Exodus chapter 32
English Standard Version
1When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, 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." 2So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
7And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way that 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!’" 9And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you."
11But 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? 12Why 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 relent from this disaster against your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘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.’" 14And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the 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. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear." 19And as soon as he came near the camp and 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. 20He 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.
21And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?" 22And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For 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.’ 24So 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."
25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), 26then 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. 27And 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 kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’" 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29And Moses said, "Today you have been 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."
30The next day 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." 31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32But now, if you will forgive their sin — but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written." 33But the Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34But now go, lead the people to the place about 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."
New International Version
2Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." 6So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
7Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
9"I have seen these people," the Lord said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. 10Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. "Lord," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ " 14Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
19When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
22"Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"
25Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.
27Then he said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ " 28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."
New American Standard Bible
1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, 'Come, make us a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.' 2Aaron said to them, 'Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' 3So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, 'This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, 'Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.' 6So the next day they got up early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.
7Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. 8They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘ This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’?' 9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10So now leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.'
11Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, 'Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’?' 14So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15Then Moses turned and went down from 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. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, 'There is a sound of war in the camp.'
19And it came about, as soon as Moses approached the camp, that he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20Then he took the calf which they had made and completely 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.
21Then Moses said to Aaron, 'What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?' 22And Aaron said, 'Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23For they said to me, ‘Make a god 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 happened to him.’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.'
25Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among their enemies— 26Moses then stood at the gate of the camp, and said, 'Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!' And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27And he said to them, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on 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 neighbor.’?' 28So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, 'Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.'
30And on the next day Moses said to the people, 'You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' 31Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Oh, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves! 32But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your book which You have written!' 33However, the Lord said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I will wipe him out of My book. 34But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless on the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.' 35Then the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
Christian Standard Bible
2Aaron replied to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: "There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow." 6Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party.
7The Lord spoke to Moses: "Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. 8They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’" 9The Lord also said to Moses: "I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: "Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’" 14So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.
19As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
22"Don’t be enraged, my lord," Aaron replied. "You yourself know that the people are intent on evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!"
25Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a laughingstock to their enemies. 26And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." And all the Levites gathered around him. 27He told them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’" 28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people. 29Afterward Moses said, "Today you have been dedicated to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today."
31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written."
33The Lord replied to Moses: "Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin." 35And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
New Living Translation
3All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then 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!'
7The Lord told Moses, 'Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8How 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.’'
9Then the Lord said, 'I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10Now 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.'
11But 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? 12Why 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! 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 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.’'
14So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.
19When 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. 20He 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.
22Don’t get so upset, my lord,' Aaron replied. 'You yourself know how evil these people are. 23They 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.’ 24So 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!'
25Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies. 26So 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.
27Moses 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.' 28The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.
31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32But now, if you will only forgive their sin — but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!'
33But the Lord replied to Moses, 'No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me. 34Now 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.'
King James Version
2And 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. 3And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4And 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.
5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. 6And 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.
7And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They 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.
9And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now 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.
11And 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? 12Wherefore 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. 13Remember 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. 14And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15And 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. 16And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. 17And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18And 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.
19And 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. 20And 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.
21And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? 22And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. 23For 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. 24And 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.
25And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) 26Then 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. 27And 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.
28And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
31And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 34Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
New King James Version
2And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
5So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
11Then Moses pleaded with 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? 12Why 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 relent from this harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘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.’ ” 14So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15And 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. 16Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
19So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that 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. 20Then 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. 21And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
22So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For 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.’ 24And 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.”
25Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26then 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. 27And 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 let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “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.”
30Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
33And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34Now therefore, 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 for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”
What does Exodus chapter 32 mean?
The Lord gave Moses instructions to build the tabernacle and its furnishings (Exodus 25—30). God also indicated which men to assign for the work (Exodus 31). However, while Moses is hearing these decrees, the people are making a tragic error.God called Moses onto Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12), leaving Aaron and others in charge (Exodus 24:14). But Moses has been gone longer than the Israelites expected (Exodus 24:18). They aren't sure if he will ever come back. The people want a tangible connection to God like they had when Moses was there. So, they pressure Aaron to make them an idol (Exodus 32:1).
Aaron should have refused to cooperate. Even though the Israelites could be aggressive in their demands (Exodus 17:4), he knew that God had forbidden idols (Exodus 20:3–6). But Aaron succumbs to their demands. He collects gold earrings from the people. He crafts an idol, probably using wood overlaid with gold. The people proclaim this to be the same God who rescued them from Egypt. Even if that is not worshipping a different God (Exodus 20:3), it is still forbidden (Exodus 20:4). Aaron arranges an altar, sacrifices, and a feast to celebrate (Exodus 32:2–6).
The Lord tells Moses about this as they communicate on the mountain. God is furious at the Israelites' quick disobedience to His commands. To express this, God suggests He will destroy the entire nation and start over with Moses. This would be entirely within His power and His right as Creator. Yet, as Moses knows, this is not God's intent. He does not plan to wipe out Israel, and His words are understood for what they are. Moses explains why he knows this to be the case. In this, Moses is not trying to convince God; rather, he states the reasons for his faith in the Lord's plans. In response, God stops mentioning that consequence (Exodus 32:7–14).
Moses comes down from Sinai with two stone tablets (Exodus 24:12). Scripture does not describe their exact size or shape. Most likely, they were something reasonable for an eighty-year-old man to carry (Exodus 7:7). Joshua, who came as an assistant, hears noise from the Israelite camp. His first assumption is another enemy attack (Exodus 17:8–9). Moses recognizes it as worship. He sees the idol and Israelites dancing and singing around it. In rage, he smashes the stone tablets. Both symbolically and literally, the covenant has been broken (Exodus 32:15–19).
God's hatred for idols (Deuteronomy 27:15) needs a clear demonstration. Moses has the golden calf disintegrated. Burning would remove any wooden components, reducing them to ash. The gold can be ground into a fine powder. Moses throws the dusty remains of the idol into a brook flowing from Sinai (Deuteronomy 9:21). He makes the people drink this to represent their guilt in this incident. It's possible that this was part of a guilt-revealing ritual (Numbers 5:27–28) that factored into Moses' next actions (Exodus 32:20).
Moses confronts Aaron about his role in Israel's sin. He will be lucky to escape with his life (Deuteronomy 9:20). Moses' question is a combination of rhetoric and sharp sarcasm. In effect, he asks if Aaron is taking revenge on the people for some awful crime. How much does he hate them to watch them walk into this kind of sin? Aaron failed in his responsibilities as a leader. Aaron tries to excuse this mistake by pointing out how stubborn and insistent the people have been. Then he claims, absurdly, that he merely threw gold into the fire and it came out as an idol. This is much like a young child telling a parent, "it just happened!" (Exodus 32:21–24).
Ignoring this ridiculous claim, Moses returns his attention to the people. They are described using a phrase implying something out of control, violating boundaries, or running wild. This is humiliating. The nation has broken the commands of the God who just saved them from death (Exodus 12:40–41; 14:21–30). Israel recently celebrated how evil nations would fear their Lord (Exodus 15:14–16). Now, they embarrass themselves by ignoring His leadership (Proverbs 15:32; 29:18). The King James translation suggests the people were "naked." This has led to assumptions that the people were engaged in sexual sins as part of their idolatry, but nothing in the context supports this (Exodus 32:25).
Moses calls for men loyal to God. The tribe of Levi responds strongly, while the other tribes don't respond at all. Moses directs the Levites to move through the camp, executing their fellow men. Few details are given. It's possible they targeted ringleaders of the recent push for an idol. Perhaps the dusted water was used for some kind of guilt test. It's also possible that the killing resembled the "decimation" attributed to the Roman Empire. In that, mass guilt was punished by killing a set proportion of the offending group. In any case, Israel loses three thousand men because of their sin (Exodus 32:26–28).
This act sets the tribe of Levi apart from Israel. They have echoed the intense passion of their founder, who took brutal revenge on his sister's rapist (Genesis 34:1–2, 24–26). The tribe of Levi will be given special duties and restrictions (Numbers 1:49–53; 8:19, 26; Deuteronomy 14:27; Joshua 13:33) in their roles in the nation (Exodus 32:29).
Though there has been punishment, Moses still plans to ask God's forgiveness. He mirrors the Lord's prior rhetoric and asks to be condemned along with Israel. Some interpret this to mean Moses wishes eternal damnation. This seems very unlikely. More probable is that Moses does not want to be remembered in connection with wicked people. He would rather be left out of history (Exodus 17:14; Deuteronomy 29:20), and out of God's covenant (Exodus 32:30–32).
God's response is extremely important. The Lord only holds people accountable for their own sins. People may suffer from the natural consequences of another person's failures. But God only judges based on our individual thoughts and actions (Exodus 32:33).
The nation of Israel is ordered to leave Sinai. God will not be with them in the same way He was before (Exodus 33:3). In addition, the Lord promises some future penalty. The text notes a "plague" on the people but does not specify what it was or its outcome (Exodus 32:34–35).
In the next chapters, Moses meets with God in a tent outside the Israelite camp (Exodus 33). New stone tablets are made, and the Lord renews His covenant with the people (Exodus 34). The rest of the book of Exodus explains how the people made the tabernacle and its accessories. Their actions duplicate the instructions Moses received from God (Exodus 25—31).
