Exodus 32:21-34

Revised Standard Version

²¹ And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought a great sin upon them?” ²² And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on evil. ²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, 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.’ ²⁴ And I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and there came out this calf.”

²⁵ And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to their shame 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 themselves together to him. ²⁷ And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put every man his sword on his side, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” ²⁸ And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. ²⁹ And Moses said, “Today you have ordained yourselves^[a] for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, that he may bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

³⁰ On the morrow Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. ³² But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” ³³ But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. ³⁴ But now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”