Exodus 32
32
The People Make a Gold Calf
1The people saw that a long time had passed. And Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.”
2Aaron said to the people, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons and daughters are wearing. Bring them to me.” 3So all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4Aaron took the gold from the people. Then he melted it and made a statue of a calf. He finished it with a tool. Then the people said, “Israel! These are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5Aaron saw all this, and he built an altar before the calf. Then he made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” 6The people got up early the next morning. They offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. First the people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.
7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have done a terrible sin. 8They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf of melted gold. They have worshiped that calf and offered sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”
9The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people. I know that they are very stubborn people. 10So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants a great nation.”
11But Moses begged the Lord his God. Moses said, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought these people out of Egypt with your great power and strength. 12Don’t let the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt. But he planned to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.’ So stop being angry. Don’t destroy your people. 13Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You promised with an oath to them. You said, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them. It will be theirs forever.’” 14So the Lord changed his mind. He did not destroy the people as he had said he might.
15Then Moses went down the mountain. In his hands he had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. 16God himself had made the stones. And God himself had written the commands on the stones.
17Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”
18Moses answered:
“It is not an army’s shout of victory.
It is not an army’s cry of defeat.
It is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing. He became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets which he was carrying. He broke them at the bottom of the mountain. 20Then he took the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. And he ground the gold until it became powder. He threw the powder into the water. And he forced the Israelites to drink that water.
21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”
22Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. 23The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.’ 24So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ So they gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. He saw that Aaron had let them get out of control. Their enemies would laugh at them. 26So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.
27Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend and his neighbor.’” 28The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3,000 of the people of Israel died. 29Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers. And God has blessed you for this.”
30The next day Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can do something so your sins will be removed. Then you will belong to God again.” 31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terrible it is! These people have sinned horribly. They have made for themselves gods from gold. 32Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name. Erase it from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”
33But the Lord told Moses, “I will erase from my book the names of the people who sin against me. 34So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you. My angel will lead you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35So the Lord caused terrible things to happen to the people. He did this because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Exodus 32
32
The Golden Calf
1And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people gathered opposite Aaron, and they said to him, “Come,#Or “arise” or “get up” make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring it to me.” 3And all the people took off the rings of gold that were on their ears and brought it to Aaron. 4And he took from their hand, and he shaped it with a tool, and he made it a cast-image bull calf, and they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
5And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, “A feast for Yahweh tomorrow.” 6And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.
7And Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, go down because your people behave corruptly, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt. 8They have turned aside quickly from the way that I commanded them; they have made for themselves a cast-image bull calf, and they bowed to it, and they sacrificed to it, and they said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ”
9And Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and, indeed, they are a stiff-necked people. 10And now leave me alone so that my anger may blaze#Literally “my nose may become hot” against them, and let me destroy them, and I will make you into a great nation.”
11And Moses implored Yahweh#Literally “implored the face of Yahweh” his God, and he said, “Why, Yahweh, should your anger blaze#Literally “your nose become hot” against your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say#Literally “say, saying”, ‘With evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’?#Or “ground” Turn from your fierce anger#Literally “the heat of your nose” and relent concerning the disaster for your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and you told them, ‘I will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they will inherit it forever.’ ”
14And Yahweh relented concerning the disaster that he had threatened#Literally “spoken” to do to his people. 15And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets written on their two sides; on the front and on the back#Literally “from this and from this” they were written. 16And the tablets, they were the work of God; and the writing, it was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
17And Joshua heard the sound of the people in their shouting, and he said to Moses, “A sound of war is in the camp.”
18But he said, “There is not a sound of shouting of victory, and there is not a sound of shouting of defeat. I hear a sound of singing.”
19And#Literally “and it was” as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and Moses became angry,#Literally “the nose of Moses became hot” and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain. 20And he took the bull calf that they had made, and he burned it with the fire, and he crushed it until it became fine, and he scattered it on the surface of the water, and he made the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” drink.
21And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought on them such a great sin?” 22And Aaron said, “Let not my lord become angry.#Literally “let not the nose of my lord become hot” You yourself know the people, that they are intent on evil.#Literally “they in evil” 23And they said to me, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24And I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off.’ And they gave it to me, and I threw it in the fire, and out came this bull calf.”
25And Moses saw the people, that they were running wild#Or “out of control,” “running loose” because Aaron had allowed them to run wild,#Or “to be out of control,” “to run loose” for a laughingstock among their enemies.#Literally “those arising against them” 26And Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, and he said, “Whoever is for Yahweh, to me.” And all the sons of Levi were gathered to him. 27And he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Put each his sword on his side. Go back and forth#Literally “through and come back” from gate to gate in the camp, and kill, each his brother and each his friend and each his close relative.’ ” 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and from the people on that day about three thousand persons fell.#Literally “three thousands of man” 29And Moses said, “You are ordained#Literally “your hands are filled” today for Yahweh, because each has been against his son and against his brother and so bringing on you today a blessing.”
30And#Literally “and it was” the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31And Moses returned to Yahweh, and he said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin and made for themselves gods of gold. 32And now if you will forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me from your scroll that you have written.” 33And Yahweh said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot him from my scroll. 34And now go, lead the people to where I spoke to you. Look, my angel will go before you, and on the day when I punish I will punish them for their sin.” 35And Yahweh afflicted the people because they had made the bull calf that Aaron had made.
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