eat as fellowship offerings. The people sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.
7The LORD said to Moses, “Go back down at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have sinned and rejected me. 8They have already left the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made a bull calf out of melted gold and have worshipped it and offered sacrifices to it. They are saying that this is their god, who led them out of Egypt. 9I know how stubborn these people are. 10Now, don't try to stop me. I am angry with them, and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants into a great nation.”
11 #
Num 14.13–19
But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God and said, “LORD, why should you be so angry with your people, whom you rescued from Egypt with great might and power? 12Why should the Egyptians be able to say that you led your people out of Egypt, planning to kill them in the mountains and destroy them completely? Stop being angry; change your mind and do not bring this disaster on your people. 13#Gen 22.16–17; 17.8Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember the solemn promise you made to them to give them as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and to give their descendants all that land you promised would be their possession for ever.” 14So the LORD changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15Moses went back down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets with the commandments written on both sides. 16God himself had made the tablets and had engraved the commandments on them.
17Joshua heard the people shouting and said to Moses, “I hear the sound of battle in the camp.”
18Moses said, “That doesn't sound like a shout of victory or a cry of defeat; it's the sound of singing.”
19When Moses came close enough to the camp to see the bull calf and to see the people dancing, he was furious. There at the foot of the mountain, he threw down the tablets he was carrying and broke them. 20He took the bull calf which they had made, melted it, ground it into fine powder, and mixed it with water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it. 21He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?”
22Aaron answered, “Don't be angry with me; you know how determined these people are to do evil. 23They said to me, ‘We don't know what has happened to this man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt; so make us a god to lead us.’ 24I asked them to bring me their gold ornaments, and those who had any took them off and gave them to me. I threw the ornaments into the fire and out came this bull calf!”
25Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get out of control and make fools of themselves in front of their enemies. 26So he stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the LORD's side come over here!” So all the Levites gathered round him, 27and he said to them, “The LORD God of Israel commands every one of you to put on his sword and go through the camp from this gate to the other and kill his brothers, his friends, and his neighbours.” 28The Levites obeyed, and killed about 3,000 men that day. 29Moses said to the Levites, “Today you have consecrated yourselves#32.29 Some ancient translations Today you have consecrated yourselves; Hebrew Consecrate yourselves today; or You have been consecrated today. as priests in the service of the LORD by killing your sons and brothers, so the LORD has given you his blessing.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will again go up the mountain to the LORD; perhaps I can obtain forgiveness for your sin.” 31Moses then returned to the LORD and said, “These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold and worshipped it. 32#Ps 69.28; Rev 3.5Please forgive their sin; but if you won't, then remove my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”
33The LORD answered, “It is those who have sinned against me whose names I will remove from my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Remember that my angel will guide you, but the time is coming when I will punish these people for their sin.”
35So the LORD sent a disease on the people, because they had caused Aaron to make the gold bull calf.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.