Exodus 32
32
1When the people realized how long Moses was taking before he came back down the mountain, they went together to see Aaron. They told him, “Get up! Make some gods for us who can lead us because this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt—we don't know what's happened to him!”
2“Bring to me the gold earrings that your wives, sons, and daughters are wearing,” Aaron replied.
3So everyone took off the gold earrings they were wearing and brought them to Aaron. 4He took what they gave him and using a molding tool cast an idol in the shape of a bull calf. They shouted out, “Israel, these are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the golden calf and shouted out, “Tomorrow will be a festival to honor the Lord!”
6Early the next day they sacrificed burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Then they sat down to celebrate with eating and drinking. Then they got up to dance, and it became like an orgy.#32:6. The word used in this connection, sometimes translated “play,” was not some kind of party game. The sexual overtones are clear from its use in Genesis 26:8 where it refers to the “fondling” of intimacy between Isaac and his wife Rebekah. Such an end result to a festival that included indulgence in eating and drinking was usual in pagan ceremonies.
7Then the Lord told Moses, “Get back down, because your people that you brought out of Egypt are acting immorally. 8They have been so quick to abandon the way I ordered them to follow. They have made a metal bull calf idol for themselves, bowing before it in worship and offering sacrifices to it. They're saying, ‘These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9“I know what these people are like,” the Lord continued saying to Moses. “They are so rebellious!#32:9. “Rebellious” or “perverse”: the image is of a horse being tugged by the reins in one direction but deliberately going in the opposite direction. This means more than simply being obstinate, but actually trying to do the opposite. 10Now leave me! I am angry with them—let me finish them off! I will make you into a great nation.”
11But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, saying, “Why are you angry with the people you brought out of the land of Egypt with tremendous power and great strength? 12Why should the Egyptians be able to say, ‘He brought them out with the evil purpose of killing them in the mountains, wiping them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger. Please change your mind over the threat against your people. 13Remember you swore a promise your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,#32:13. “Jacob”: literally, “Israel.” telling them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, and give you all the land I promised to them, and they shall own it forever.’”
14The Lord changed his mind over the disaster he threatened to cause his people. 15Moses turned and went down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets of the Law written on both sides. 16God had made the tablets, and God had engraved the writing himself.
17When Joshua heard all the shouting from the camp, he said to Moses, “It sounds like fighting in the camp!”
18But Moses replied, “These are not the shouts of victory or of defeat. What I'm hearing is people partying!” 19As he approached the camp he saw the bull calf idol and the dancing. He got so angry that he threw down the stone tablets and smashed them there at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the bull calf and burned it, and ground it into powder. Then he mixed this with water and made the Israelites drink it.
21Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you made them sin so badly?”
22“Please don't get angry with me, my lord,” Aaron replied, “You yourself know how liable these people are to do evil. 23They told me, ‘Make some gods for us who can lead us because this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt—we don't know what's happened to him!’ 24So I said to them, ‘Anybody who has gold jewelry, take it off and give it to me.’ I threw the gold into the furnace and out came this bull calf.”
25Moses saw the people going completely wild because Aaron had let them, and that this had brought ridicule on them from their enemies. 26So he went and stood at the entrance to the camp, and shouted out, “Whoever is on the Lord's side, come and join me!” All the Levites gathered around him.
27Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Each of you strap on a sword. Then go all through the camp from one end to the other and kill your brothers, friends, and neighbors.”
28The Levites did what Moses had told them, and that day around 3,000 men were killed.
29Moses told the Levites, “Today you have dedicated yourselves to the Lord because you took action against your sons and brothers. Today you have gained a blessing for yourselves.”
30The following day Moses spoke to the people, saying, “You have sinned very badly. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can get him to forgive your sin.”
31So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, “Please—the people have sinned very badly by making gods of gold for themselves. 32But now, if you will, forgive their sin. Otherwise just blot me out of the scroll in which you keep your records.”
33But the Lord replied to Moses, “It's those who sinned against me who will be blotted out of my scroll. 34Now go and lead the people to the place I told you about. Look, my angel will go before you, but at the time I decide to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35The Lord brought a plague on the people because they made Aaron make the bull calf.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Exodus 32
32
Israel Worships a Golden Calf
1The people saw that Moses took a long time to come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Come. Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2Aaron answered them, “Take the gold earrings off your wives, your sons and your daughters. Bring the earrings to me.” 3So all the people took off their earrings. They brought them to Aaron. 4He took what they gave him and made it into a metal statue of a god. It looked like a calf. Aaron shaped it with a tool. Then the people said, “Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.”
5When Aaron saw what they were doing, he built an altar in front of the calf. He said, “Tomorrow will be a feast day to honor the Lord.” 6So the next day the people got up early. They sacrificed burnt offerings and brought friendship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.
7The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Go down. Your people you brought up out of Egypt have become very sinful. 8They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a metal statue of a god in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said, ‘Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.’
9“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses. “They are stubborn. 10Now leave me alone. I will destroy them because of my great anger. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11But Moses asked the Lord his God to have mercy on the people. “Lord,” he said, “why should you destroy your people in anger? You used your great power and mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt. 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out to hurt them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn away from your great anger. Please take pity on your people. Don’t destroy them! 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You made a promise to them in your own name. You said, ‘I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. I will give them all this land I promised them. It will belong to them forever.’ ” 14Then the Lord took pity on his people. He didn’t destroy them as he had said he would.
15Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God. The words had been written by God. They had been carved on the tablets.
17Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. So he said to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp.”
18Moses replied,
“It’s not the sound of winning.
It’s not the sound of losing.
It’s the sound of singing that I hear.”
19As Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf. He also saw the people dancing. So he was very angry. He threw the tablets out of his hands. They broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf the people had made. He burned it in the fire. Then he ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water. And he made the Israelites drink it.
21He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? How did they make you lead them into such terrible sin?”
22“Please don’t be angry,” Aaron answered. “You know how these people like to do what is evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24So I told them, ‘Anyone who has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ They gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were running wild. Aaron had let them get out of control. The people had become a joke to their enemies. 26Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, “Anyone on the Lord’s side, come to me.” All the Levites joined him.
27Then he spoke to them. He said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Each man must put on his sword. Then he must go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28The Levites did as Moses commanded. About 3,000 of the people died that day. 29Then Moses said to the Levites, “You have been set apart for the Lord today. You fought against your own sons and brothers. And he has blessed you this day.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin.”
31So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, “These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves. 32Now please forgive their sin. But if you won’t, then erase my name out of the book you have written.”
33The Lord replied to Moses. The Lord said, “I will erase out of my book only the names of those who have sinned against me. 34Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35The Lord struck the people with a plague. That’s because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
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