Exodus 32:19-35

New King James Version

¹⁹So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that ^(A)he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰^(B)Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. ²¹And Moses said to Aaron, ^(C)“What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

²²So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. ^(D)You know the people, that they are set on evil. ²³For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

²⁵Now when Moses saw that the people were ^(E)unrestrained (for Aaron ^(F)had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), ²⁶then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. ²⁷And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and ^(G)let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” ²⁸So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ²⁹^(H)Then Moses said, ^[a]“Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

³⁰Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, ^(I)“You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; ^(J)perhaps I can ^(K)make atonement for your sin.” ³¹Then Moses ^(L)returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have ^(M)made for themselves a god of gold! ³²Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, ^(N)blot me ^(O)out of Your book which You have written.”

³³And the Lord said to Moses, ^(P)“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will ^(Q)blot him out of My book. ³⁴Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have ^(R)spoken to you. ^(S)Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, ^(T)in the day when I ^(U)visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”

³⁵So the Lord plagued the people because of ^(V)what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

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Footnotes

Exodus 32:29 Lit. Fill your hand

Exodus 32:19-35

New International Version

¹⁹When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf^(A) and the dancing,^(B) his anger burned^(C) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces^(D) at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰And he took the calf the people had made and burned^(E) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,^(F) scattered it on the water^(G) and made the Israelites drink it.

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

²²“Do not be angry,^(H) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.^(I) ²³They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’^(J) ²⁴So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”^(K)

²⁵Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock^(L) to their enemies. ²⁶So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

²⁷Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’”^(M) ²⁸The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. ²⁹Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin.^(N) But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement^(O) for your sin.”

³¹So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!^(P) They have made themselves gods of gold.^(Q) ³²But now, please forgive their sin^(R)—but if not, then blot me^(S) out of the book^(T) you have written.”

³³The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out^(U) of my book. ³⁴Now go, lead^(V) the people to the place^(W) I spoke of, and my angel^(X) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,^(Y) I will punish them for their sin.”