Exodus 32

The people saw that Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Get up and make us gods who will go ahead of us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him."

1And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before 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.

Note"Make us gods who will go ahead of us" is a request for a visible image to be carried at the head of a march. Armies and traveling peoples in the ancient Near East regularly carried figures of their gods in front of the column. The Hebrew word here, *elohim*, is plural in form but is used both for "gods" and for the single God of Israel, so the demand can be read either as a call for new gods or as a call for a visible representation of the one they already followed; the Hebrew does not settle it.

2Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons, and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me."

2And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

NoteGold earrings were worn by men, women and children, and functioned as portable wealth as much as ornament, a family's savings, worn where they could not be left behind. Exodus 12:35-36 says the Israelites took gold and silver from their Egyptian neighbors as they left.

3So all the people took off the gold earrings they were wearing and brought them to Aaron.

3And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4He took the gold from their hands and shaped it with a carving tool, after he had made it into a calf of melted metal. And the people said, "Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

NoteThe Hebrew word is for a young bull, not a farm calf. Across Egypt and Canaan the bull stood for strength and fertility and was a standard image in worship; in Canaanite practice a god was often shown standing on a bull's back, so a bull figure could serve either as the god itself or as the pedestal a god was imagined to stand on. "Molten" means cast from melted metal, probably a wooden core overlaid with gold, which is how such figures were normally made.

5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement: "Tomorrow there will be a feast to the LORD."

5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.

NoteAn altar was a raised stone or earth platform on which animals and food were burned as gifts to a god. Where the King James prints LORD in capital letters, it is standing in for the personal name of Israel's God, four Hebrew letters usually written YHWH, which was not spoken aloud when the text was read. So the feast Aaron announces is named for that God, not openly for a different one.

6Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and drink, and they got up to play.

6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned whole, given entirely to the god. A peace offering (or fellowship offering) was an animal of which only part was burned; the rest was eaten by the worshipers in a shared meal, which is why eating and drinking follow. The word translated "play" covers laughing, dancing, sporting and joking, and elsewhere in Hebrew it can carry a sexual sense; the text leaves the nature of the revelry undefined.

7The LORD said to Moses, "Go on, get down there. Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have ruined themselves.

7And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

8They have turned aside quickly from the way I commanded them. They have made themselves a calf of melted metal, and they have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"

8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, 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.

9The LORD also said to Moses, "I have seen these people, and look, they are a stubborn people.

9And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

Note"Stiff-necked" is a farming image: an ox that sets its neck against the yoke or refuses the pull of the reins. It describes obstinacy, not pride.

10So now leave me alone, so that my anger may burn hot against them and I may destroy them. And I will make you into a great nation."

10Now 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 great nation.

Note"Let me alone" is an idiom meaning "stop holding me back." The phrasing assumes Moses is in a position to hold back, and Moses immediately does.

11But Moses begged the LORD his God and said, "LORD, why does your anger burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?

11And Moses besought the LORD 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 great power, and with a mighty hand?

12Why should the Egyptians be able to say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this harm you plan against your people.

12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, 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 fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

NoteIn older English "evil" often means harm or disaster rather than wickedness, and "repent" means to change course or think better of a plan, not to confess a fault. The Hebrew word behind it is used of a person turning from an intention, whether for better or worse.

13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants. You swore to them by your own self and said to them, 'I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky, and I will give all this land I have spoken of to your descendants, and they will have it forever.'"

13Remember Abraham, 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.

Note"Israel" here is the man Jacob, renamed Israel, not the nation. To swear "by your own self" was the strongest oath available: an oath was normally sworn by something greater than the speaker, and the text is saying that in this case there was nothing greater to name. "Seed" in the King James means descendants.

14So the LORD changed his mind about the harm he had said he would do to his people.

14And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; they were written on one side and on the other.

15And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables 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.

NoteThe "testimony" is the terms of the agreement between God and Israel, the written record of what was sworn to. Treaties in the ancient Near East were commonly inscribed on stone or metal, with a copy kept by each party, which is one reason two tablets are mentioned rather than one.

16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, carved into the tablets.

16And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."

17And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

NoteJoshua was Moses' personal attendant, who had gone partway up the mountain with him (Exodus 24:13) and so had heard nothing of what was happening below.

18But Moses said, "It is not the sound of people shouting because they have won, and it is not the sound of people crying because they have been beaten. What I hear is the sound of singing."

18And 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.

19As soon as Moses came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. His anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.

19And 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.

NoteBreaking the tablets was more than temper. In the ancient Near East, destroying the physical document of an agreement was a recognized way of declaring the agreement void.

20He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

20And 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 Israel drink of it.

NoteGrinding an image to powder was the standard way of destroying it beyond repair. Making the people drink it forced them to take back into themselves what they had made; it also resembles the ordeal in Numbers 5, where a person under suspicion drinks water mixed with dust and the outcome shows their guilt.

21Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you brought such a great sin on them?"

21And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

22Aaron said, "Do not let my lord's anger burn hot. You know these people, that they are set on evil.

22And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

Note"My lord" here is ordinary polite address from a subordinate to a superior, like "sir." Aaron is Moses' older brother, and the deference is notable.

23They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go ahead of us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'

23For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before 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.

24So I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, take it off.' They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."

24And 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.

25Moses saw that the people were out of control, because Aaron had let them get out of control, so that they became a disgrace in front of their enemies.

25And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

NoteThe King James "naked" is misleading. The Hebrew verb means let loose, unbridled, running wild, the same word used of hair left uncovered or a restraint removed. The picture is of a crowd out of hand, not of undress, though public disorder and shamelessness ran together in the idiom.

26Then Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side, let him come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

26Then Moses stood 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 Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

NoteLevi was one of the twelve tribes, and the tribe Moses and Aaron themselves belonged to. Its men would later be set apart to serve at the sanctuary. "The gate of the camp" is the entrance to the fenced or marked-off area where the people were pitched.

27He said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Every man is to strap his sword at his side. Go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and each man is to kill his brother, his companion, and his neighbor."

27And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God 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.

NoteA large camp had marked entrances at several points; "from gate to gate" means crossing the whole camp end to end. "Brother," "companion" and "neighbour" are a legal-sounding series meaning close kin, associates and fellow-residents alike: that is, without exemption for anyone close.

28The sons of Levi did what Moses said, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.

28And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

29For Moses had said, "Set yourselves apart today for the LORD, each man against his own son and against his own brother, so that he may give you a blessing today."

29For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

Note"Consecrate yourselves" translates a Hebrew idiom that reads literally "fill your hands." It was the standard phrase for installing someone as a priest, and it is used throughout Exodus and Leviticus for the ordination ceremony. The Hebrew of this verse is difficult and can also be read as a statement ("today you have filled your hands"), rather than a command.

30The next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."

30And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

Note"Atonement" translates a Hebrew word whose root sense is to cover over or wipe away, and which is also used of a payment made to settle a wrong and turn aside the anger of the injured party. "Peradventure" in the King James means perhaps; Moses is not saying he can do it.

31So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have sinned a great sin. They have made themselves gods of gold.

31And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32And now, if you will forgive their sin, but if you will not, then please blot me out of the book you have written."

32Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

NoteA king or a city kept a written register of its living citizens, and a name was struck out when the person died or was expelled. "Blot me out of your book" draws on that: it is asking to be removed from the list of the living, or from the people. The sentence is broken off in the Hebrew as well: "if you will forgive their sin…" with no ending, a way of leaving the unbearable alternative unsaid.

33The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, that is the one I will blot out of my book.

33And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34So now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look, my Angel will go ahead of you. But on the day when I come to settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin."

34Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

Note"Angel" translates a word that simply means messenger, one sent to act for the sender. "In the day when I visit" uses "visit" in its older legal sense of coming to inspect and settle accounts, whether to reward or to punish.

35And the LORD struck the people with a plague because they made the calf, the one Aaron made.

35And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

Note"Plagued" means struck with a blow or an outbreak of disease. It is the same family of words used for the blows that fell on Egypt earlier in the book.