Exodus 32:19–33:15

Moses’ Anger

19 It came about, as soon as 1Moses came near the camp, that ahe saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and bhe threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them 2at the foot of the mountain.

20 aHe took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?”

22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, athat they are 1prone to evil.

23 “For athey said to me, ‘Make 1a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

24 “I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and aI threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were 1out of control—for Aaron had alet them 2get out of control to be a derision among 3their enemies—

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

27 He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his 1neighbor.’ ”

28 So athe sons of Levi did 1as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said, “1Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “aYou yourselves have 1committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can bmake atonement for your sin.”

31 Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has 1committed a great sin, and they have made 2a agod of gold for themselves.

32 “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your abook which You have written!”

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, aI will blot him out of My book.

34 “But go now, lead the people awhere I told you. Behold, bMy angel shall go before you; nevertheless cin the day when I 1punish, dI will 2punish them for their sin.”

35 aThen the Lord smote the people, because of bwhat they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Chapter 33

The Journey Resumed

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which aI swore to Abraham, bIsaac, and cJacob, saying, ‘dTo your 1descendants I will give it.’

2 “I will send aan angel before you and bI will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.

3 “Go up to a land aflowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are 1ban obstinate people, and cI might destroy you on the way.”

4 When the people heard this 1sad word, athey went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments.

5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are 1aan obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.’ ”

6 So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take athe tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And beveryone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

8 And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent.

9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, athe pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; band 1the Lord would speak with Moses.

10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.

11 Thus athe Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When 1Moses returned to the camp, bhis servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘aBring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know bwhom You will send with me. cMoreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’

13 “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, alet me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. bConsider too, that this nation is Your people.”

14 And He said, “aMy presence shall go with you, and bI will give you rest.”

15 Then he said to Him, “aIf Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.