32 The people realized that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time. So they went in a group to Aaron. They said to him, ‘Do something! Make some gods for us who will lead us. This man, Moses, brought us here out of Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.’
2 So Aaron said to them, ‘Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters. Then bring the rings to me.’ 3 So all the Israelites removed the rings from their ears. They brought them to Aaron.
4 Aaron took the gold rings from the people. He melted the gold and he used a tool to make an image of a calf. Then the people said, ‘Look, people of Israel! This is our god who brought us up out of Egypt!’
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the gold calf. He told everyone, ‘Tomorrow, there will be a feast to worship the Lord .’
6 So the next day, the Israelites got up early. They killed animals as burnt offerings on the altar. They also brought peace offerings. After that, they sat down to eat a meal and they drank wine. Then they had a wild party.
7 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Hurry back down the mountain! The people that you brought out of Egypt have done a wicked thing. 8 They have already turned away from my commands. They have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bent down low to worship it. They have made sacrifices to give it honour. They are saying, “This is the god of the Israelites, the god who brought us out of Egypt!” ’
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen these people. They are proud and they do not obey me. 10 I am very angry with them and I will destroy them. Do not try to stop me. I will make your descendants into a great nation, instead of them.’
11 But Moses asked the Lord his God to be kind. He said, ‘ Lord , please do not be so angry with your own people! You used your great power and authority to bring them safely out of Egypt. 12 If you destroy them, the Egyptians will say, “God led the Israelites out of our land so that he could completely destroy them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains.” So please stop being angry. Change your mind. Please do not bring this great trouble on your own people. 13 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who are our ancestors. Remember the serious promise that you made to them. You said, “I will give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky. I have also promised to give this whole land to them. It will belong to them as their home for ever.” ’
14 Then the Lord changed his mind. He did not bring the great trouble on his people as he had said he would.
15 Moses left the Lord and he went down the mountain. He carried in his hands the two flat stones with God's special commands on them. God had written his commands on both sides of the stones. 16 This was God's own work. He himself had written the words on the stones.
17 Joshua heard the noise of the Israelites as they were shouting down below. He said to Moses, ‘I can hear the sound of war in the camp!’ 18 But Moses said, ‘It is not the noise that soldiers make when they have won a battle. It is not the sound of soldiers who are crying because their enemy has won against them. I can hear the sound of people who are singing.’
19 Then Moses arrived at the camp. He saw the gold calf. He saw that the people were dancing. He became very angry. He threw the two flat stones that he was carrying onto the ground. He broke them into pieces there at the bottom of the mountain. 20 Then he took the image of the calf that they had made. He burned it in the fire. He beat it into powder. He mixed the powder with the people's water. Then he commanded the Israelites to drink it.
21 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Why did you agree to do this? What did the people do to you? You have made them guilty of a great sin.’ 22 Aaron answered, ‘My lord, please do not be so angry with me. You know how quickly these people decide to do wicked things. 23 They said to me, “Make us some gods that will lead us. This man Moses brought us here out of Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.” 24 So I said to them, “Everyone who has any gold rings must remove them.” So they gave the gold to me. I threw it into the fire. Then this image of a calf came out of the fire!’
25 Moses saw that the people were running about everywhere. Aaron had not been able to control them. If their enemies could see them, they would see how foolish they were. 26 So Moses stood at the edge of the camp. He said, ‘Everyone who decides to serve the Lord must come here to me.’ Then all the Levites went to stand near Moses.
27 Then Moses said to the Levites, ‘The Lord , Israel's God, says this: Each one of you must take his sword in his hand. You must go everywhere in the camp, from this side to the other side. You must kill everyone, even your brothers, your friends and your neighbours.’ 28 The Levites obeyed Moses' command. About 3,000 Israelites died on that day.
29 Then Moses said to the Levites, ‘You have shown today that you want to serve the Lord . You have become his special servants because you have obeyed him. You have agreed to kill even your own sons and brothers. God has blessed you because of this.’
30 On the next day, Moses said to the people, ‘You have done a great sin. But now I will go back up the mountain. I will speak to the Lord . Perhaps I can do something so that the Lord will forgive your sin.’
31 So Moses returned to the Lord . He said to the Lord , ‘Please listen to me. These people have done a very great sin. They have made a gold idol to worship as their god. 32 But now I ask you to forgive them for their sin. But if you will not do that, then please remove my name from your book.’ [ a ]
33 The Lord answered Moses, ‘I will only remove the names of the people who have turned against me. 34 Now go! Lead the Israelites to the place that I have told you about. My angel will go in front of you. But on the day for punishment, I will certainly punish them for their sin.’
35 The Lord did send a bad disease to punish the people. He punished them because they had caused Aaron to make an image of a calf.
32 The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Look, Moses led us out of the land of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to go before us and lead us.”
2 Aaron said to the people, “Bring me the gold earrings that belong to your wives, sons, and daughters.”
3 So the people collected all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from the people and used it to make an idol. Using a special tool, he shaped the gold into a statue of a calf.
Then the people said, “Israel, here are your gods! These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” [ a ]
5 Aaron saw all these things, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow will be a special festival to honor the Lord .”
6 The people woke up very early the next morning. They killed animals and offered them as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had a wild party.
7 At the same time, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have committed a terrible sin. 8 They have very quickly turned away from what I commanded them to do. They made a calf from melted gold for themselves. They are worshiping that calf and making sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are the gods that led you out of Egypt.’”
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are very stubborn. They will always turn against me. 10 So now let me destroy them in anger. Then I will make a great nation from you.”
11 But Moses begged the Lord his God, “ Lord , don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength. 12 But if you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say, ‘God planned to do bad things to his people. That is why he led them out of Egypt. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the earth.’ So don’t be angry with your people. Please change your mind! Don’t destroy them. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. These men served you, and you used your name to make a promise to them. You said, ‘I will make your people as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your people all this land as I promised. This land will be theirs forever.’”
14 So the Lord felt sorry for the people. He did not do what he said he might do—he did not destroy them.
15 Then Moses went down the mountain. He had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back. 16 God himself made the stones, and God himself wrote the commandments on them.
17 Joshua heard the noise from the party in camp. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp!”
18 Moses answered, “It is not the noise of an army shouting for victory. And it is not the noise of an army crying from defeat. The noise I hear is the sound of music. [ b ] ”
19 When Moses came near the camp, he saw the golden calf and the people dancing. He became very angry, and he threw the stone tablets on the ground. The stones broke into several pieces at the bottom of the mountain. 20 Then Moses destroyed the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. Then he ground the gold until it became dust and threw it into the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink that water.
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that would make you do this? Why did you lead them to do such a terrible sin?”
22 Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, sir. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. 23 The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to lead us.’ 24 So I told the people, ‘If you have any gold rings, then give them to me.’ The people gave me their gold. I threw the gold into the fire, and out of the fire came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get out of control. They were being wild, and all their enemies could see them acting like fools. 26 So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Anyone who wants to follow the Lord should come to me.” Everyone from the tribe of Levi ran to Moses.
27 Then Moses said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man must get his sword and go from one end of the camp to the other. You men must kill those who are against the Lord , even if they are your brothers, friends, or neighbors.’”
28 The people from the tribe of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3000 of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “Take your role today as special servants of the Lord because you were willing to fight against even your own sons and brothers. You will receive a blessing for this.” [ c ]
30 The next morning Moses told the people, “You have committed a terrible sin! But now I will go up to the Lord , and maybe I can do something so that he will forgive you for your sin.” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Please listen! These people committed a terrible sin and made a god from gold. 32 Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from your book. [ d ] ”
33 But the Lord said to Moses, “The only people I erase from my book are those who sin against me. 34 So now, go down and lead the people where I tell you to go. My angel will go before you and lead you. When the time comes to punish those who sinned, they will be punished.” 35 So the Lord caused a terrible sickness to come to the people. He did this because they told Aaron to make the golden calf.
32 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.
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.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
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.
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 .
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.
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:
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.
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
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.
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?
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.
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.
14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
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.
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
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.
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.
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.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
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.
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.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
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.
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 neighbour.
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.
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.
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.
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 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
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.
35 And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
32 Now when the people saw that Moses ( A ) delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, ( B ) make us [ a ] a god who will go before us; for ( C ) this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “ ( D ) Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then he took the gold from their [ b ] hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a ( E ) cast metal calf; and they said, “ [ c ] This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 Now when Aaron saw this , he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord .” 6 So the next day they got up early and ( F ) offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and ( G ) the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up ( H ) to engage in lewd behavior.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go [ d ] down at once, for your people, whom ( I ) you brought up from the land of Egypt, have ( J ) behaved corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. ( K ) They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and ( L ) have sacrificed to it and said, ‘ [ e ] ( M ) This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 ( N ) Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are [ f ] ( O ) an obstinate people. 10 So now ( P ) leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and ( Q ) I will make of you a great nation.”
11 Then ( R ) Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “ Lord , why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should ( S ) the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You ( T ) swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will ( U ) multiply your [ g ] descendants as the stars of the heavens, and ( V ) all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your [ h ] descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 ( W ) So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15 ( X ) Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, ( Y ) tablets which were written on both [ i ] sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people [ j ] as they shouted, he said to Moses, “ There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18 But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of victory,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But I hear the sound of singing.”
19 And it came about, as soon as [ k ] Moses approached the camp, that ( Z ) he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and ( AA ) he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces [ l ] at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then ( AB ) he took the calf which they had made and completely burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it .
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, ( AC ) that they are [ m ] prone to evil. 23 For ( AD ) they said to me, ‘Make [ n ] a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and ( AE ) I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were [ o ] out of control—for Aaron had ( AF ) let them [ p ] get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among [ q ] their enemies— 26 Moses then stood at the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord , come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27 And he said to them, “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his [ r ] neighbor.’” 28 So ( AG ) the sons of Levi did [ s ] as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “ [ t ] Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord —for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”
30 And on the next day Moses said to the people, “ ( AH ) You yourselves have [ u ] committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord ; perhaps I can ( AI ) make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has [ v ] committed a great sin, and they have made a ( AJ ) god of gold for themselves! 32 But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well ; but if not, please wipe me out from Your ( AK ) book which You have written!” 33 However, the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, ( AL ) I will wipe him out of My book. 34 But go now, lead the people ( AM ) where I told you. Behold, ( AN ) My angel shall go before you; nevertheless ( AO ) on the day when I [ w ] punish, ( AP ) I will [ x ] punish them for their sin.” 35 ( AQ ) Then the Lord struck the people with a plague , because of ( AR ) what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, ( A ) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods [ a ] who will go before ( B ) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” ( C )
2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings ( D ) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol ( E ) cast in the shape of a calf, ( F ) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, [ b ] ( G ) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ( H )
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival ( I ) to the Lord .” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. ( J ) Afterward they sat down to eat and drink ( K ) and got up to indulge in revelry. ( L )
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, ( M ) have become corrupt. ( N ) 8 They have been quick to turn away ( O ) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol ( P ) cast in the shape of a calf. ( Q ) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed ( R ) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ ( S )
9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked ( T ) people. 10 Now leave me alone ( U ) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy ( V ) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” ( W )
11 But Moses sought the favor ( X ) of the Lord his God. “ Lord ,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ( Y ) 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? ( Z ) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster ( AA ) on your people. 13 Remember ( AB ) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ( AC ) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars ( AD ) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land ( AE ) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented ( AF ) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law ( AG ) in his hands. ( AH ) They were inscribed ( AI ) on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. ( AJ )
17 When Joshua ( AK ) heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf ( AL ) and the dancing, ( AM ) his anger burned ( AN ) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces ( AO ) at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned ( AP ) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, ( AQ ) scattered it on the water ( AR ) and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry, ( AS ) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. ( AT ) 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ ( AU ) 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” ( AV )
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock ( AW ) to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord , come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” ( AX ) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. ( AY ) But now I will go up to the Lord ; perhaps I can make atonement ( AZ ) for your sin.”
31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! ( BA ) They have made themselves gods of gold. ( BB ) 32 But now, please forgive their sin ( BC ) —but if not, then blot me ( BD ) out of the book ( BE ) you have written.”
33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out ( BF ) of my book. 34 Now go, lead ( BG ) the people to the place ( BH ) I spoke of, and my angel ( BI ) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, ( BJ ) I will punish them for their sin.”
35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf ( BK ) Aaron had made.
