1And when the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down out of the mount, they gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come on, make us gods to go before us. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2And Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings from the ears of your wives, sons, and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3And all the people removed their gold earrings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4And he took them; and made of them a melted calf; he fashioned it with an engraving tool. And when they saw it, they said, “These are the gods, O Israel, that brought you up out of Egypt.” 5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, saying, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6And they arose early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get you down; for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made themselves a melted calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which have brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’” 9And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, it is a stiff-necked people: 10Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of you a great nation.” 11And Moses sought to pacify the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, why does your wrath burn against Your people, whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians be able to say, ‘For mischief He brought them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to wipe them from the face of the earth?’ Turn from Your fierce wrath, and repent of this punishment against Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your Own Self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your progeny as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14And the LORD relented of the punishment which He threatened to do to His people.

15And 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 – front and back. 16And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tables. 17And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18And Moses said, “It is not the voice of those that shout for mastery, nor is it the voice of those that cry for being overcome; but the noise of them that sing is what I hear.” 19And as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. 20And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the Israelites drink of it. 21And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great a sin upon them?” 22And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot: you know the people, that they are set on mischief. 23For they said to me, ‘Make us gods to go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them bring it’. And so they gave it to me: then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies) 26Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD's side? Let him come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him. 27And he said to them, “Thus says 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.’” 28And the descendants of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29For Moses had said, “You have set apart and consecrated today to the LORD, for you were against your own sons and brothers; and He has bestowed a blessing upon you this day.”

30And on the next day, Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; perhaps I shall make an atonement for your sin.” 31And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin--; and if not, then blot me, I pray You, out of Your book which You have written.” 33And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. 34Therefore now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, My angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day that I visit, I will hold them accountable for their sin.” 35And the LORD struck the people with a plague, because they had done with the calf which Aaron had made.