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Exodus 32:7-32
New American Standard Bible
Exodus 32:7-32
New American Standard Bible
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go [a]down at once, for your people, whom (A)you brought up from the land of Egypt, have (B)behaved corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. (C)They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and (D)have sacrificed to it and said, ‘[b](E)This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 (F)Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are [c](G)an obstinate people. 10 So now (H)leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and (I)I will make of you a great nation.”
Moses’ Plea
11 Then (J)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? 12 Why should (K)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. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You (L)swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will (M)multiply your [d]descendants as the stars of the heavens, and (N)all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your [e]descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 (O)So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 (P)Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, (Q)tablets which were written on both [f]sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people [g]as they shouted, 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 victory,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But I hear the sound of singing.”
Moses’ Anger
19 And it came about, as soon as [h]Moses approached the camp, that (R)he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and (S)he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces [i]at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then (T)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.
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, (U)that they are [j]prone to evil. 23 For (V)they said to me, ‘Make [k]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.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and (W)I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were [l]out of control—for Aaron had (X)let them [m]get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among [n]their enemies— 26 Moses 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. 27 And 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 [o]neighbor.’” 28 So (Y)the sons of Levi did [p]as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “[q]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.”
30 And on the next day Moses said to the people, “(Z)You yourselves have [r]committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can (AA)make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has [s]committed a great sin, and they have made a (AB)god of gold for themselves! 32 But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your (AC)book which You have written!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 32:7 Lit go down
- Exodus 32:8 Or These are your gods
- Exodus 32:9 Or a stiff-necked
- Exodus 32:13 Lit seed
- Exodus 32:13 Lit seed
- 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 gods
- 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 32:28 Lit according to Moses’ word
- Exodus 32:29 Lit Fill your hand
- Exodus 32:30 Lit sinned
- Exodus 32:31 Lit sinned
Exodus 32:7-32
New International Version
Exodus 32:7-32
New International Version
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,(A) have become corrupt.(B) 8 They have been quick to turn away(C) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol(D) cast in the shape of a calf.(E) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed(F) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’(G)
9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked(H) people. 10 Now leave me alone(I) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy(J) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”(K)
11 But Moses sought the favor(L) 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?(M) 12 Why 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’?(N) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster(O) on your people. 13 Remember(P) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:(Q) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars(R) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land(S) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented(T) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law(U) in his hands.(V) They were inscribed(W) on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(X)
17 When Joshua(Y) heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf(Z) and the dancing,(AA) his anger burned(AB) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces(AC) at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned(AD) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,(AE) scattered it on the water(AF) and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry,(AG) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.(AH) 23 They 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.’(AI) 24 So 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!”(AJ)
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock(AK) to their enemies. 26 So 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.
27 Then 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.’”(AL) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then 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.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin.(AM) But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement(AN) for your sin.”
31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!(AO) They have made themselves gods of gold.(AP) 32 But now, please forgive their sin(AQ)—but if not, then blot me(AR) out of the book(AS) you have written.”
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