Exodus 32:15-35
Then 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. The tablets were the work of
God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.
When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to
Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." But 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."
As 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. He 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.
Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought
so great a sin upon them?" And Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my
lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. They 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.' So 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!"
When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them
run wild, to the derision of their enemies), then 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. He 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.'" The sons of Levi did as
Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day.
Moses 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."
On 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." So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has
sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now,
if you will only forgive their sin — but if not, blot me out of the book
that you have written." But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned
against me I will blot out of my book. But 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."
Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf —
the one that Aaron made.
