Exodus 32
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
32 And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: for as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.
2 And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.
3 And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.
4 And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders' work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier's voice, saying: To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
6 And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play.
7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.
8 They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
9 And again the Lord said to Moses: See that this people is stiffnecked:
10 Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation kindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to you seed, and you shall possess it for ever.
14 And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15 And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16 And made by the work of God: the writing also of God was graven in the tables.
17 And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.
18 But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers.
19 And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount:
20 And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.
21 And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?
22 And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.
23 They said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us: for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.
24 And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? and they took and brought it to me: and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies,)
26 Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:
27 And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh: go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.
28 And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.
29 And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.
30 And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.
31 And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold: either forgive them this trespass,
32 Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.
33 And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:
34 But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.
35 The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.
Exodus 32
New American Standard Bible
The Golden Calf
32 Now when the people saw that Moses (A)delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, (B)make us [a]a god who will go before us; for (C)this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “(D)Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then he took the gold from their [b]hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a (E)cast metal calf; and they said, “[c]This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 So the next day they got up early and (F)offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and (G)the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up (H)to engage in lewd behavior.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go [d]down at once, for your people, whom (I)you brought up from the land of Egypt, have (J)behaved corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. (K)They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and (L)have sacrificed to it and said, ‘[e](M)This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 (N)Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are [f](O)an obstinate people. 10 So now (P)leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and (Q)I will make of you a great nation.”
Moses’ Plea
11 Then (R)Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should (S)the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You (T)swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will (U)multiply your [g]descendants as the stars of the heavens, and (V)all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your [h]descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 (W)So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 (X)Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, (Y)tablets which were written on both [i]sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people [j]as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18 But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of victory,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But I hear the sound of singing.”
Moses’ Anger
19 And it came about, as soon as [k]Moses approached the camp, that (Z)he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and (AA)he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces [l]at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then (AB)he 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.
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, (AC)that they are [m]prone to evil. 23 For (AD)they said to me, ‘Make [n]a 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.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and (AE)I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were [o]out of control—for Aaron had (AF)let them [p]get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among [q]their enemies— 26 Moses 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. 27 And 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 [r]neighbor.’” 28 So (AG)the sons of Levi did [s]as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “[t]Dedicate 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.”
30 And on the next day Moses said to the people, “(AH)You yourselves have [u]committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can (AI)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has [v]committed a great sin, and they have made a (AJ)god of gold for themselves! 32 But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your (AK)book which You have written!” 33 However, the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, (AL)I will wipe him out of My book. 34 But go now, lead the people (AM)where I told you. Behold, (AN)My angel shall go before you; nevertheless (AO)on the day when I [w]punish, (AP)I will [x]punish them for their sin.” 35 (AQ)Then the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of (AR)what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
Footnotes
- Exodus 32:1 Or gods
- Exodus 32:4 Lit hand
- Exodus 32:4 Or These are your gods
- Exodus 32:7 Lit go down
- Exodus 32:8 Or These are your gods
- Exodus 32:9 Or a stiff-necked
- Exodus 32:13 Lit seed
- Exodus 32:13 Lit seed
- Exodus 32:15 Lit their sides
- Exodus 32:17 Lit in its shouting
- Exodus 32:19 Lit he
- Exodus 32:19 Lit beneath
- Exodus 32:22 Lit in evil
- Exodus 32:23 Or gods
- Exodus 32:25 Lit let loose
- Exodus 32:25 Lit go loose
- Exodus 32:25 Lit those who rise against them
- Exodus 32:27 Or kin
- Exodus 32:28 Lit according to Moses’ word
- Exodus 32:29 Lit Fill your hand
- Exodus 32:30 Lit sinned
- Exodus 32:31 Lit sinned
- Exodus 32:34 Lit visit
- Exodus 32:34 Lit visit their sin upon them
Exodus 32
King James Version
32 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
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