Exodus 32
32
Worshipping the gold bull calf
1The people saw that Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come on! Make us gods#32.1 Or a god who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.”
2Aaron said to them, “All right, take out the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took out the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He collected them and tied them up in a cloth.#32.4 Or formed them into a mold or engraved them with a stylus Then he made a metal image of a bull calf, and the people declared, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!” 6They got up early the next day and offered up entirely burned offerings and brought well-being sacrifices. The people sat down to eat and drink and then got up to celebrate.
7The LORD spoke to Moses: “Hurry up and go down! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, are ruining everything! 8They’ve already abandoned the path that I commanded. They have made a metal bull calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it and declared, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I’ve been watching these people, and I’ve seen how stubborn they are. 10Now leave me alone! Let my fury burn and devour them. Then I’ll make a great nation out of you.”
11But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, “LORD, why does your fury burn against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and amazing force? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He had an evil plan to take the people out and kill them in the mountains and so wipe them off the earth’? Calm down your fierce anger. Change your mind about doing terrible things to your own people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, whom you yourself promised, ‘I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. And I’ve promised to give your descendants this whole land to possess for all time.’” 14Then the LORD changed his mind about the terrible things he said he would do to his people.
15Moses then turned around and came down the mountain. He carried the two covenant tablets in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. 16The tablets were God’s own work. What was written there was God’s own writing inscribed on the tablets. 17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp.”
18But Moses said,
“It isn’t the sound of a victory song.
It isn’t the sound of a song of defeat.
The sound of party songs is what I hear.”
19When he got near the camp and saw the bull calf and the dancing, Moses was furious. He hurled the tablets down and shattered them in pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf that they had made and burned it in a fire. Then he ground it down to crushed powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you led them to commit such a terrible sin?”
22Aaron replied, “Don’t get angry with me, sir. You know yourself that these people are out of control.#32.22 Sam; MT evil 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off!’ So they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this bull calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were out of control because Aaron had let them get out of control, making them an easy target for their enemies. 26So Moses stood at the camp’s gate and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side, come to me!” All the Levites gathered around him. 27Moses said to them, “This is what the LORD, Israel’s God, says: Each of you, strap on your sword! Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Each of you, kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor!” 28The Levites did as Moses commanded. About three thousand people were killed that day. 29Moses said, “Today you’ve been ordained to the LORD, each one of you at the cost of a son or a brother. Today you’ve gained a special blessing for yourselves.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You’ve committed a terrible sin. So now I will go up to the LORD. Maybe I can arrange reconciliation on account of your sin.” 31So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed! They made for themselves gods#32.31 Or a god of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin! And if not, then wipe me out of your scroll that you’ve written.”
33But the LORD said to Moses, “The ones I’ll wipe out of my scroll are those who sinned against me. 34Now go and lead the people to the place I described to you. My messenger here will go in front of you. When the day of reckoning comes, I’ll count their sin against them.” 35Then the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they did with the bull calf that Aaron made.
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Exodus 32: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Exodus 32
32
1 Then the people, seeing that Moses made a delay in descending from the mountain, gathered together against Aaron, and said: "Rise up, make us gods, who may go before us. But as for this man Moses, who led us away from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has befallen him."
2 And Aaron said to them, "Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me."
3 And the people did what he had commanded, carrying the earrings to Aaron.
4 And when he had received them, he formed these by the work of a casting furnace, and he made from these a molten calf. And they said: "These are your gods, O Israel, who led you away from the land of Egypt."
5 And when Aaron had seen it, he built an altar before it, and he cried out with a voice of proclamation, saying, "Tomorrow is the solemnity of the Lord."
6 And rising up in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Go, descend. Your people, whom you led away from the land of Egypt, have sinned.
8 They have quickly withdrawn from the way which you revealed to them. And they have made for themselves a molten calf, and they have worshiped it. And immolating victims to it, they have said: 'These are your gods, O Israel, who led you away from the land of Egypt.' "
9 And again, the Lord said to Moses: "I discern that this people is stiff-necked.
10 Release me, so that my fury may be enraged against them, and I may destroy them, and then I will make of you a great nation."
11 Then Moses prayed to the Lord his God, saying: "Why, O Lord, is your fury enraged against your people, whom you led away from the land of Egypt, with great strength and with a mighty hand?
12 I beg you, let not the Egyptians say, 'He cleverly led them away, so that he could put them to death in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.' Let your anger be quieted and appeased concerning the wickedness of your people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your very self, saying: 'I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven. And this entire land, about which I have spoken, I will give to your offspring. And you shall possess it forever.' "
14 And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15 And Moses returned from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16 and accomplished by the work of God. Also, the writing of God was engraved on the tablets.
17 Then Joshua, hearing the tumult of the people shouting, said to Moses: "The outcry of battle is heard in the camp."
18 But he responded: "It is not the clamor of men being exhorted to battle, nor the shout of men being compelled to flee. But I hear the voice of singing."
19 And when he had approached to the camp, he saw the calf and the dances. And being very angry, he threw down the tablets from his hand, and he broke them at the base of the mountain.
20 And seizing the calf, which they had made, he burnt it and crushed it, even to dust, which he scattered into water. And he gave from it to the sons of Israel to drink.
21 And he said to Aaron, "What has this people done to you, so that you would bring upon them the greatest sin?"
22 And he answered him: "Let not my lord be indignant. For you know this people, that they are prone to evil.
23 They said to me: 'Make gods for us, who may go before us. For this Moses, who led us away from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has befallen him.'
24 And I said to them, 'Which of you has gold?' And they took it and gave it to me. And I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out."
25 Therefore, Moses, seeing that the people were naked (for Aaron had stripped them because of the disgrace of their sordidness, and he had set them naked among their enemies),
26 and standing at the gate of the camp, said: "If anyone is for the Lord, let him join with me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27 And he said to them: "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let a man place his sword at his thigh. Go forth, and then return, from gate to gate, through the midst of the camp, and let each one kill his brother, and friend, and neighbor."
28 And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there fell on that day about twenty-three thousand men.
29 And Moses said: "On this day, you have consecrated your hands to the Lord, each one in his son and in his brother, so that a blessing may be given to you."
30 Then, when the next day arrived, Moses spoke to the people: "You have sinned the greatest sin. I will ascend to the Lord. Perhaps, in some way, I might be able to entreat him for your wickedness."
31 And returning to the Lord, he said: "I beg you, this people has sinned the greatest sin, and they have made for themselves gods of gold. Either release them from this offense,
32 or, if you do not, then delete me from the book that you have written."
33 And the Lord answered him: "Whoever has sinned against me, him I will delete from my book.
34 But as for you, go and lead this people where I have told you. My angel will go before you. Then, on the day of retribution, I will also visit this sin of theirs."
35 Therefore, the Lord struck the people for the guilt of the calf, which Aaron had made.
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