Exodus 32:26-29

New Catholic Bible

²⁶ So he stood at the gate to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the sons of Levi gathered around him. ²⁷ He cried out to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each man strap a sword to his side. Then pass back and forth in the camp from one gate to another and slay your brother, your companion, and your neighbor.”

²⁸ The sons of Levi did as Moses had commanded them. On that day three thousand men from among the people perished. ²⁹ Moses then said, “Today you have consecrated yourself to the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son or his brother, that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”