Exodus 32

The Golden Calf

1Now when the people saw that Moses 1delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, 2make us 3a god who will go before us; for 4this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt--we do not know what happened to 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.” 3So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then he took the gold from their 6hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a 7cast metal calf; and they said, “8This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6So the next day they got up early and 9offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and 10the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up 11to engage in lewd behavior.

7Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go 12down at once, for your people, whom 13you brought up from the land of Egypt, have 14behaved corruptly. 8They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. 15They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and 16have sacrificed to it and said, ‘1718This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 919Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are 2021an obstinate people. 10So now 22leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and 23I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Plea

11Then 24Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “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 25the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You 26swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will 27multiply your 28descendants as the stars of the heavens, and 29all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your 30descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 1431So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

1532Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, 33tablets which were written on both 34sides; 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 35as 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 victory, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But I hear the sound of singing.”

Moses’ Anger

19And it came about, as soon as 36Moses approached the camp, that 37he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and 38he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces 39at the foot of the mountain. 20Then 40he took the calf which they had made and completely 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 a great sin upon them?” 22And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, 41that they are 42prone to evil. 23For 43they said to me, ‘Make 44a 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 happened to him.’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and 45I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25Now when Moses saw that the people were 46out of control--for Aaron had 47let them 48get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among 49their enemies-- 26Moses then stood at 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. 27And he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on 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 50neighbor.’” 28So 51the sons of Levi did 52as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “53Dedicate 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.”

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