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Remembering the Gold Calf

“Remember and never forget how angry you made the Lord your God out in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until now, you have been constantly rebelling against him. Even at Mount Sinai[a] you made the Lord so angry he was ready to destroy you. This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate no food and drank no water. 10 The Lord gave me the two tablets on which God had written with his own finger all the words he had spoken to you from the heart of the fire when you were assembled at the mountain.

11 “At the end of the forty days and nights, the Lord handed me the two stone tablets inscribed with the words of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go down immediately, for the people you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted gold and made an idol for themselves!’

13 “The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 14 Leave me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’

15 “So while the mountain was blazing with fire I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. 16 There below me I could see that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the Lord had commanded you to follow! 17 So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes.

18 “Then, as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I ate no bread and drank no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger. 19 I feared that the furious anger of the Lord, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me. 20 The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But I prayed for Aaron, and the Lord spared him. 21 I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.

22 “You also made the Lord angry at Taberah,[b] Massah,[c] and Kibroth-hattaavah.[d] 23 And at Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: ‘Go up and take over the land I have given you.’ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him. 24 Yes, you have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:8 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  2. 9:22a Taberah means “place of burning.” See Num 11:1-3.
  3. 9:22b Massah means “place of testing.” See Exod 17:1-7.
  4. 9:22c Kibroth-hattaavah means “graves of gluttony.” See Num 11:31-34.

Remember, do not forget how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness; (A)from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. Even (B)at Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which Yahweh had cut with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; (C)I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone (D)written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which Yahweh had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 Now it happened (E)at the end of forty days and nights, that Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 (F)Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have (G)quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13 (H)Yahweh spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, [a]they are a [b](I)stiff-necked people. 14 (J)Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and (K)blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and more numerous than they.’

15 (L)So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I saw that you had indeed sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which Yahweh had commanded you. 17 And I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and shattered them before your eyes. 18 (M)And I fell down before Yahweh, (N)as at the first, forty days and nights; (O)I neither ate bread nor drank water (P)because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of Yahweh to provoke Him to anger. 19 For (Q)I was afraid of the anger and the wrath with which Yahweh was provoked against you in order to destroy you, (R)but Yahweh listened to me that time also. 20 And Yahweh was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21 (S)Now I took your [c]sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

22 “Again at (T)Taberah and at (U)Massah and at (V)Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. 23 When Yahweh sent you from (W)Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘(X)Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the [d]command of Yahweh your God; (Y)you did not believe Him, and you did not listen to His voice. 24 (Z)You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day I knew you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 9:13 Lit he is
  2. Deuteronomy 9:13 Or stubborn
  3. Deuteronomy 9:21 Lit sin
  4. Deuteronomy 9:23 Lit mouth