¹⁸ Even ^(A)when they had made for themselves a golden^[a] calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ ^(B)and had committed great blasphemies,

^4 (A)And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden^[a] calf. And they said, ^(B)“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron ^(C)made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And ^(D)the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up ^(E)to play.

⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(F)“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have ^(G)corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way that ^(H)I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”

⁷ And I said to them, ^(A)‘Cast away the detestable things ^(B)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^(C)the idols of Egypt; ^(D)I am the Lord your God.’ ^8 (E)But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^(F)None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^(G)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ^9 (H)But I acted ^(I)for the sake of my name, ^(J)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^(K)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ^10 (L)So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^11 (M)I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^(N)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them ^(O)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^(P)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ^13 (Q)But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^(R)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^(S)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^(T)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^(U)in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(V)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(W)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^(X)flowing with milk and honey, ^(Y)the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^(Z)for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, ^(AA)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^(AB)make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to ^(AC)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ^(AD)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(AE)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (AF)I am the Lord your God; ^(AG)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰ and ^(AH)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(AI)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ^21 (AJ)But the children ^(AK)rebelled against me. ^(AL)They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^(AM)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ^22 (AN)But I withheld my hand ^(AO)and acted for the sake of my name, ^(AP)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ^23 (AQ)Moreover, ^(AR)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(AS)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^(AT)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. ^25 (AU)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, ²⁶ and I defiled them through ^(AV)their very gifts ^(AW)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^(AX)that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷ “Therefore, ^(AY)son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^(AZ)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land that ^(BA)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(BB)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(BC)the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ (I said to them, ^(BD)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah^[a] to this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BE)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^(BF)whoring after their detestable things? ³¹ When you present your gifts and ^(BG)offer up your children in fire,^[b] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^(BH)shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^(BI)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

^32 (BJ)“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^(BK)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^(BL)and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

^33 (BM)“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(BN)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(BO)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ^34 (BP)I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. ^35 (BQ)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(BR)and there I will enter into judgment with you ^(BS)face to face. ^36 (BT)As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you ^(BU)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^38 (BV)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(BW)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(BX)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(BY)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^(BZ)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^(CA)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

^40 (CB)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^(CC)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^(CD)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹ As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^(CE)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^(CF)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ^42 (CG)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^(CH)I swore to give to your fathers. ^43 (CI)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^(CJ)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(CK)when I deal with you for my name's sake, ^(CL)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

¹² Then the Lord said to me, ^(A)‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have ^(B)turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

The Golden Calf

^13 (C)“Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is ^(D)a stubborn people. ^14 (E)Let me alone, that I may destroy them and ^(F)blot out their name from under heaven. And ^(G)I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ ^15 (H)So I turned and came down from the mountain, and ^(I)the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶ And ^(J)I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden^[a] calf. ^(K)You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.

³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, ^(A)this people has sinned a great sin. They have ^(B)made for themselves gods of gold. ³² But now, if ^(C)you will forgive their sin—but if not, please ^(D)blot me out of ^(E)your book that you have written.”