Exodus 32
32
The Golden Calf
1And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people gathered opposite Aaron, and they said to him, âCome,#Or âariseâ or âget upâ make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.â
2And Aaron said to them, âTake off the rings of gold that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring it to me.â 3And all the people took off the rings of gold that were on their ears and brought it to Aaron. 4And he took from their hand, and he shaped it with a tool, and he made it a cast-image bull calf, and they said, âThese are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.â
5And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, âA feast for Yahweh tomorrow.â 6And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.
7And Yahweh spoke to Moses, âGo, go down because your people behave corruptly, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt. 8They have turned aside quickly from the way that I commanded them; they have made for themselves a cast-image bull calf, and they bowed to it, and they sacrificed to it, and they said, âThese are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.â â
9And Yahweh said to Moses, âI have seen this people, and, indeed, they are a stiff-necked people. 10And now leave me alone so that my anger may blaze#Literally âmy nose may become hotâ against them, and let me destroy them, and I will make you into a great nation.â
11And Moses implored Yahweh#Literally âimplored the face of Yahwehâ his God, and he said, âWhy, Yahweh, should your anger blaze#Literally âyour nose become hotâ against your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say#Literally âsay, sayingâ, âWith evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earthâ?#Or âgroundâ Turn from your fierce anger#Literally âthe heat of your noseâ and relent concerning the disaster for your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and you told them, âI will multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they will inherit it forever.â â
14And Yahweh relented concerning the disaster that he had threatened#Literally âspokenâ to do to his people. 15And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets written on their two sides; on the front and on the back#Literally âfrom this and from thisâ they were written. 16And the tablets, they were the work of God; and the writing, it was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
17And Joshua heard the sound of the people in their shouting, and he said to Moses, âA sound of war is in the camp.â
18But he said, âThere is not a sound of shouting of victory, and there is not a sound of shouting of defeat. I hear a sound of singing.â
19And#Literally âand it wasâ as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and Moses became angry,#Literally âthe nose of Moses became hotâ and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain. 20And he took the bull calf that they had made, and he burned it with the fire, and he crushed it until it became fine, and he scattered it on the surface of the water, and he made the Israelites#Literally âsons/children of Israelâ drink.
21And Moses said to Aaron, âWhat did this people do to you that you brought on them such a great sin?â 22And Aaron said, âLet not my lord become angry.#Literally âlet not the nose of my lord become hotâ You yourself know the people, that they are intent on evil.#Literally âthey in evilâ 23And they said to me, âMake for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.â 24And I said to them, âWhoever has gold, take it off.â And they gave it to me, and I threw it in the fire, and out came this bull calf.â
25And Moses saw the people, that they were running wild#Or âout of control,â ârunning looseâ because Aaron had allowed them to run wild,#Or âto be out of control,â âto run looseâ for a laughingstock among their enemies.#Literally âthose arising against themâ 26And Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, and he said, âWhoever is for Yahweh, to me.â And all the sons of Levi were gathered to him. 27And he said to them, âThus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, âPut each his sword on his side. Go back and forth#Literally âthrough and come backâ from gate to gate in the camp, and kill, each his brother and each his friend and each his close relative.â â 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and from the people on that day about three thousand persons fell.#Literally âthree thousands of manâ 29And Moses said, âYou are ordained#Literally âyour hands are filledâ today for Yahweh, because each has been against his son and against his brother and so bringing on you today a blessing.â
30And#Literally âand it wasâ the next day Moses said to the people, âYou have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.â
31And Moses returned to Yahweh, and he said, âAlas, this people has sinned a great sin and made for themselves gods of gold. 32And now if you will forgive their sinâand if not, please blot me from your scroll that you have written.â 33And Yahweh said to Moses, âWhoever has sinned against me I will blot him from my scroll. 34And now go, lead the people to where I spoke to you. Look, my angel will go before you, and on the day when I punish I will punish them for their sin.â 35And Yahweh afflicted the people because they had made the bull calf that Aaron had made.
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Exodus 32: LEB
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