Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When the men^(A) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham^(B) what I am about to do?^{(C) 18} Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,^(D) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^{[a] 19} For I have chosen him^(E), so that he will direct his children^(F) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord^(G) by doing what is right and just,^(H) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^(I)

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom^(J) and Gomorrah is so great^(K) and their sin so grievous^{(L) 21} that I will go down^(M) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²² The men^(N) turned away and went toward Sodom,^(O) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[b](P) 23} Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?^{(Q) 24} What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?^{(R) 25} Far be it from you to do such a thing^(S)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous^(T) and the wicked alike.^(U) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge^(V) of all the earth do right?”^(W)

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.^(X)”

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,^{(Y) 28} what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(Z) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.^(AA) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,^(AB) I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord had finished speaking^(AC) with Abraham, he left,^(AD) and Abraham returned home.^(AE)

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)

² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings^(D) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ 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)

⁵ 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.” ⁶ 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)

⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,^(M) have become corrupt.^{(N) 8} 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)

⁹ “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:

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.