The Living Word

KING JAMES VERSION

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

— Isaiah 40:8

Exodus 32

Listen to the Word

Initializing audio...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

3

And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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:

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

9

And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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?

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

14

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

16

And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

21

And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

WhatsApp Copy

22

And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

25

And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

31

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

33

And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

WhatsApp Copy

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.

WhatsApp Copy

35

And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

WhatsApp Copy

Previous Next

Chapter Study & Analysis

Overview

While Moses is on the mount, the people grow impatient and persuade Aaron to make a golden calf. They worship it, saying, "These be thy gods, O Israel." God’s wrath waxes hot, but Moses intercedes, pleading God’s covenant with Abraham. Moses breaks the tables of stone in anger, destroys the calf, and the Levites stand for the LORD.

Practical Lessons

1. The Danger of Impatience: When we don’t hear from God according to our timeline, we are tempted to create our own "gods."
2. The Role of the Intercessor: Moses’ plea shows that God’s mercy can be sought through earnest, selfless prayer.
3. The Consequences of Sin: Sin always brings division and judgment, even among the redeemed people of God.

Copied to clipboard!