²⁰ And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.

²⁶ Such a high priest^(A) truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,^(B) exalted above the heavens.^{(C) 27} Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices^(D) day after day, first for his own sins,^(E) and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all^(F) when he offered himself.^{(G) 28} For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness;^(H) but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son,^(I) who has been made perfect^(J) forever.

³⁵ And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf^(A) Aaron had made.

²¹ He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings^(A) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol^(B) cast in the shape of a calf,^(C) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,^[a](D) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^(E)

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival^(F) to the Lord.”