UST by section EXO 32:1

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The Book of Exodus 32

32 Moses stayed on top of the mountain for a long time. When the people saw that he was not returning, they went to Aaron and said to him, “Get up and make us gods who will lead us on our journey. We do not know what happened to that man Moses, who brought us here out of Egypt.”

2 Aaron replied, “Take your wives’ and your children’s gold earrings from them, and bring them to me.” 3 So the people took off all their own gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 After he received the gold, he melted it in a fire. He molded the softened gold and made a statue that looked like a young bull. The people saw it and said, “This is the Israelite god who rescued us from Egypt!”

5 When Aaron saw how the people reacted, he built an altar in front of the bull. Then he announced, “Tomorrow we will have a celebration to honor Yahweh!” 6 So early the next morning the people killed animals and burnt them as sacrifices on the altar. They also brought sacrifices to restore fellowship with others. Then they sat down to eat and to drink wine. Then they got up and partied.

7 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down from the mountain, because your people, the ones that you brought up here from Egypt, are acting perversely! 8 They have already stopped obeying my commands about how to live. From melted gold, they have made a statue that looks like a young bull. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They are saying, ‘This is the Israelite god who rescued us from Egypt!’” 9 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “I have been observing these people. Look at how obstinate they are. 10 Because of this, I am very angry with them, so I am going to destroy them. Do not try to stop me! Then I will cause you and your descendants to become a great nation.”

11 But Moses pleaded with his God, Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, please do not be angry with your people. These are the people whom you saved from Egypt with great power and mighty works! 12 If you destroy them the Egyptians will say that you had a wicked plan. They will say you led the Israelites out to the mountains to kill them and to remove them entirely from the earth. Stop being angry and relent from punishing your people. 13 Recall your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You solemnly promised them, ‘I will enable you to have as many descendants as the stars that are in the sky. I will give those descendants all this land that I am talking about. It will be their land forever.’” 14 So Yahweh relented. He did not punish his people as he had said he would do.

15 Then Moses turned around and went down the mountain. He was carrying in his hands the two stone slabs on which Yahweh had inscribed his commandments. He had inscribed on both sides of the slabs, both front and back. 16 As for the slabs, God had made them. As for the inscription, God had inscribed it. He had engraved on the slabs.

17 Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting. So he said to Moses, “There is a noise in the camp that sounds like the noise of a battle!”

18 But Moses said,

“That is not a victory shout;

or a defeated cry.

I hear singing!”

19 As soon as Moses came close to the camp and saw the statue of the bull and the people dancing, he became very angry. He flung the stone slabs down onto the ground at the base of the mountain, and they broke completely. 20 Then he took the statue of the bull that they had made and melted it in the fire. When it cooled, he ground it into fine powder. Then he threw the powder on top of the water and forced the Israelites to drink it.

21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you caused them to sin so much?”

22 Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, my lord. You know how likely these people are to do wicked things. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to lead us because we do not know what has happened to that Moses guy who brought us out of Egypt!’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Everyone who is wearing pieces of gold jewelry should take them off.’ So they took them off and gave them to me. I threw them into the fire, and out came this statue of a young bull!”

25 Moses saw that Aaron had allowed the people to act wildly, so that their enemies would laugh at them. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is loyal to Yahweh, come close to me!” All the men in the tribe of Levi gathered around him. 27 Then he said to them, “Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, commands that every one of you should fasten your sword to your side, and then go through the camp from this entrance to the other one and back again. Each one of you must kill the unfaithful men, even if they are your brother, your friend, or your neighbor.” 28 The men in the tribe of Levi did what Moses told them to do. They killed 3, 000 Israelite men that day. 29 Moses said to the men in the tribe of Levi, “Because each of you killed even your own son and brother, Yahweh has consecrated and blessed you today.”

30 The next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned very greatly. But I will now climb up the mountain again to talk with Yahweh. Perhaps I can persuade him to forgive you for sinning like this.” 31 So Moses went back up the mountain and said to Yahweh, “These people sinned very greatly when they made for themselves a gold idol and worshiped it! Please, 32 if you would, forgive them for their sin now. But if you will not forgive them, please erase my name from the book in which you have written your people’s names.”

33 But Yahweh said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will erase their names from that book. 34 Now, go lead the Israelites to the place I told you about! Watch for my angel going in front of you. However, sometime I will come and I will punish them for how they sinned.”

35 Later Yahweh caused the people to become sick because they had made Aaron make the bull idol.

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