Exodus 32:30–33:6

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will again go up the mountain to the Lord; perhaps I can obtain forgiveness for your sin.” ³¹Moses then returned to the Lord and said, “These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold and worshipped it. ^32*Please forgive their sin; but if you won’t, then remove my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”

³³The Lord answered, “It is those who have sinned against me whose names I will remove from my book. ³⁴Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Remember that my angel will guide you, but the time is coming when I will punish these people for their sin.”

³⁵So the Lord sent a disease on the people, because they had caused Aaron to make the gold bull calf.

The Orders Israel to Leave Mount Sinai

33^*The Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought out of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants. ²I will send an angel to guide you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ³You are going to a rich and fertile land. But I will not go with you myself, because you are a stubborn people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴When the people heard this, they began to mourn and did not wear jewellery any more. ⁵For the Lord had commanded Moses to say to them, “You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would completely destroy you. Now take off your jewellery, and I will decide what to do with you.” ⁶So after they left Mount Sinai, the people of Israel no longer wore jewellery.