32When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."H5971H7200H4872H954H3381H2022H5971H6950H175H559H6965H6213H430H3212H6440H4872H376H5927H776H4714H30452Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."H175H559H6561H2091H5141H241H802H1121H1323H9353So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron.H5971H6561H2091H5141H241H935H1754He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"H3947H3027H6696H2747H6213H4541H5695H559H430H3478H5927H776H47145When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD."H175H7200H1129H4196H6440H175H7121H559H4279H2282H30686They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.H7925H4283H5927H5930H5066H8002H5971H3427H398H8354H6965H67117The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely;H3068H1696H4872H3212H3381H5971H5927H776H4714H78438they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"H5493H4118H1870H6680H6213H4541H5695H7812H2076H559H430H3478H5927H776H47149The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are.H3068H559H4872H7200H5971H7186H6203H597110Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."H3240H639H2734H3615H6213H1419H147111But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?H4872H2470H6440H3068H430H559H3068H639H2734H5971H3318H776H4714H1419H3581H2389H302712Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.H4714H559H559H7451H3318H2026H2022H3615H6440H127H7725H2740H639H5162H7451H597113Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"H2142H85H3327H3478H5650H7650H1696H7235H2233H3556H8064H776H559H5414H2233H5157H576914And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.H3068H5162H7451H1696H6213H597115Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back.H4872H6437H3381H2022H8147H3871H5715H3027H3871H3789H8147H5676H378916The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.H3871H4639H430H4385H4385H430H2801H387117When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."H3091H8085H6963H5971H7452H559H4872H6963H4421H426418But he said, "It is not the sound made by victors, or the sound made by losers; it is the sound of revelers that I hear."H559H6963H6030H1369H6963H6030H2476H6963H6031H808519As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.H7126H4264H7200H5695H4246H4872H639H2734H7993H3871H3027H7665H8478H202220He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.H3947H5695H6213H8313H784H2912H1854H2219H6440H4325H1121H3478H824821Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"H4872H559H175H6213H5971H935H1419H240122And Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil.H175H559H639H113H2734H3045H5971H745123They said to me, 'Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'H559H6213H430H3212H6440H4872H376H5927H776H4714H304524So I said to them, 'Whoever has gold, take it off'; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"H559H2091H6561H5414H7993H784H3318H569525When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies),H4872H7200H5971H6544H175H6544H8103H696526then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.H4872H5975H8179H4264H559H3068H1121H3878H62227He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.'"H559H559H3068H430H3478H7760H376H2719H3409H5674H7725H8179H8179H4264H2026H376H251H376H7453H376H713828The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day.H1121H3878H6213H1697H4872H5307H5971H3117H7969H505H37629Moses said, "Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day."H4872H559H4390H3027H3117H3068H3588H376H1121H251H5414H1293H311730On the next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."H4283H4872H559H5971H2398H1419H2401H5927H3068H194H3722H1157H240331So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold.H4872H7725H3068H559H577H5971H2398H1419H2401H6213H430H209132But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written."H5375H2403H4229H5612H378933But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.H3068H559H4872H834H2398H4229H561234But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin."H3212H5148H5971H1696H4397H3212H6440H3117H6485H6485H240335Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.H3068H5062H5971H834H6213H5695H834H175H6213
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