Exodus 32
32
The Golden 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, “Look, Moses led us out of the land of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to go before us and lead us.”
2Aaron said to the people, “Bring me the gold earrings that belong to your wives, sons, and daughters.”
3So the people collected all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from the people and used it to make an idol. Using a special tool, he shaped the gold into a statue of a calf.
Then the people said, “Israel, here are your gods! These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”#32:4 Israel … Egypt This shows that the people worshiped the calf as a special symbol for the Lord, and even this was forbidden. See 1 Kings 12:26-30.
5Aaron saw all these things, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow will be a special festival to honor the Lord.”
6The people woke up very early the next morning. They killed animals and offered them as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had a wild party.
7At the same time, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have committed a terrible sin. 8They have very quickly turned away from what I commanded them to do. They made a calf from melted gold for themselves. They are worshiping that calf and making sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are the gods that led you out of Egypt.’”
9The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are very stubborn. They will always turn against me. 10So now let me destroy them in anger. Then I will make a great nation from you.”
11But Moses begged the Lord his God, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength. 12But if you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say, ‘God planned to do bad things to his people. That is why he led them out of Egypt. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the earth.’ So don’t be angry with your people. Please change your mind! Don’t destroy them. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. These men served you, and you used your name to make a promise to them. You said, ‘I will make your people as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your people all this land as I promised. This land will be theirs forever.’”
14So the Lord felt sorry for the people. He did not do what he said he might do—he did not destroy them.
15Then Moses went down the mountain. He had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back. 16God himself made the stones, and God himself wrote the commandments on them.
17Joshua heard the noise from the party in camp. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp!”
18Moses answered, “It is not the noise of an army shouting for victory. And it is not the noise of an army crying from defeat. The noise I hear is the sound of music.#32:18 music Or “singing.””
19When Moses came near the camp, he saw the golden calf and the people dancing. He became very angry, and he threw the stone tablets on the ground. The stones broke into several pieces at the bottom of the mountain. 20Then Moses destroyed the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. Then he ground the gold until it became dust and threw it into the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink that water.
21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that would make you do this? Why did you lead them to do such a terrible sin?”
22Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, sir. 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 some gods to lead us.’ 24So I told the people, ‘If you have any gold rings, then give them to me.’ The people gave me their gold. I threw the gold into the fire, and out of the fire came this calf!”
25Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get out of control. They were being wild, and all their enemies could see them acting like fools. 26So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Anyone who wants to follow the Lord should come to me.” Everyone from the tribe of Levi ran to Moses.
27Then Moses said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man must get his sword and go from one end of the camp to the other. You men must kill those who are against the Lord, even if they are your brothers, friends, or neighbors.’”
28The people from the tribe of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3000 of the people died. 29Then Moses said, “Take your role today as special servants of the Lord because you were willing to fight against even your own sons and brothers. You will receive a blessing for this.”#32:29 Take your role … blessing for this This seems to be the point when the priesthood changed. Before this time, the priests came from the firstborn sons; after this time, they came from the sons of Aaron of the tribe of Levi.
30The next morning Moses told the people, “You have committed a terrible sin! But now I will go up to the Lord, and maybe I can do something so that he will forgive you for your sin.” 31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Please listen! These people committed a terrible sin and made a god from gold. 32Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from your book.#32:32 your book The book of life, in which God has written the names of his chosen people. See Rev. 3:5; 21:27.”
33But the Lord said to Moses, “The only people I erase from my book are those who sin against me. 34So now, go down and lead the people where I tell you to go. My angel will go before you and lead you. When the time comes to punish those who sinned, they will be punished.” 35So the Lord caused a terrible sickness to come to the people. He did this because they told Aaron to make the golden calf.
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Exodus 32: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Exodus 32
32
The Golden Calf
1When the people saw that Moses #ch. 24:18; Deut. 9:9 delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, #ver. 23; Cited Acts 7:40 “Up, make us gods who shall #ch. 13:21go 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.” 2So Aaron said to them, “Take off the #[ch. 12:35, 36]; See Judg. 8:24-27rings of gold that 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 that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4#Deut. 9:16; Neh. 9:18; Ps. 106:19; Acts 7:41; [Judg. 17:3, 4] And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden#32:4 Hebrew cast metal; also verse 8 calf. And they said, #1 Kgs. 12:28“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 #[2 Kgs. 10:20]made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And #Cited 1 Cor. 10:7 the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up #Gen. 26:8; [Judg. 21:21]to play.
7And the Lord said to Moses, #Deut. 9:12 “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have #Judg. 2:19; [Hos. 9:9]corrupted themselves. 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way that #ch. 20:3, 4, 23; Deut. 9:16I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden 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!’” 9And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, #ch. 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deut. 9:6, 13; 31:27; 2 Chr. 30:8; Acts 7:51; [Isa. 48:4]it is a stiff-necked people. 10Now therefore #Deut. 9:14 let me alone, that #ch. 22:24 my wrath may burn hot against them and #ch. 33:3 I may consume them, in order that #Num. 14:12I may make a great nation of you.”
11But #Deut. 9:18, 26-29; Ps. 106:23; [Ps. 74:1, 2]Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12#[Deut. 32:27]; See Num. 14:13-16 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and #See ver. 14relent from this disaster against your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you #Gen. 22:16; Heb. 6:13 swore by your own self, and said to them, #Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:7, 18; 26:4; 28:13; 35:11, 12; 48:16‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14And the Lord #Ps. 106:45; [1 Chr. 21:15; Jer. 18:8; 26:13, 15, 19; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:10; 4:2]relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15Then #Deut. 9:15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the #ch. 34:29two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16#ch. 31:18The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17When #ch. 17:9, 10; 24:13; 33:11Joshua 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 #Jer. 51:14shouting 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 #Deut. 9:16, 17, 21saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
21And Moses said to Aaron, #[Gen. 20:9]“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. #[ch. 14:11; 15:24; 16:2, 20; 17:2, 4; 1 Sam. 15:24]You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For #ver. 1they 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.’ 24So #ver. 2-4I 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 out came this calf.”
25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, #[ver. 12]to the derision of 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 around him. 27And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you #[Num. 25:5; Deut. 33:9]kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29And Moses said, “Today you have been #[Zech. 13:3; Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26]; See Num. 25:11-13; Deut. 13:6-10ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, #See ver. 21; [1 Sam. 12:20] “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; #2 Sam. 16:12; Amos 5:15perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, #[See ver. 30 above] this people has sinned a great sin. They have #ch. 20:23made for themselves gods of gold. 32But now, if #[Num. 14:19] you will forgive their sin—but if not, please #[Rom. 9:3] blot me out of #Ps. 56:8; 69:28; 139:16; Dan. 12:1; Phil. 4:3your book that you have written.” 33But the Lord said to Moses, #Ezek. 18:4, 20“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34#ch. 33:12 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; #See ch. 14:19behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”
35Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
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