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The Gold Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was staying a long time before coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron, and said, “Come, make a god for us who will go in front of us. For we do not know what has become of Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt.” Aaron said to them, “Take the objects of gold from the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took the gold objects from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands, worked on it with a sharp tool, and by melting it, made it into a calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it. Aaron said to all the people, “Tomorrow will be a special supper to the Lord.” So the next day they got up early and gave burnt gifts and peace gifts. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down. For your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have turned to sin. They have been quick to turn aside from the way I have told them. They have melted gold and made a calf for themselves. They have worshiped it, have given gifts to it, and have said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and see, they are a strong-willed people. 10 Now let Me alone, so My anger may be against them and I may destroy them. But I will make you into a great nation.”

11 Then Moses begged the Lord his God, saying, “O Lord, why are you very angry against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth’? Turn from Your anger and change Your mind about destroying Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, who were your servants. You promised them by Yourself, saying, ‘I will make your children become as many as the stars of the heavens. And I will give all this land I have spoken about to your children. It will be theirs forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed His mind about the things He said He would do to His people.

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two stone writings of the Law in his hand. The stones were written on both sides, on one side and the other. 16 The stone writings were God’s work. The writing was God’s writing cut into the stones. 17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they made noise, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war at the tents.” 18 But Moses said, “It is not the sound of winning, or the sound of losing. It is the sound of singing I hear.” 19 As soon as Moses came near the tents, he saw the calf and the dancing. Moses became very angry. He threw the stone writings from his hands and broke them at the base of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it with fire, ground it to dust, spread it over the top of the water, and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you to make you bring such great sin upon them?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know the people yourself and how sinful they are.

23 They said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go in front of us. For we do not know what has become of Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt.’ 24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off.’ So they gave it to me. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.”

25 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people go wild and become a shame to those who hated them. 26 So Moses stood in the gate of the place where they had set up their tents and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi came together around him. 27 He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh. And go from one end of the tents to the other, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” 28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses said. About 3,000 men fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you have set yourselves apart for the Lord. For each man has been against his son and against his brother, so the Lord may bring good to you today.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned. Now I am going up to the Lord. It might be that I can have your sin forgiven.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O, this people have sinned. They have made a god of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if You will, forgive their sin. If not, then take my name out of Your book which You have written.” 33 The Lord said to Moses, “I will put out of My book whoever has sinned against Me. 34 But go now. Lead the people where I told you. See, My angel will go before you. But in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 Then the Lord sent trouble upon the people, because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

Israel Leaves Mount Sinai

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Go away from this place, you and the people you have brought out of the land of Egypt. Go to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your children.’ I will send an angel before you. And I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a strong-willed people and I might destroy you on the way.” When the people heard this bad news, they were filled with sorrow. None of them wore his objects of gold or silver. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a strong-willed people. If I go with you even for just a little time, I would destroy you. So take off your objects of gold and silver that I may know what to do with you.’” So the people of Israel took off all their objects of gold and silver at Mount Horeb.

Moses Meets with the Lord

Now Moses used to take the tent and set it up far away from the other tents. He called it the meeting tent. Anyone who wanted to meet with the Lord would go away from the other tents to the meeting tent. When Moses went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand at the doors of their tents. And they would watch Moses until he went into the meeting tent. Whenever Moses went into the meeting tent, the cloud would come down and stand at the door of the tent. And the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the cloud standing at the door of the meeting tent, they would stand up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the other tents, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not leave the meeting tent.

God’s Promise to Be with His People

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people!’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You said, ‘I have known you by name. You have found favor in My eyes.’ 13 So I pray to You, if I have found favor in Your eyes, let me know Your ways. Then I may know You and find favor in Your eyes. And keep in mind that this nation is Your people.” 14 The Lord said, “I Myself will go with you. I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to Him, “If You Yourself do not go with us, do not have us leave this place. 16 For how will it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your eyes, unless You go with us? Then I and Your people will be different from all the other people on the earth.”

17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you have said. For you have found favor in My eyes, and I have known you by name.” 18 Moses said, “I pray to You, show me Your shining-greatness!” 19 And God said, “I will have My goodness pass in front of you. I will make the name of the Lord known in front of you. I will have loving-kindness and loving-pity for anyone I want to.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face. For no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord said, “See, there is a place beside Me. You stand there on the rock. 22 While My shining-greatness is passing by, I will put you in the large crack of the rock. And I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back. But My face will not be seen.”

Moses Makes New Pieces of Stone

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two pieces of stone like the first ones. And I will write on the stones the words that were on the first stones which you broke. So be ready in the morning. Come up in the morning to Mount Sinai. And stand before Me on the top of the mountain. No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen on the whole mountain. Even the sheep and the cattle may not eat in front of the mountain.” So Moses cut two pieces of stone like the first ones. Then he got up early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord told him. And he took the two pieces of stone in his hand. The Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him, saying, “The Lord, the Lord God, with loving-pity and loving-favor, slow to anger, filled with loving-kindness and truth, keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving wrong-doing and sin. But He will not let the guilty go without being punished. He brings the sin of fathers down upon the children, even the great-grandchildren.” Moses was quick to put his face to the ground and worship. And Moses said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in Your eyes, I pray, let the Lord go with us, even if the people are strong-willed. Forgive our wrong-doing and our sin. And take us for Your own.”

The Agreement Made Alive Again

10 Then God said, “See, I am going to make an agreement. I will do powerful works in front of all your people which have never been done on earth among any nation. All the people with whom you live will see the work of the Lord. For what I am going to do with you will fill people with fear. 11 Be sure to do what I am telling you this day. See, I am going to drive out of your way the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Take care to make no agreement with the people of the land where you are going. It would be a trap to you. 13 Instead you are to tear down their altars, break their objects of worship, and cut down their false gods. 14 For you must not worship any other god. For the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 So do not make an agreement with the people of the land. Or when they follow their desire with their gods and give gifts to their gods, they would ask you to eat of their gift used in worship. 16 And you would marry your sons to their daughters who follow their gods. And they would lead your sons to follow their gods also. 17 Do not make any gods for yourself.

18 “Keep the special supper of bread without yeast. Eat bread without yeast for seven days as I told you, at the time set aside for it in the month of Abib. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib. 19 Every first-born belongs to Me, and all your male animals, the first-born from cattle and sheep. 20 But the life of a first-born donkey should be paid for with the blood of a lamb. If you do not pay for its life, you should break its neck. Pay for the life of all your first-born sons with the blood of a lamb. No one is to come before Me without a gift.

21 “Work six days, but rest on the seventh day. Rest even during plowing time and gathering time. 22 Have the special supper of weeks at the first gathering of grain. Have the special supper of gathering time at the end of the year. 23 Three times a year all your males are to come before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive nations out of your way and give you more land. No man will desire to have your land when you go to show yourselves before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not give the blood of My gift together with bread made with yeast. Do not leave any of the gift of the special supper of the Passover until morning. 26 Bring the first of the first-fruits of your ground into the house of the Lord your God. Do not boil the meat of a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write these words. For by these words I have made an agreement with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the stones the words of the agreement, the Ten Great Laws.

Moses Goes Down from Mount Sinai

29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two stone writings in his hand. He did not know that the skin of his face was shining because of his speaking with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they saw that the skin of his face was shining. They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to him. And Moses spoke to them. 32 After this all the people of Israel came near. Moses told them to do all the Lord had said to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a piece of cloth. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the face covering until he came out. Then he would tell the people of Israel what the Lord had said for them to do. 35 The people of Israel saw that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would put the covering over his face again until he went in to speak with the Lord.

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,(A) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before(B) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”(C)

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings(D) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol(E) cast in the shape of a calf,(F) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b](G) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”(H)

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival(I) to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.(J) Afterward they sat down to eat and drink(K) and got up to indulge in revelry.(L)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,(M) have become corrupt.(N) They have been quick to turn away(O) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol(P) cast in the shape of a calf.(Q) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed(R) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’(S)

“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked(T) people. 10 Now leave me alone(U) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy(V) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”(W)

11 But Moses sought the favor(X) 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?(Y) 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’?(Z) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster(AA) on your people. 13 Remember(AB) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:(AC) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars(AD) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land(AE) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented(AF) 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(AG) in his hands.(AH) They were inscribed(AI) 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.(AJ)

17 When Joshua(AK) 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(AL) and the dancing,(AM) his anger burned(AN) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces(AO) at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned(AP) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,(AQ) scattered it on the water(AR) 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,(AS) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.(AT) 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.’(AU) 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!”(AV)

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock(AW) 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.’”(AX) 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.(AY) But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement(AZ) for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!(BA) They have made themselves gods of gold.(BB) 32 But now, please forgive their sin(BC)—but if not, then blot me(BD) out of the book(BE) you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out(BF) of my book. 34 Now go, lead(BG) the people to the place(BH) I spoke of, and my angel(BI) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,(BJ) I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf(BK) Aaron had made.

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath(BL) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’(BM) I will send an angel(BN) before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(BO) Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.(BP) But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked(BQ) people and I might destroy(BR) you on the way.”

When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn(BS) and no one put on any ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people.(BT) If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy(BU) you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.(BV)

The Tent of Meeting

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”(BW) Anyone inquiring(BX) of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,(BY) watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud(BZ) would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke(CA) with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.(CB) 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,(CC) as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua(CD) son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’(CE) but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name(CF) and you have found favor(CG) with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways(CH) so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”(CI)

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence(CJ) will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(CK)

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence(CL) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?(CM) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”(CN)

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,(CO) because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”(CP)

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”(CQ)

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass(CR) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,(CS) the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.(CT) 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see(CU) me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock(CV) and cover you with my hand(CW) until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,(CX) and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,(CY) which you broke.(CZ) Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.(DA) Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain;(DB) not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

So Moses chiseled(DC) out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.(DD) Then the Lord came down in the cloud(DE) and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord.(DF) And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate(DG) and gracious God, slow to anger,(DH) abounding in love(DI) and faithfulness,(DJ) maintaining love to thousands,(DK) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.(DL) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;(DM) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”(DN)

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor(DO) in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.(DP) Although this is a stiff-necked(DQ) people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,(DR) and take us as your inheritance.”(DS)

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant(DT) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders(DU) never before done in any nation in all the world.(DV) The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command(DW) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(DX) 12 Be careful not to make a treaty(DY) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare(DZ) among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[c](EA) 14 Do not worship any other god,(EB) for the Lord, whose name(EC) is Jealous, is a jealous God.(ED)

15 “Be careful not to make a treaty(EE) with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute(EF) themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.(EG) 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives(EH) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,(EI) they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 “Do not make any idols.(EJ)

18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.(EK) For seven days eat bread made without yeast,(EL) as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(EM) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 “The first offspring(EN) of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(EO) Redeem all your firstborn sons.(EP)

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(EQ)

21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest;(ER) even during the plowing season and harvest(ES) you must rest.

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits(ET) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering(EU) at the turn of the year.[d] 23 Three times(EV) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations(EW) before you and enlarge your territory,(EX) and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast,(EY) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.(EZ)

26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(FA) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”(FB)

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(FC) down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant(FD) with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights(FE) without eating bread or drinking water.(FF) And he wrote on the tablets(FG) the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.(FH)

The Radiant Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai(FI) with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands,(FJ) he was not aware that his face was radiant(FK) because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community(FL) came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands(FM) the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil(FN) over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant.(FO) Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 32:1 Or a god; also in verses 23 and 31
  2. Exodus 32:4 Or This is your god; also in verse 8
  3. Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  4. Exodus 34:22 That is, in the autumn

32 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

30 And it came to pass on 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.

31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34 Therefore 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.

35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.

10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.

32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

34 But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.