The Golden Calf

1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us [a]a god who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Then he took the gold from their [b]hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, “[c]This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they got up early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.

7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go [d]down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. 8They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘[e]This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9Then the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are [f]an obstinate people. 10So now leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Plea

11Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your [g]descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your [h]descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14So the LORD relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both [i]sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people [j]as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18But he said,

“It is not the sound of the cry of victory,

Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;

But I hear the sound of singing.”

Moses’ Anger