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
1And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.
2And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.
3And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.
4And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders' work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
5And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier's voice, saying: Tomorrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
6And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace-victims: and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play.
7And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.
8They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
9And again the Lord said to Moses: See that this people is stiffnecked.
10Let me alone, that my wrath may be enkindled against them, and that I may destroy them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation kindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth. Let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.
13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and this whole land that I have spoken of I will give to you seed; and you shall possess it for ever.
14And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16And made by the work of God. The writing also of God was graven in the tables.
17And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.
18But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee. But I hear the voice of singers.
19And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount.
20And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.
21And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?
22And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.
23They said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.
24And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? And they took and brought it to me: and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.
25And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies,)
26Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh. Go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.
28And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses: and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.
29And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord: every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.
30And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin. I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.
31And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold. Either forgive them this trespass,
32Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.
33And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:
34But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee. My angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.
35The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.