Exodus 32
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people collected together to Aaron, and said to him, Up, make us a god, who will go before us; for this Moses, the man that has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, — we do not know what is become of him!
When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
2 And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] to me.
Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 Then all the people broke off the golden rings that were in their ears, and brought [them] to Aaron.
All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he took [them] out of their hand, and fashioned it with a chisel and made of it a molten calf: and they said, This is thy god, Israel, who has brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!
He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5 And Aaron saw [it], and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to Jehovah!
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.”
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered up burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to sport.
They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 Then Jehovah said to Moses, Away, go down! for thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, is acting corruptly.
The LORD spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them: they have made themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down to it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, This is thy god, Israel, who has brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!
They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 And Jehovah said to Moses, I see this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people.
10 And now let me alone, that my anger may burn against them, and I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation.
Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
11 And Moses besought Jehovah his God, and said, Why, Jehovah, doth thy wrath burn against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?
Moses begged the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, For misfortune he has brought them out, to slay them on the mountains, and to annihilate them from the face of the earth? Turn from the heat of thine anger, and repent of this evil against thy people!
Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil against your people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thyself, and saidst to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall possess [it] for ever!
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
14 And Jehovah repented of the evil that he had said he would do to his people.
So the LORD turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, [with] the two tables of the testimony in his hand — tables written on both their sides: on this side and on that were they written.
Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other.
16 And the tables [were] God's work, and the writing was God's writing, engraven on the tables.
The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, and said to Moses, There is a shout of war in the camp.
When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”
18 And he said, It is not the sound of a shout of victory, neither is it the sound of a shout of defeat: it is the noise of alternate singing I hear.
He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome; but the noise of those who sing that I hear.”
19 And it came to pass, when he came near the camp, and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses' anger burned, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and shattered them beneath the mountain.
As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain.
20 And he took the calf that they had made, and burned [it] with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed [it] on the water, and made the children of Israel drink [it].
He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
21 And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin on them?
Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord burn! thou knowest the people, that they are [set] on mischief.
Aaron said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
23 And they said to me, Make us a god, who will go before us; for this Moses, the man that has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what is become of him!
For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’
24 And I said to them, Who has gold? They broke [it] off, and gave [it] me, and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off.’ So they gave it to me; and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 And Moses saw the people how they were stripped; for Aaron had stripped them to [their] shame before their adversaries.
When Moses saw that the people were out of control, (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies),
26 And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, He that is for Jehovah, [let him come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered to him.
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27 And he said to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his hip; go and return from gate to gate through the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbour.
He said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”
28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. About three thousand men fell of the people that day.
29 And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to Jehovah, yea, every man with his son, and with his brother, and bring on yourselves a blessing to-day.
Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that he may give you a blessing today.”
30 And it came to pass the next day, that Moses said to the people, Ye have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Jehovah: perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.
On the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”
31 And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Alas, this people has sinned a great sin, and they have made themselves a god of gold!
Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold.
32 And now, if thou wilt forgive their sin...but if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book that thou hast written.
Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 And Jehovah said to Moses, Whoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.
34 And now go, lead the people whither I have told thee: behold, my Angel shall go before thee; but in the day of my visiting I will visit their sin upon them.
Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 And Jehovah smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron had made.
The LORD struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.
