1
And when the peoplesaw that Mosesdelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall gobefore us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2
And Aaronsaid unto them, Break off the goldenearrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
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And all the people brake off the goldenearrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
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And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a moltencalf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
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And when Aaronsaw it, he built an altarbefore it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
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And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the peoplesat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
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And the LORDsaid unto Moses,Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
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They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a moltencalf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9
And the LORDsaid unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked*people:
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Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a greatnation.
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And Mosesbesought* the LORD[a] his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with greatpower, and with a mightyhand?
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Wherefore should the Egyptiansspeak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?Turn from thy fiercewrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
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RememberAbraham,Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14
And the LORDrepented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
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And Mosesturned, and went down from the mount, and the twotables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
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And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God,graven upon the tables.
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And when Joshuaheard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
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And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
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And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses'anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
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And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israeldrink of it.
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And Mosessaid unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
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And Aaronsaid, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
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For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall gobefore us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
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And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
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And when Mosessaw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
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Then Mosesstood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levigathered themselves together unto him.
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And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORDGod of Israel,Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
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And the children of Levidid according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about threethousandmen.
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For Moses[b] had said, Consecrate yourselves* to day to the LORD,even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.