Exodus 32:1–14

The Golden Calf

¹Then the people saw that Moses ^adelayed to come down from the mountain. So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Arise, ^bmake us ¹gods who will go before us; as for ^cthis Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

²And Aaron said to them, “^aTear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

³Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

⁴And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a ^amolten calf; and they said, “¹These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

⁵And Aaron looked and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”

⁶So the next day they rose early and ^aoffered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and ^bthe people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up ^cto play.

⁷Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go! Go down at once, for your people, whom ^ayou brought up from the land of Egypt, have ^bcorrupted themselves.

⁸“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. ^aThey have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshiped it and ^bhave sacrificed to it and said, ‘^1cThese are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

^9aAnd Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are ^ba stiff-necked people.

¹⁰“Now then ^alet Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may consume them; and ^bI will make you a great nation.”

¹¹Then ^aMoses entreated ¹the favor of Yahweh his God and said, “O Yahweh, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?

¹²“Why should ^athe Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent concerning doing harm to Your people.

¹³“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You ^aswore by Yourself, and You said to them, ‘I will ^bmultiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and ^call this land of which I have spoken I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

^14aSo Yahweh relented concerning the harm which He said He would do to His people.