Exodus 31:1-32:14

New King James Version

Artisans for Building the Tabernacle^(A)

31 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^2 (B)“See, I have called by name Bezalel the ^(C)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ And I have ^(D)filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴ to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, ⁵ in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

⁶ “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him ^(E)Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the ^(F)gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ^7 (G)the tabernacle of meeting, ^(H)the ark of the Testimony and ^(I)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— ^8 (J)the table and its utensils, ^(K)the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, ^9 (L)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and ^(M)the laver and its base— ^10 (N)the ^[a]garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, ^11 (O)and the anointing oil and ^(P)sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

The Sabbath Law

¹² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ^(Q)‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who ^(R)sanctifies^[b] you. ^14 (S)You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who ^[c]profanes it shall surely be put to death; for ^(T)whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Work shall be done for ^(U)six days, but the ^(V)seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is ^(W)a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for ^(X)in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

¹⁸ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses ^(Y)two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The Gold Calf^(Z)

32 Now when the people saw that Moses ^(AA)delayed coming down from the mountain, the people ^(AB)gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, ^(AC)“Come, make us ^[d]gods that shall ^(AD)go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who ^(AE)brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

² And Aaron said to them, “Break off the ^(AF)golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ^4 (AG)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that ^(AH)brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a ^(AI)proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people ^(AJ)sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AK)“Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt ^(AL)have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which ^(AM)I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ^(AN)‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AO)“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a ^[e]stiff-necked people! ¹⁰ Now therefore, ^(AP)let Me alone, that ^(AQ)My wrath may burn hot against them and I may ^[f]consume them. And ^(AR)I will make of you a great nation.”

^11 (AS)Then Moses pleaded with ^[g]the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ^12 (AT)Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and ^(AU)relent from this harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You ^(AV)swore by Your own self, and said to them, ^(AW)‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” ¹⁴ So the Lord ^(AX)relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.