Exodus 32:23-25

Common English Bible

²³ They said to me, ‘Make us gods who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t have a clue what has happened to him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off!’ So they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this bull calf!”

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were out of control because Aaron had let them get out of control, making them an easy target for their enemies.