²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”^{(A) 22} And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are wicked.^{(B) 23} They said to me, ‘Make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’^{(C) 24} So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”^(D)

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had lost control of them, prompting derision among their enemies), ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. ²⁷ He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.”^{(E) 28} The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. ²⁹ Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.”

³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”^{(F) 31} So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold.^{(G) 32} But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of the book that you have written.”^{(H) 33} But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.^{(I) 34} But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day for punishment comes, I will punish them for their sin.”^(J)

Salutation

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly^{(A) 3} remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.^{(B) 6} And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit,^{(C) 7} so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.^{(D) 9} For they report about us what kind of welcome we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God^{(E) 10} and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.^(F)

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^[a] on my account.^{(A) 12} Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.^(B)

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.^(C)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.^{(D) 15} People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.^{(E) 16} In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.^(F)