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The
Golden Calf
32:1 And 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.
32:2 And 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.
32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which
were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
32:4 And 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.
32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it;
and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast
to the LORD.
32:6 And 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.
32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for
thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt,
have corrupted themselves:
32:8 They 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.
32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people,
and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
32:10 Now 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.
32:11 And 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?
32:12 Wherefore 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.
32:13 Remember 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.
32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to
do unto his people.
32:15 And 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.
32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing
was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they
shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the
camp.
32:18 And 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.
32:19 And 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.
32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt
it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon
the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto
thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot:
thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
32:23 For 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.
32:24 And 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.
32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for
Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their
enemies:)
32:26 Then 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.
32:27 And 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 neighbor.
32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of
Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three
thousand men.
32:29 For 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.
32:30 And 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.
32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this
people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of
gold.
32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if
not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast
written.
32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned
against me, him will I blot out of my book.
32:34 Therefore 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.
32:35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made
the calf, which Aaron made. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
