Exodus 32:19-30

19And it came about, as soon as 1Moses approached the camp, that 2he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and 3he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces 4at the foot of the mountain. 20Then 5he 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, 6that they are 7prone to evil. 23For 8they said to me, ‘Make 9a 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 10I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25Now when Moses saw that the people were 11out of control--for Aaron had 12let them 13get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among 14their 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 15neighbor.’” 28So 16the sons of Levi did 17as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “18Dedicate 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, “19You yourselves have 20committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can 21make atonement for your sin.”