Exodus 32
New Living Translation
The Gold Calf
32 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!”
6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.
7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[a] You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.[b] They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.
17 When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
18 But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.
21 Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
22 “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies.[c] 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.
27 Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” 28 The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.
29 Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves[d] for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.”
Moses Intercedes for Israel
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness[e] for your sin.”
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”
33 But the Lord replied to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel will lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.”
35 Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 32:13 Hebrew Israel. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 32:15 Hebrew the two tablets of the Testimony; see note on 25:16.
- 32:25 Or out of control, and they mocked anyone who opposed them. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 32:29 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads Today ordain yourselves.
- 32:30 Or to make atonement.
Exodus 32
International Standard Version
Aaron Makes the Golden Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses took a long time to come down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and told him, “Come here and make us a god[a] who will go before us, because, as for this fellow Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
2 Aaron told them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
3 All the people tore off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to him. 4 He took them from them[b] and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf.[c] The people[d] said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it, and then he proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a festival to the Lord.” 6 They got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up to play.[e]
Moses Intercedes for Israel
7 The Lord told Moses, “Go down immediately,[f] because your people whom you led out of Egypt have behaved corruptly. 8 They have been quick to turn aside from the way I commanded them, and they have made for themselves a molten calf. They have bowed down to it in worship, they have offered sacrifices to it, and they have said, ‘This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord told Moses, “I’ve seen these people and indeed they’re obstinate.[g] 10 Now let me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may consume them, but I’ll make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God: “Lord, why are you angry with your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a show of force?[h] 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intention to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your anger and change your mind about the calamity against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself as you told them, ‘I’ll increase the number of your descendants like the stars of the heavens, I’ll give your descendants all of this land about which I have spoken, and they are to possess[i] it forever.’”
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the calamity he had said he would bring on his people.
Moses Destroys the Golden Calf and the Tablets of the Law
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides. They were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were the work of God and the writing was God’s writing, inscribed on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he told Moses, “The sound of war is coming from[j] the camp.”
18 Moses[k] said,
“It is not the sound of a victory shout,
and it’s not the sound of a shout of defeat,
but it’s the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the base of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, and ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water and made the Israelis drink it. 21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought such great sin upon them?”
22 Aaron said, “Sir,[l] don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil. 23 They told me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us because, as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold ornaments, tear them off.’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
The Descendants of Levi Punish the Guilty Israelis
25 When Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control, something that incited ridicule from their enemies[m]— 26 he stood in the gate of the camp and called out: “Whoever is for the Lord come over[n] to me,” and all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and each of you kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’”
28 The descendants of Levi did just as Moses told them,[o] and about 3,000 people died that day. 29 Moses said, “You have been ordained[p] to serve the Lord[q] today, and you have brought a blessing on yourselves today because every man opposed his son or brother.”[r]
Moses Again Intercedes for the People
30 The next day Moses told the people, “You committed a great sin, and now I’ll go up to the Lord, and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, this people committed a great sin by making a god of gold for themselves. 32 Now, if you will, forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 The Lord told Moses, “Whoever sins against me, I’ll blot him out of my book. 34 Now, go, and lead the people where I told you, and now my angel will go before you, but on the day when I do punish, I’ll punish them for their sin.” 35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people because they made the calf (the one Aaron made).
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 32:1 Or gods; and so throughout the chapter
- Exodus 32:4 Lit. from their hand
- Exodus 32:4 I.e. an image made by pouring hot, liquid metal into a mold
- Exodus 32:4 Lit. They
- Exodus 32:6 I.e. to engage in sexual immorality
- Exodus 32:7 Lit. Go, go down
- Exodus 32:9 Lit. stiff-necked
- Exodus 32:11 Lit. a mighty hand
- Exodus 32:13 Or inherit
- Exodus 32:17 Lit. is in
- Exodus 32:18 Lit. He
- Exodus 32:22 Lit. My lord
- Exodus 32:25 Lit. for ridicule among their enemies
- Exodus 32:26 The Heb. lacks come over
- Exodus 32:28 Lit. according to the word of Moses
- Exodus 32:29 Or Consecrate yourselves
- Exodus 32:29 Lit. ordained for the Lord
- Exodus 32:29 Or today at the cost of his son or brother
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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