The Golden Calf

32 When 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.”^{(A) 2} Aaron 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.”^{(B) 3} So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took these from them, formed them in a mold,^[a] 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!”^{(C) 5} When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” ⁶ They 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.^(D)

¹⁹ As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’s anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.^{(A) 20} 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.^(B)

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”^{(C) 22} And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are wicked.^{(D) 23} They said to me, ‘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.’^{(E) 24} 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!”^(F)

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had lost control of them, prompting derision among their enemies), ²⁶ 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.