27 And 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 (A)let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 (B)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.”

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

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 32:29 Lit. Fill your hand

27 Then 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.’”(A) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then 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.”

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

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

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

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

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