1. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out
of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto
Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go
before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up
out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings,
which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of
your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were
in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a
graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they
said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt.
5. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and
Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to
the LORD.
6. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat
down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy
people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have
corrupted themselves:
8. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I
commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have
worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said,
These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt.
9. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and,
behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot
against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make
of thee a great nation.
11. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why
doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast
brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and
with a mighty hand?
12. Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief
did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy
fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom
thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will
multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land
that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they
shall inherit it for ever.
14. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do
unto his people.
15. And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two
tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were
written on both their sides; on the one side and on the
other were they written.
16. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the
writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they
shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the
camp.
18. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for
mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being
overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp,
that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger
waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and
brake them beneath the mount.
20. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in
the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the
water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee,
that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22. And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou
knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before
us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of
the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
24. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them
break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the
fire, and there came out this calf.
25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron
had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
26. Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is
on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons
of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel,
Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his
brother, and every man his companion, and every man his
neighbour.
28. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses:
and there fell of the people that day about three thousand
men.
29. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD,
even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he
may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
