1
And the people saw that Mosheh delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people gathered themselves around Aharon and said to him, “Rise, make for us elohim who shall go before us, for this Mosheh, the ish who brought us up from the land of Mitzrayim, we do not know what has become of him.”
2
And Aharon said to them, “Break off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your women, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3
And all the people broke off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aharon.
4
And he took from their hand and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molten calf. And they said, “These are your elohim, Yisra’el, who brought you up from the land of Mitzrayim.”
5
And Aharon saw, and he built an altar before it. And Aharon proclaimed and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to Yahuah.”
6
And they rose early on the next day and offered ascending offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play.
7
And Yahuah spoke to Mosheh, “Go, descend, for your people whom you brought up from the land of Mitzrayim have corrupted themselves.
8
They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have bowed themselves to it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your elohim, Yisra’el, who brought you up from the land of Mitzrayim.’”
9
And Yahuah said to Mosheh, “I have seen this people, and see, it is a stiff-necked people.
10
And now, leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and I may consume them. And I will make from you a great nation.”
11
And Mosheh sought the face of Yahuah his Elohim and said, “Why, Yahuah, should Your anger burn against Your people whom You brought out from the land of Mitzrayim with great power and with a strong hand?
12
Why should the Mitzrim speak, saying, ‘For evil He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent concerning this evil against Your people.
13
Remember Avraham, Yitzchaq, and Yisra’el, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself and spoke to them: ‘Multiplying, I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it perpetually.’”
14
And Yahuah relented concerning the evil that He had spoken to do to His people.
15
And Mosheh turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand, tablets written on both their sides; on this side and on that side they were written.
16
And the tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was the writing of Elohim, engraved upon the tablets.
17
And Yehoshua heard the voice of the people in their shouting, and he said to Mosheh, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18
And he said, “It is not the sound of a cry of victory, and it is not the sound of a cry of defeat. The sound of singing I hear.”
19
And it came to pass, as he drew near to the camp and saw the calf and the dances, that the anger of Mosheh burned. And he cast the tablets from his hands and shattered them beneath the mountain.
20
And he took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it until it was fine, and scattered it upon the face of the water, and made the sons of Yisra’el drink it.
21
And Mosheh said to Aharon, “What did this people do to you, that you brought such great sin upon them?”
22
And Aharon said, “Do not let the anger of my master burn. You know the people, that they are set toward evil.
23
And they said to me, ‘Make for us elohim who shall go before us, for this Mosheh, the ish who brought us up from the land of Mitzrayim, we do not know what has become of him.’
24
And I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ And they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25
And Mosheh saw that the people were unrestrained, for Aharon had let them become unrestrained, to their shame among those who rose against them.
26
And Mosheh stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is for Yahuah, to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him.
27
And he said to them, “Thus says Yahuah, Elohim of Yisra’el: ‘Each ish place his sword upon his thigh. Pass through and return from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each ish kill his brother, and each ish his companion, and each ish his neighbor.’”
28
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Mosheh. And there fell from the people on that day about three thousand ish.
29
And Mosheh said, “Fill your hand today to Yahuah, for each ish was against his son and against his brother, so that He may place a blessing upon you this day.”
30
And it came to pass on the next day that Mosheh said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to Yahuah; perhaps I may make atonement for your sin.”
31
And Mosheh returned to Yahuah and said, “Please, this people has sinned a great sin and has made for themselves elohim of gold.
32
And now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, please erase me from Your sefer that You have written.”
33
And Yahuah said to Mosheh, “Whoever has sinned against Me, him I will erase from My sefer.
34
And now, go, lead the people to the place of which I spoke to you. See, My messenger shall go before you. But in the day of My visitation, I will visit their sin upon them.”
35
And Yahuah struck the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aharon had made.