Exodus 32:1-6

1The people realized that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time. So they went in a group to Aaron. They said to him, ‘Do something! Make some gods for us who will lead us. This man, Moses, brought us here out of Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.’

2So Aaron said to them, ‘Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters. Then bring the rings to me.’

3So all the Israelites removed the rings from their ears. They brought them to Aaron.

4Aaron took the gold rings from the people. He melted the gold and he used a tool to make an image of a calf. Then the people said, ‘Look, people of Israel! This is our god who brought us up out of Egypt!’

5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the gold calf. He told everyone, ‘Tomorrow, there will be a feast to worship the Lord.’

6So the next day, the Israelites got up early. They killed animals as burnt offerings on the altar. They also brought peace offerings. After that, they sat down to eat a meal and they drank wine. Then they had a wild party.