Exodus 32

¹And the people seeing that Moyses made tarriance ere he came down from the mount, being assembled against Aaron, they said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: for what hath chanced to this Moyses the man that brought us out of the Land of Ægypt, we know not.

²And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earlets from the ears of your wives, and sons, and daughters, & bring them to me.

³And the people did that he had commanded, bringing the earlets to Aaron.

⁴Which when he had received, he formed them by founder's work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Ægypt.

⁵Which when Aaron had seen, he builded an altar before it, and by a crier's voice proclaimed saying: Tomorrow is the solemnity of the Lord.

⁶And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and pacific hosts, and the people sat down to eat, and to drink, and they rose up to play.

⁷And our Lord spake to Moyses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the Land of Ægypt, hath sinned.

⁸They have quickly revolted from the way that thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored, and immolating hosts unto it, have said: These are thy gods Israel, that have brought thee out of the Land of Ægypt.

⁹And again our Lord said to Moyses: I see that this people is stiff-necked:

¹⁰suffer me, that my fury may be angry against them, & that I may destroy them, and I will make thee into a great nation.

¹¹But Moyses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why Lord, is thy fury angry against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth of the Land of Ægypt, in great power, and in a strong hand?

¹²Let not the Ægyptians say I beseech thee: He hath craftily brought them forth, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thine anger cease, and be pacified upon the wickedness of thy people.

¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land, whereof I have spoken, I will give to your seed, & you shall possess it always.

¹⁴And our Lord was pacified from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.

¹⁵And Moyses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of testimony in his hand, written on both sides,

¹⁶and made by the work of God: the writing also of God was graven in the tables.

¹⁷And Josue hearing the tumult of the people crying out, said to Moyses: The noise of battail is heard in the camp.

¹⁸Who answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging of fight, nor the shout of men compelling to fly: but I do hear the voice of singers.

¹⁹And when he approached to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very wrath, he threw the tables out of his hand, and brake them at the foot of the mount.

²⁰And catching the calf which they had made, he burnt it, & beat it into powder, which he strawed into water, and gave thereof drink to the children of Israel.

²¹And he said to Aaron: What hath this people done to thee, that thou shouldest bring upon them an heinous sin?

²²To whom he answered: Let not my Lord be offended for thou knowest this people, that it is prone to evil:

²³they said to me: Make us gods, that may go before us: for unto this same Moyses, that brought us forth out of the Land of Ægypt, we know not what is chanced.

²⁴To whom I said: Which of you hath gold? They took, & brought to me: & I cast it into the fire, and this calf came forth.

²⁵Moyses therefore seeing the people that they were made naked (for Aaron had spoiled them for the ignominy of filth, & had set them naked among their enemies).

²⁶& standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be our Lord's, let him join to me, And there gathered unto him all the sons of Levi:

²⁷to whom he said: This saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh: go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.

²⁸And the sons of Levi did according to the saying of Moyses, and there were slain in that day about three and twenty thousand men.

²⁹And Moyses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to our Lord, every man in his son & in his brother, that blessing may be given to you.

³⁰And when the next day was come, Moyses spake to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to our Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your sinful fact.

³¹And returning to our Lord, he said: I beseech thee, this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold; either forgive them this trespass,

³²or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.

³³To whom our Lord answered: He that hath sinned to me, him will I strike out of my book:

³⁴but go thou, and lead this people wither I have told thee: mine Angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.

³⁵Our Lord therefore smote the people for the fault concerning the calf, which Aaron had made.