1Moses havde nu opholdt sig på bjerget i mange dage, og israelitterne mistede til sidst håbet om, at han nogensinde ville komme tilbage. Derfor gik de hen til Aron og sagde: „Lav os en gud, som kan føre os videre, for vi ved ikke, hvad der er blevet af den her Moses, som førte os ud af Egypten.”2-3„Jo, men så skal I bringe mig de guldøreringe, som jeres koner, sønner og døtre går med,” svarede Aron. Så tog de alle deres øreringe af og bragte dem til Aron.4Aron smeltede guldet og støbte en afgud, som lignede en tyrekalv. Da folket så den, udbrød de: „Se her, alle sammen! Det er den gud, som førte os ud af Egypten!”5Da Aron så folkets begejstring, byggede han et alter foran tyrekalven og meddelte: „I morgen holder vi højtid for Herren!”6Tidligt næste morgen bragte de så brændofre og takofre på alteret foran guldkalven. De satte sig ned for at spise og drikke, og så stod de op for at danse foran afguden og more sig.7Da sagde Herren til Moses: „Skynd dig ned fra bjerget! Det folk, du førte ud af Egypten, har begået en stor synd.8De har allerede vendt sig bort fra mine befalinger og lavet sig en afgud i form af en tyrekalv. De har tilbedt den og ofret til den. De har oven i købet sagt: Det er den gud, som førte os ud af Egypten!”9Herren fortsatte: „Jeg kan se, at Israels folk er egenrådigt og ulydigt.10Nu kan det være nok! Jeg vil give min vrede frit løb. Jeg vil udrydde dem alle sammen. Og så vil jeg begynde forfra med dig, Moses, og gøre dig til et stort folk.”11Men Moses gik i forbøn for dem: „Åh, Herre, du må ikke være så vred på dit eget folk, som du selv førte ud af Egypten med vældig magt og mægtige undere.12Skal egypterne kunne sige, at Gud lokkede sit folk ud i bjergene bare for at udrydde dem? Lad dog din brændende vrede kølne af, så du ikke gør alvor af at udrydde dit folk.13Glem ikke dit løfte til Abraham, Isak og Jakob. Du svor jo ved dig selv, at du ville gøre deres efterkommere talrige som himlens stjerner og give dem det land i arv og eje, som du har lovet skal være deres for evigt.”14Da gjorde Herren ikke alvor af sin trussel, men skånede folket for den ulykke, han havde truet med.15Så vendte Moses sig og gik ned ad bjerget med de to stentavler, hvor pagtens bud var indskrevet på begge sider.16Tavlerne var Guds værk, og skriften var Guds egen skrift.17Da Moses og Josva var kommet et godt stykke ned af bjerget, kunne de høre råben og skrigen nede fra lejren. Forundret udbrød Josva: „Det lyder, som om der er krig i lejren!”18Men Moses svarede: „Nej, det er hverken sejrsråb eller klageskrig over et nederlag. De synger lystige viser!”19Da de var kommet endnu tættere på, og Moses så, hvordan folk dansede om tyrekalven, blev han så overvældet af vrede, at han slyngede stentavlerne mod jorden, så de knustes ved foden af bjerget.20Så tog han den tyrekalv, de havde lavet, og smeltede den i ilden. Da metallet var afkølet, knuste han det til støv og smed det ud i bækken, som folket fik deres drikkevand fra.21Så vendte han sig mod Aron og sagde: „Hvad har folket gjort dig, siden du har ført dem ud i så stor en synd?”22„Bliv ikke vred, Moses!” svarede Aron. „Du ved selv, hvordan folket griber enhver anledning til at gøre oprør.23De sagde til mig: ‚Moses førte os ud af Egypten, men nu er han åbenbart forsvundet. Kom og lav en gud til os, som kan føre os videre frem på vejen!’24‚Godt,’ svarede jeg, ‚så bring mig jeres guldsmykker!’ Det gjorde de, og jeg kastede smykkerne ind i ilden, og så kom der en guldkalv ud af det!”25Da Moses så, at Aron fuldstændig have mistet kontrollen over folket, og at de opførte sig tåbeligt i deres oprørskhed,26stillede han sig ved indgangen til lejren og råbte: „Alle dem af jer, som er på Herrens side, kom her over til mig!” Og alle levitterne kom over til ham.27Da sagde han til dem: „Herren, Israels Gud, siger: Tag jeres sværd og gå igennem lejren og dræb jeres landsmænd, som har gjort oprør.”28Det gjorde de, og den dag døde der omkring 3000 mand.29Moses sagde derefter til levitterne: „I dag har I indviet jer til tjeneste for Herren, fordi I adlød ham, også selv om det betød, at I måtte slå nogle af jeres egne brødre og sønner ihjel. Derfor skal I opleve stor velsignelse.”30Næste dag sagde Moses til folket: „I har begået en frygtelig synd, men jeg vil gå tilbage til Herren på bjerget. Måske jeg kan opnå tilgivelse for jeres synd.”31Så gik Moses tilbage til Herren og sagde: „Ak, Herre! Israels folk har begået en stor synd ved at lave sig en afgud af guld.32Men vil du ikke nok alligevel tilgive dem deres store synd? Hvis ikke du vil, så slet mit navn fra den bog, du fører![1]”33„Den, som har syndet imod mig, vil jeg slette af min bog,” svarede Herren.34„Men gå du nu tilbage til folket og før dem til det sted, jeg har befalet. Min engel skal gå foran dig. Men når tiden er inde, vil jeg straffe folket for dets synd.”35Og Herren sendte en plage over folket, fordi det havde fået Aron til at lave en tyrekalv.
1When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (2.Mos 13,21; 2.Mos 24,18; 2.Mos 32,23; 5.Mos 9,9; Ap G 7,40)2So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” (2.Mos 12,35; Dom 8,24)3So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.4And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[1] calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (5.Mos 9,16; Dom 17,3; 1.Kong 12,28; Neh 9,18; Salm 106,19; Ap G 7,41)5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” (2.Kong 10,20)6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. (1.Mos 26,8; Dom 21,21; 1.Kor 10,7)7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. (5.Mos 9,12; Dom 2,19; Hos 9,9)8They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” (2.Mos 20,3; 2.Mos 20,23; 5.Mos 9,16)9And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. (2.Mos 33,3; 2.Mos 33,5; 2.Mos 34,9; 5.Mos 9,6; 5.Mos 9,13; 5.Mos 31,27; 2.Krøn 30,8; Es 48,4; Ap G 7,51)10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” (2.Mos 22,24; 2.Mos 33,3; 4.Mos 14,12; 5.Mos 9,14)11But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? (5.Mos 9,18; 5.Mos 9,26; Salm 74,1; Salm 106,23)12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. (2.Mos 32,14; 4.Mos 14,13; 5.Mos 32,27)13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” (1.Mos 12,7; 1.Mos 13,15; 1.Mos 15,7; 1.Mos 15,18; 1.Mos 22,16; 1.Mos 26,4; 1.Mos 28,13; 1.Mos 35,11; 1.Mos 48,16; Heb 6,13)14And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. (1.Krøn 21,15; Salm 106,45; Jer 18,8; Jer 26,13; Jer 26,15; Jer 26,19; Amos 7,3; Amos 7,6; Jonas 3,10; Jonas 4,2)15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. (2.Mos 34,29; 5.Mos 9,15)16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. (2.Mos 31,18)17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” (2.Mos 17,9; 2.Mos 24,13; 2.Mos 33,11)18But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” (Jer 51,14)19And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. (5.Mos 9,16; 5.Mos 9,21)20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.21And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” (1.Mos 20,9)22And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. (2.Mos 14,11; 2.Mos 15,24; 2.Mos 16,2; 2.Mos 16,20; 2.Mos 17,2; 2.Mos 17,4; 1.Sam 15,24)23For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ (2.Mos 32,1)24So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (2.Mos 32,2)25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), (2.Mos 32,12)26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.27And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” (4.Mos 25,5; 5.Mos 33,9)28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.29And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.” (4.Mos 25,11; 5.Mos 13,6; Zak 13,3; Matt 10,37; Luk 14,26)30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” (2.Mos 32,21; 1.Sam 12,20; 2.Sam 16,12; Amos 5,15)31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. (2.Mos 20,23; 2.Mos 32,30)32But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” (4.Mos 14,19; Salm 56,8; Salm 69,28; Salm 139,16; Dan 12,1; Rom 9,3; Filip 4,3)33But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. (Ez 18,4; Ez 18,20)34But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” (2.Mos 14,19; 2.Mos 33,12)35Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.