Shamuth (Exodus) — 32

The Gold Calf

1 Now when the people saw that Musha delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aarun and said to him, “Come, make us idols that shall go before us; for as for this Musha, the man who brought us up out of the land of Mitzraym, we do not know what has become of him.”

2 And Aarun said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.” 

3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aarun. 

4 And Aarun received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your idol~Deity, O Yashar'AL, that brought you out of the land of Mitzraym!”

5 So when Aarun saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aarun made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast.” 

6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings and brought Shalum offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

7 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Dabar to Musha, “Go down from the mountain! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Mitzraym have corrupted themselves. 

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf and worshiped it and they sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your idol, O Yashar'AL, that brought you out of the land of Mitzraym!’ ” 

9 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Dabar to Musha, “I have seen this people and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 

10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and I will make of you a great nation.

11 Then Musha pleaded with   𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  his 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH and said, Oh 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Mitzraym with great power and with a mighty hand? 

12 Why should the Mitzraym speak and say, ‘𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the Arath’? Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent from destroying Your people. 

13 Remember Abraham, Yachaq, and Yashar'AL your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of Shamaym; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 

14 So 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15 And Musha turned and went down from the mountain and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 

16 Now the tablets were the work of 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH and the writing was the writing of 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH engraved on the tablets.

17 And when Yahusha Ba'Nun heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Musha, There is a noise of war in the camp.”

18 But Musha said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.”

19 So it was, as soon as Musha came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. So Musha anger became hot and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 

20 Then Musha took the gold calf which they had made, burned it in the fire and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Yashar'AL drink it. 

21 And Musha said to Aarun, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so  great a sin upon them?

22 Do not get so upset, my master,” Aarun replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are.

23 For they said to me, ‘Make us idols that shall go before us; as for this Musha, the man who brought us out of the land of Mitzraym, we do not know what has become of him.’ 

24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me and I cast it into the fire and this goldcalf came out.

25 Now when Musha saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aarun had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 

26 then Musha stood in the entrance of the camp and said, Whoever is on the side of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH come to me!” And all the sons of La'uy gathered themselves together to Musha. 

27 And he said to them, “Thus says  𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. 

28 So the sons of La'uy did according to the word of Musha. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 

29 Then Musha said, Consecrate yourselves today to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, that He may bestow on you a Baraka this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Musha said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 

31 Then Musha returned to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  and said, Oh 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, these people have committed a great sin and have made for themselves an idol of gold! 

32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin, but if not, I palak (pray), blot me out of Your book which You have written.

33 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Dabar to Musha, Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 

34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Malak shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.

35 So 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aarun made.