Exodus 32

CHAPTER 32

1Forsooth the people saw, that Moses made tarrying to come down from the hill, and it was gathered together against Aaron, and said, Rise thou, and make gods to us, that shall go before us, for we wot not what is befallen to this man Moses, that led us out of the land of Egypt.

2And Aaron said to them, Take ye the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring ye them to me.

3The people did those things, that he commanded, and brought the earrings to Aaron;

4and when he had taken those, he formed them by work of melting, and he made of them a molten calf. And they said, Israel, these be thy gods, that led thee out of the land of Egypt.

5And when Aaron had seen this thing, he builded an altar before the calf, and he cried by the voice of a crier, and said, Tomorrow is the solemnity of the Lord.

6And they rose early, and offered burnt sacrifices, and peaceable sacri-fices; and the people sat to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play, or to scorn, for idolatry is scorning of God.

7And the Lord spake to Moses, and said, Go thou, go down, thy people hath sinned, whom thou leddest out of the land of Egypt.

8They have gone away soon from the way that thou showedest them, and they have made to them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and they have offered sacrifices to it, and said, Israel, these be thy gods, that led thee out of the land of Egypt.

9And again the Lord said to Moses, I see [well], that this people is of hard noll;

10suffer thou me, that my strong vengeance be wroth against them, and that I do away them; and I shall make thee into a great folk.

11Forsooth Moses prayed the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why is thy vengeance wroth against thy people, whom thou hast led out of the land of Egypt in great strength, and in a strong hand?

12I beseech, that [the] Egyptians say not, He led them out fellily or slyly, to slay in the hills, and to do them away from [the] earth; thine ire cease, and be thou quemeful on the wicked-ness of thy people.

13Have thou mind of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, thy servants, to which thou hast sworn by thyself, and saidest, I shall multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I shall give to your seed all the land of which I spake, and ye shall wield it ever[more].

14And the Lord was pleased with Moses’ words, that he did not the evil which he spake against his people.

15And Moses turned again from the hill, and bare in his hands two tables of witnessing, written in either side,

16and made by the work of God; and the writing of God was engraved in the tables.

17Forsooth Joshua heard the noise of the people crying [out], and he said to Moses, Yelling of fighting is heard in the tents.

18To whom Moses answered, It is not a cry of men exciting to battle, neither the cry of men compelled to fleeing, but I hear the voices of singers.

19And when Moses had nighed to the tents, he saw the calf, and dances; and he was wroth greatly, and he threw out of his hands the tables, and he brake them at the roots of the hill.

20And he took the calf, which they had made, and he burnt it, and brake it till to powder, which he sprinkled into the water, and gave thereof drink to the sons of Israel.

21And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to thee, that thou hast brought in on them the greatest sin?

22To whom he answered, My lord, be not thou wroth, for thou knowest this people, that it is inclined, either ready, to evil;

23they said to me, Make thou gods to us, that shall go before us, for we wot not, what hath befallen to this Moses, that led us out of the land of Egypt.

24To whom I said, Who of you hath gold? They took, and gave to me, and I casted it forth into the fire, and this calf went out.

25Therefore Moses saw the people, that it was made bare; for Aaron had spoiled it for the shame of the filthhood of making of the idol, and he had made the people naked among enemies.

26And Moses stood in the gate of the tents, and said, If any man is of the Lord, be he joined to me; and all the sons of Levi were gathered to him.

27To which he said, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, A man put his sword upon his hip, go ye, and turn ye again from gate unto gate by the middle of the tents, and each man slay his brother, his friend, and [his] neighbour, which consented to this idolatry.

28And the sons of Levi did by the word of Moses, and as three thousand of men felled down in that day.

29And Moses said, Ye have hallowed your hands today to the Lord, each man in his son, and [his] brother, that blessing be given to you.

30Soothly when the tother day was made, Moses spake to the people, Ye have sinned the most sin; I shall go up to the Lord, if in any manner I shall be able to beseech him for your felony.

31And he turned again to the Lord, and said, Lord, I beseech thee, this people hath sinned a great sin, and they have made golden gods to them;

32either forgive thou this guilt to them, either if thou doest not, do away me from thy book, which thou hast written.

33To whom the Lord answered, I shall do away from my book him that sinneth against me;

34forsooth go thou, and lead this people, whither I spake to thee; mine angel shall go before thee; forsooth in the day of vengeance I shall visit also this sin of them.

35Therefore the Lord smote the people, for the guilt of the calf, which Aaron made.

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Exodus 32

1 # Acts 7.40,41. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Up, make us gods, who shall 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.” 2And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6#1 Cor 10.7. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; 8they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9#Ex 32.31-35; Num 14.11-25. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; 10now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.”

11But Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thine own self, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.’ ” 14And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people.

15And Moses turned, and went down from the mountain with the two tables of the testimony in his hands, tables that were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. 16And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. 17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink it.

21And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought a great sin upon them?” 22And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on evil. 23#Acts 7.40. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, who shall 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.’ 24And I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and there came out this calf.”

25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to their shame among their enemies), 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put every man his sword on his side, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29And Moses said, “Today you have ordained yourselves#32.29 Gk Vg See Tg: Heb ordain yourselves for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, that he may bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

30On the morrow Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32#Rev 3.5. But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” 33But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 34But now 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 visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

35And the Lord sent a plague upon the people, because they made the calf which Aaron made.

Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America

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