Exodus 32
New King James Version
The Gold Calf(A)
32 Now when the people saw that Moses (B)delayed coming down from the mountain, the people (C)gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, (D)“Come, make us [a]gods that shall (E)go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who (F)brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the (G)golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 (H)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that (I)brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a (J)proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people (K)sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, (L)“Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt (M)have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which (N)I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, (O)‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, (P)“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a [b]stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, (Q)let Me alone, that (R)My wrath may burn hot against them and I may [c]consume them. And (S)I will make of you a great nation.”
11 (T)Then Moses pleaded with [d]the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 (U)Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and (V)relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You (W)swore by Your own self, and said to them, (X)‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the Lord (Y)relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 And (Z)Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the (AA)tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
18 But he said:
“It is not the noise of the shout of victory,
Nor the noise of the cry of defeat,
But the sound of singing I hear.”
19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that (AB)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 (AC)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. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, (AD)“What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. (AE)You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For 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.’ 24 And 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.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were (AF)unrestrained (for Aaron (AG)had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then 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. 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 (AH)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 (AI)Then Moses said, [e]“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, (AJ)“You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; (AK)perhaps I can (AL)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses (AM)returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have (AN)made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, (AO)blot me (AP)out of Your book which You have written.”
33 And the Lord said to Moses, (AQ)“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will (AR)blot him out of My book. 34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have (AS)spoken to you. (AT)Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, (AU)in the day when I (AV)visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”
35 So the Lord plagued the people because of (AW)what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
Footnotes
- Exodus 32:1 Or a god
- Exodus 32:9 stubborn
- Exodus 32:10 destroy
- Exodus 32:11 Lit. the face of the Lord
- Exodus 32:29 Lit. Fill your hand
Exodus 32
BasisBijbel
Aäron maakt een gouden kalf
32 Toen het volk zag dat Mozes maar niet van de berg terugkwam, gingen ze naar Aäron. Ze zeiden tegen hem: "Kom, maak goden voor ons die ons kunnen leiden. Want we weten niet wat er is gebeurd met die Mozes, die man die ons uit Egypte heeft gehaald." 2 Aäron antwoordde: "Geef mij de gouden oorringen van jullie vrouwen, zonen en dochters." 3 Toen haalden ze allemaal hun gouden ringen uit hun oren en gaven die aan Aäron. 4 Hij smolt ze en maakte er een gouden beeld van in de vorm van een kalf. Toen riepen ze: "Kijk, Israël, dit is jullie god! Dit is de god die jullie uit Egypte heeft gehaald!" 5 Toen bouwde Aäron een altaar voor het beeld en riep: "Morgen vieren we feest voor de Heer!" 6 De volgende ochtend vroeg offerden ze brand-offers. Daarna gingen ze eten en drinken en feestvieren. Het werd een wild feest.
7 Toen zei de Heer tegen Mozes: "Ga naar beneden, want je volk dat jij uit Egypte hebt gehaald, heeft alles bedorven. 8 Ze zijn Mij nu al ongehoorzaam. Ze hebben een gouden kalf gemaakt dat hun god moet zijn. Ze hebben het aanbeden en ze hebben er offers aan gebracht. Ze hebben gezegd: 'Israël, dit is jullie god die jullie uit Egypte heeft gehaald.' "
9 Verder zei de Heer tegen Mozes: "Ik heb gezien hoe koppig en ongehoorzaam dit volk is. 10 Laat Mij mijn gang gaan, dan zal Ik hen vernietigen. Ik ben vreselijk boos op hen. Dan zal Ik van jóu een groot volk maken." 11 Toen smeekte Mozes zijn Heer God: "Heer, U heeft uw volk met grote wonderen uit Egypte gered. U heeft toen laten zien hoe machtig U bent. Dan kunt U het nu toch niet zó zwaar straffen? 12 Als U dat doet, zullen de Egyptenaren zeggen: 'Hij heeft hen meegenomen om hen te vernietigen, hen in de bergen te doden, hen van de aardbodem weg te vegen.' U bent wel heel boos op hen, maar straf hen alstublieft niet! Doe alstublieft niet de vreselijke dingen die U zei. 13 Denk alstublieft aan Abraham, Izaäk en Israël, uw dienaren. Want U heeft hun bij Uzelf gezworen: 'Ik zal je familie ná jou zo ontelbaar maken als de sterren aan de hemel. En dit hele land waar Ik over heb gesproken, zal Ik aan jouw familie ná jou geven. Het zal voor altijd hun eigendom zijn.' " 14 Toen veranderde de Heer zijn plannen en besloot zijn volk niet zo erg te straffen als Hij eerst van plan was geweest.
15 Mozes ging met Jozua de berg af. De twee platte stenen van Gods verbond had hij in zijn hand. Die twee stenen waren aan beide kanten volgeschreven. 16 Ze waren door God Zelf gemaakt en wat er op geschreven stond, had Hij er Zelf op geschreven.
17 Jozua hoorde het gejuich van het volk. Hij zei tegen Mozes: "Er is krijgsgeschreeuw in het kamp!" 18 Maar Mozes zei: "Nee, het is niet het gejuich van een overwinning. Ook niet het geschreeuw van een nederlaag. Het is het gejuich van een feest!" 19 Toen hij bij het tentenkamp kwam, zag hij het kalf. En hij zag hoe de mensen ervoor aan het dansen waren. Mozes werd woedend. Hij gooide de platte stenen die hij in zijn handen had onderaan de berg kapot. 20 Toen pakte hij het kalf dat ze hadden gemaakt en verbrandde het. De resten maalde hij fijn, totdat er alleen nog poeder van over was. Dat stof strooide hij op het water en gaf het aan de Israëlieten te drinken.
21 Toen zei Mozes tegen Aäron: "Hoe heb je het volk zoiets verschrikkelijks kunnen aandoen?" 22 Maar Aäron zei: "Word alstublieft niet boos, heer. U weet zelf dat dit volk altijd slechte dingen wil doen. 23 Ze zeiden tegen mij: 'Maak goden voor ons die ons kunnen leiden. Want we weten niet wat er gebeurd is met die Mozes, die man die ons uit Egypte heeft gehaald.' 24 Toen zei ik tegen hen: 'Als je gouden sieraden hebt, breng ze dan hier!' Ze gaven hun goud aan mij en toen ik het goud in het vuur gooide, kwam dit kalf er uit."
Het volk wordt gestraft
25 Mozes zag dat de mensen naakt ronddansten. (Want Aäron had hen helemaal vrij gelaten om te doen waar ze zin in hadden. Zo stonden ze vreselijk voor schut voor hun vijanden.) 26 Hij ging bij de ingang van het tentenkamp staan en zei: "Wie voor de Heer is, moet bij mij komen!" Toen kwamen de mannen uit de stam van Levi naar hem toe. 27 Hij zei tegen hen: "Dit zegt de Heer, de God van Israël: doe je zwaard om en ga dwars door het tentenkamp, van poort tot poort. Dood iedereen die je ziet, al is het je broer, een familielid of je buurman." 28 Ze deden wat Mozes had gezegd. Zo werden er op die dag ongeveer 3000 mannen gedood. 29 Toen zei Mozes: "Vandaag is te zien of jullie werkelijk de Heer willen dienen. Want je zal zelfs je zoon of je broer moeten doden. De Heer zal jullie hiervoor belonen."
30 De volgende dag zei Mozes tegen het volk: "Jullie hebben iets verschrikkelijks gedaan tegen God. Ik zal nu de berg op klimmen, naar de Heer. Als ik het God vraag, zal Hij jullie misschien willen vergeven." 31 Toen klom Mozes naar de Heer terug en zei: "Heer, dit volk heeft iets heel verschrikkelijks gedaan. Want ze hebben een god van goud voor zich gemaakt. 32 Maar vergeef het hun alstublieft. En als U dat niet wil doen, haal míjn naam dan maar weg uit het Boek van het leven waarin U onze namen heeft geschreven, in plaats van hún naam." 33 Maar de Heer zei tegen Mozes: "Alleen mensen die ongehoorzaam aan Mij zijn geweest, haal Ik weg uit mijn Boek. 34 Maar ga nu op weg en breng dit volk naar het land waar Ik het over gehad heb. Mijn engel zal voor jullie uit gaan. Maar op een dag zullen ze de gevolgen dragen voor hun ongehoorzaamheid."
35 Zo strafte de Heer het volk, omdat het tegen Aäron had gezegd dat hij een kalf voor hen moest maken.
Exodus 32
English Standard Version
The Golden Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses (A)delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, (B)“Up, make us gods who shall (C)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.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the (D)rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 (E)And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[a] calf. And they said, (F)“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron (G)made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And (H)the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up (I)to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, (J)“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have (K)corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that (L)I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, (M)it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore (N)let me alone, that (O)my wrath may burn hot against them and (P)I may consume them, in order that (Q)I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But (R)Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 (S)Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and (T)relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you (U)swore by your own self, and said to them, (V)‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord (W)relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15 Then (X)Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the (Y)two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 (Z)The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When (AA)Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of (AB)shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and (AC)saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
21 And Moses said to Aaron, (AD)“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. (AE)You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For (AF)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 So (AG)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 out came this calf.”
25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, (AH)to the derision of 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 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you (AI)kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been (AJ)ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, (AK)“You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; (AL)perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, (AM)this people has sinned a great sin. They have (AN)made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if (AO)you will forgive their sin—but if not, please (AP)blot me out of (AQ)your book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, (AR)“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 (AS)But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; (AT)behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”
35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
Footnotes
- Exodus 32:4 Hebrew cast metal; also verse 8
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© stichting BasisBijbel 2013 Gecorrigeerde tekst © 2015 Alle rechten voorbehouden Uitgegeven bij de ZakBijbelBond: 2016
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
