¹When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “We don’t know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. Make gods who will lead us.”

²Aaron said to them, “Have your wives, sons, and daughters take off the gold earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me.”

³So all the people took off their gold earrings and handed them to Aaron. ⁴After he had worked on the gold with a tool,he made it into a statue of a calf.

Then they said, “Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.”

⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival in the Lord’s honor.”

⁶Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Afterward, they sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy.

⁷The Lord said to Moses, “Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined ⸤everything⸥. ⁸They’ve already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They’ve made a statue of a calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They’ve said, ‘Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

⁹The Lord added, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with. ¹⁰Now leave me alone. I’m so angry with them I am going to destroy them. Then I’ll make you into a great nation.”

¹¹But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand? ¹²Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out ⸤of our land⸥.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people. ¹³Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’ ”

¹⁴So the Lord reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.

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