Exodus 32

The Golden Calf

1Now when the people saw that Moses 1delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, 2make us 3a god who will go before us; as for 4this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “5Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a 6molten calf; and they said, “7This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6So the next day they rose early and 8offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and 9the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up 10to play.

7Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go 11down at once, for your people, whom 12you brought up from the land of Egypt, have 13corrupted themselves. 8They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. 14They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and 15have sacrificed to it and said, ‘1617This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 918The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are 1920an obstinate people. 10Now then 21let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and 22I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Entreaty

11Then 23Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should 24the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You 25swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will 26multiply your 27descendants as the stars of the heavens, and 28all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your 29descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 1430So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

1531Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, 32tablets which were written on both 33sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people 34as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18But he said, “It is not the sound of the cry of triumph, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But the sound of singing I hear.”

Moses’ Anger

19It came about, as soon as 35Moses came near the camp, that 36he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and 37he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them 38at the foot of the mountain. 2039He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

21Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, 40that they are 41prone to evil. 23For 42they said to me, ‘Make 43a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and 44I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25Now when Moses saw that the people were 45out of control--for Aaron had 46let them 47get out of control to be a derision among 48their enemies-- 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his 49neighbor.’” 28So 50the sons of Levi did 51as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “52Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord--for every man has been against his son and against his brother--in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

30On the next day Moses said to the people, “53You yourselves have 54committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can 55make atonement for your sin.” 31Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has 56committed a great sin, and they have made 57a 58god of gold for themselves. 32But now, if You will, forgive their sin--and if not, please blot me out from Your 59book which You have written!” 33The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, 60I will blot him out of My book. 34But go now, lead the people 61where I told you. Behold, 62My angel shall go before you; nevertheless 63in the day when I 64punish, 65I will 66punish them for their sin.” 3567Then the Lord smote the people, because of 68what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.