Exodus 32:30–33:6

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin.”

³¹So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, “These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves. ³²Now please forgive their sin. But if you won’t, then erase my name from the scroll you have written.”

³³The Lord replied to Moses, “I will erase from my scroll only the names of those who have sinned against me. ³⁴Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵The Lord struck the people with a plague. That’s because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

33Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Leave this place. You and the people you brought up out of Egypt must leave it. Go up to the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give it to your children after you.’ ²I will send an angel ahead of you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

³“Go up to the land that has plenty of milk and honey. But I will not go with you. You are stubborn. I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴When the people heard those painful words, they became sad and began to sob. No one put on any jewelry.

⁵The Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘You are stubborn. If I went with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.’ ” ⁶So the people took off their jewelry at Mount Horeb.