THE SECOND BOOK OF
MOSES,
called
E X O D U S
Exodus 32 ©
The people cause Aaron to make a golden calf, vs. 1, etc. Unto which they offer sacrifice, 6. God makes this known to Moses, and threatens to destroy them, 7. Moses prays for them, 11. And persuades God to have mercy on them, 14. Moses comes down from the mount with the two tables of stone, 15. Which he breaks in pieces, hearing and seeing the idolatry of the people, 19. He burns the calf into powder, 20. How Aaron excuses himself, 22. Moses causes many of those who had committed this idolatry to be put to death by the Levites, 25. Moses prays to the LORD, either to pardon Israel this sin, or to blot him out of His book, 32. God spares the people for the present, but punishes them afterwards, 34.
AND when 1the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together 2unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, makea us 3gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wotb not what is become of him.
And Aaron said unto them, 4Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
And he received them at their hand, and fashioned 5it with 6a graving tool, after 7he had made it a molten 8calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And when Aaron 9saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the 10LORD.
And they rose up early on the morrow, and 11offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and thec people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up 12to play.
¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for 13thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, 14haved corrupted themselves:
They have turned aside 15quickly out of the way which I commanded them: 16they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and 17have sacrificed thereunto, and said, Theseebe thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, itfis 18a stiffnecked people:
Now therefore 19let 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.
And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, whichg thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For 20mischiefh did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face 21of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and 22repent of this evil against thy people.
23Rememberi Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest 24by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed 25as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have 26spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
27And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
¶And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables 28of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; 29on the one side and on the other were they written.
And thej tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
And when 30Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
And 31he said, 32It 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.
¶And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and 33the dancing:k and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and 34brake them beneath the mount.
And hel took the calf which they had made, and 35burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawedmit upon the water, and 36made the children of Israel drink of it.
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, thatn they are set on mischief.
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.
And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they 37gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, 38and there came out this calf.
¶And when Moses saw that the people were 39naked; (for 40Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Then Moses stood 41in the gate of the camp, and said, 42Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And 43all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD 44God 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 45his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and 46there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
47For Moses had said, 48Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that 49he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
¶And it came to pass 50on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
51And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them 52gods of gold.
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—;53 and if not, 54blot me, I pray thee, out of 55thy book which thou hast written.
And the LORD said unto Moses, 56Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Therefore now go, lead the people 57unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, 58mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will 59visit 60their sin upon them.
And the LORD 61plagued the people, 62because they made the calf, which Aaron made.