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2Aaron told them, " Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing." 3Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, 4then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull.
All the people said to one another, " This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!"
5When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, " Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the LORD." 6The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.
7The LORD said to Moses:
Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. 8They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. 9Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, 10and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.
11Moses tried to get the LORD God to change his mind:
Our LORD, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. 12If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them!
13Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.
14So even though the LORD had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.
15-16Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, and he had used both sides of the stones.
17When Joshua heard the noisy shouts of the people, he said to Moses, " A battle must be going on down in the camp."
18But Moses replied, " It doesn't sound like they are shouting because they have won or lost a battle. They are singing wildly!"
19As Moses got closer to the camp, he saw the idol, and he also saw the people dancing around. This made him so angry that he threw down the stones and broke them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20He melted the idol the people had made, and he ground it into powder. He scattered it in their water and made them drink it. 21Moses asked Aaron, " What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?"
22Aaron answered:
Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil. 23They even told me, " That man Moses led us out of Egypt, but now we don't know what has happened to him. Make us a god to lead us." 24Then I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and gave them to me. I threw the gold into a fire, and out came this bull.
25Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron's fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies. 26So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, " Everyone who is on the LORD's side come over here!"
Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses, 27and he said to them, " The LORD God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbors."
28The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about three thousand men. 29Moses said to them, " You obeyed the LORD and did what was right, and so you will serve as his priests for the people of Israel. It was hard for you to kill your own sons and brothers, but the LORD has blessed you and made you his priests today."
30The next day Moses told the people, " This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the LORD to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you."
31Moses returned to the LORD and said, " The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god. 32But I beg you to forgive them. If you don't, please wipe my name out of your book." 33The LORD replied, " I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me. 34Now take my people to the place I told you about, and my angel will lead you. But when the time comes, I will punish them for this sin."
35So the LORD punished the people of Israel with a terrible disease for talking Aaron into making the gold idol.
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You led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Now get ready to lead them to the land I promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 2-3It is a land rich with milk and honey, and I will send an angel to force out those people who live there--the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I would go with my people, but they are so rebellious that I would destroy them before they get there.
4-5Even before the LORD said these harsh things, he had told Moses, " These people really are rebellious, and I would kill them at once, if I went with them. But tell them to take off their fancy jewelry, then I'll decide what to do with them." So the people started mourning, 6and after leaving Mount Sinai, they stopped wearing fancy jewelry.
14The LORD said, " I will go with you and give you peace."
15Then Moses replied, " If you aren't going with us, please don't make us leave this place. 16But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me. That way, we will be different from the rest of the people on earth."
17So the LORD told him, " I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you."
18Then Moses said, " I pray that you will let me see you in all of your glory."
19The LORD answered:
All right. I am the LORD, and I show mercy and kindness to anyone I choose. I will let you see my glory and hear my holy name, 20but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die. 21There is a rock not far from me. Stand beside it, 22and before I pass by in all of my shining glory, I will put you in a large crack in the rock. I will cover your eyes with my hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back. You will not see my face.
5The LORD God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, " the LORD." 6Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, " I am the LORD God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. 7I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren." 8Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the LORD. 9He prayed, " LORD, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people."
I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. 11I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. 12Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. 13Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah. 14I demand your complete loyalty--you must not worship any other god! 15Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshiping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. 16Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods. 17Don't make metal images of gods.
18Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib. Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt. 19The first-born males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.
20You can save the life of a first-born donkey by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son. Bring an offering every time you come to worship.
21Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting. 22Celebrate the Harvest Festival each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters each autumn when you pick your fruit. 23Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the LORD God of Israel. 24I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.
25When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.
26I am the LORD your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
27The LORD told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. 28Moses stayed on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.
33The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. 34Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the LORD. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the LORD had told him to say. 35They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the LORD.