Exodus 32
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
32 And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: for as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.
2 And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.
3 And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.
4 And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders' work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier's voice, saying: To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
6 And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play.
7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.
8 They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
9 And again the Lord said to Moses: See that this people is stiffnecked:
10 Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation kindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to you seed, and you shall possess it for ever.
14 And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15 And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16 And made by the work of God: the writing also of God was graven in the tables.
17 And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.
18 But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers.
19 And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount:
20 And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.
21 And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?
22 And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.
23 They said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us: for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.
24 And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? and they took and brought it to me: and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies,)
26 Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:
27 And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh: go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.
28 And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.
29 And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.
30 And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.
31 And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold: either forgive them this trespass,
32 Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.
33 And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:
34 But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.
35 The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.
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
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
Exodus 32
Legacy Standard Bible
The Golden Calf
32 Then the people saw that Moses (A)delayed to come down from the mountain. So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Arise, (B)make us [a]gods who will go before us; as for (C)this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “(D)Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a (E)molten calf; and they said, “[b]These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 And Aaron looked and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.” 6 So the next day they rose early and (F)offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and (G)the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up (H)to play.
7 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go! Go down at once, for your people, whom (I)you brought up from the land of Egypt, have (J)corrupted themselves. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. (K)They have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshiped it and (L)have sacrificed to it and said, ‘[c](M)These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 (N)And Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are (O)a stiff-necked people. 10 Now then (P)let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may consume them; and (Q)I will make you a great nation.”
11 Then (R)Moses entreated [d]the favor of Yahweh his God and said, “O Yahweh, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? 12 Why should (S)the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent concerning doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You (T)swore by Yourself, and You said to them, ‘I will (U)multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and (V)all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 (W)So Yahweh relented concerning the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 (X)Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain. And the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, (Y)tablets which were written on both [e]sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 Then Joshua heard the sound of the people [f]as they shouted. And he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18 But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But the sound of singing I hear.”
19 Now it happened, as soon as [g]Moses came near the camp, that (Z)he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and (AA)he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them [h]at the foot of the mountain. 20 (AB)Then he took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, (AC)that they are [i]prone to evil. 23 Indeed (AD)they said to me, ‘Make [j]gods for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from 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 tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and (AE)I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now Moses saw that the people were [k]out of control—for Aaron had (AF)let them [l]get out of control to be a derision among [m]their enemies— 26 so Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is for Yahweh, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Every man among you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother and every man his friend and every man his [n]neighbor.’” 28 So (AG)the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “[o]Be ordained today to Yahweh—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”
30 Now it happened on the next day, that Moses said to the people, “(AH)You yourselves have [p]committed a great sin; but now I am going up to Yahweh, perhaps I can (AI)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to Yahweh and said, “Alas, this people has [q]committed a great sin, and they have made [r](AJ)gods of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out from Your (AK)book which You have written!” 33 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, (AL)I will blot him out of My book. 34 But now go, guide the people (AM)where I told you. Behold, (AN)My angel shall go before you; nevertheless (AO)in the day when I [s]punish, (AP)I will [t]punish them for their sin.” 35 (AQ)Then Yahweh smote the people because of (AR)what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
Footnotes
- Exodus 32:1 Or a god
- Exodus 32:4 Or This is your god
- Exodus 32:8 Or This is your god
- Exodus 32:11 Lit the face of Yahweh
- Exodus 32:15 Lit their sides
- Exodus 32:17 Lit in its shouting
- Exodus 32:19 Lit he
- Exodus 32:19 Lit beneath
- Exodus 32:22 Lit in evil
- Exodus 32:23 Or a god
- Exodus 32:25 Lit let loose
- Exodus 32:25 Lit go loose
- Exodus 32:25 Lit those who rise against them
- Exodus 32:27 Or kin
- Exodus 32:29 Lit Fill your hand
- Exodus 32:30 Lit sinned
- Exodus 32:31 Lit sinned
- Exodus 32:31 Or a god
- Exodus 32:34 Lit visit
- Exodus 32:34 Lit visit their sin upon them
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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