Exodus 32:20–34

²⁰Then he took the calf that the people had made and melted it in the fire. He ground it into powder. Then he threw the powder into the water and forced the Israelites to drink it.

²¹Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”

²²Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. ²³The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us.’ ²⁴So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ When they gave me the gold, I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”

²⁵Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. Aaron had let them get out of control and become fools in front of their enemies. ²⁶So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.

²⁷Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’ ” ²⁸The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses, and that day about three thousand of the Israelites died. ²⁹Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers, and God has blessed you for this.”

³⁰The next day Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can do something so your sins will be removed.” ³¹So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terribly these people have sinned! They have made for themselves gods from gold. ³²Now, please forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”

³³But the Lord told Moses, “I will erase from my book the names of the people who sin against me. ³⁴So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you, and my angel will lead you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”