12And the LORD said to Moses: 13Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I the LORD have consecrated you. 14You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. He who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his kin. 15Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. 16The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: 17it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and was refreshed.
18When He finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.
32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3And all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4This he took from them and a-cast in a mold,-a and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, b-“This is your god,-b O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: “Tomorrow shall be a festival of the LORD!” 6Early next day, the people offered up burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; they sat down to eat and drink, and then rose to dance.
7The LORD spoke to Moses, “Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted basely. 8They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I enjoined upon them. They have made themselves a molten calf and bowed low to it and sacrificed to it, saying: ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”’
9The LORD further said to Moses, “I see that this is a stiffnecked people. 10Now, let Me be, that My anger may blaze forth against them and that I may destroy them, and make of you a great nation.” 11But Moses im- plored the LORD his God, saying, “Let not Your anger, O Lord, blaze forth against Your people, whom You delivered from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand. 12Let not the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that He delivered them, only to kill them off in the mountains and annihilate them from the face of the earth.’ Turn from Your blazing anger, and renounce the plan to punish Your people. 13Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, how You swore to them by Your Self and said to them: I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your offspring this whole land of which I spoke, to possess forever.” 14And the LORD re- nounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people.
15Thereupon Moses turned and went down from the mountain bearing the two tablets of the Pact, tablets inscribed on both their surfaces: they were inscribed on the one side and on the other. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, incised upon the tablets. 17When Joshua heard the sound of the people in its boisterousness, he said to Moses, “There is a cry of war in the camp.” 18But he answered,
“It is not the sound of the tune of triumph,
Or the sound of the tune of defeat;
It is the sound of song that I hear!”
19As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became enraged; and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf that they had made and burned it; he ground it to powder and strewed it upon the water and so made the Israelites drink it.
21Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22Aaron said, “Let not my lord be enraged. You know that this people is bent on evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us a god to lead us; for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off!’ They gave it to me and I hurled it into the fire and out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control—so that they were a menacec to any who might oppose them. 26Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come here!” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Each of you put sword on thigh, go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay brother, neighbor, and kin.” 28The Levites did as Moses had bidden; and some three thousand of the people fell that day. 29And Moses said, “Dedicate yourselvesd to the LORD this day—for each of you has been against son and brother—that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have been guilty of a great sin. Yet I will now go up to the LORD; perhaps I may win forgive- ness for your sin.” 31Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people is guilty of a great sin in making for themselves a god of gold. 32Now, if You will forgive their sin [well and good]; but if not, erase me from the record which You have written!” 33But the LORD said to Moses, “He who has sinned against Me, him only will I erase from My record. 34Go now, lead the people where I told you. See, My angel shall go before you. But when I make an accounting, I will bring them to account for their sins.”
35Then the LORD sent a plague upon the people, e-for what they did with the calf that Aaron made.-e
33 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Set out from here, you and the people that you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring will I give it’—2I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—3a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go in your midst, since you are a stiffnecked people, lest I destroy you on the way.”
4When the people heard this harsh word, they went into mourning, and none put on his finery.
5The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelite people, ‘You are a stiffnecked people. If I were to go in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now, then, leave off your finery, and I will consider what to do to you.”’ 6So the Israelites remained stripped of the finery from Mount Horeb on.
7Now Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp, at some distance from the camp. It was called the Tent of Meeting, and whoever sought the LORD would go out to the Tent of Meeting that was outside the camp. 8Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he had entered the Tent. 9And when Moses entered the Tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the Tent, while He spoke with Moses. 10When all the people saw the pillar of cloud poised at the entrance of the Tent, all the people would rise and bow low, each at the entrance of his tent. 11The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. And he would then return to the camp; but his attendant, Joshua son of Nun, a youth, would not stir out of the Tent.
12Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Lead this people forward,’ but You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. Further, You have said, ‘I have singled you out by name, and you have, indeed, gained My favor.’ 13Now, if I have truly gained Your favor, pray let me know Your ways, that I may know You and continue in Your favor. Consider, too, that this nation is Your people.”
