1Como Moisés se demoraba en descender del monte, el pueblo se presentó ante Aarón: ―Mira —le dijeron—, haznos dioses que nos dirijan, porque este Moisés que nos sacó de Egipto no aparece; algo debe de haberle ocurrido.2―Tráiganme los aretes de oro que tengan sus esposas, hijos e hijas —respondió Aarón. Así que todos los que tenían aretes se los quitaron y se los entregaron a Aarón.4Entonces él fundió el oro, y con un cincel hizo un becerro. Al ver el becerro, el pueblo exclamó: «¡Israel, este es tu dios que te sacó de Egipto!».5Cuando Aarón vio lo feliz que estaba el pueblo con el becerro, edificó un altar delante del becerro, y anunció: ―Mañana habrá fiesta en honor del SEÑOR.6A la mañana siguiente madrugaron y comenzaron a presentar holocaustos y ofrendas de paz. Luego de comer y beber, se entregaron a la diversión.7Por eso, el SEÑOR le dijo a Moisés: ―Date prisa, desciende, porque el pueblo que sacaste de Egipto se ha contaminado,8y pronto han abandonado mis leyes. Han hecho un becerro y lo han adorado; le han ofrecido sacrificios y han dicho: “¡Israel, este es tu dios que te sacó de Egipto!”.9El SEÑOR añadió: ―He visto que este pueblo es rebelde y testarudo.10Deja que desate contra ellos mi ira y los destruya; y de ti, Moisés, haré otra nación grande.11Pero Moisés le rogó al SEÑOR que no lo hiciera. ―SEÑOR —suplicó—, ¿por qué se ha encendido tanto tu ira contra este tu pueblo, al que sacaste de Egipto con tu gran poder y tan grandes milagros?12¿Quieres que los egipcios digan: “Dios los engañó y los hizo ir a las montañas para matarlos y borrarlos de la tierra”? Aparta tu ira y no le hagas eso a tu pueblo.13Recuerda lo que le prometiste a tus siervos Abraham, Isaac e Israel cuando juraste por ti mismo: “Yo multiplicaré tu descendencia como las estrellas del cielo, y les daré toda la tierra que he prometido a tus descendientes, y la heredarán para siempre”.14Entonces el SEÑOR tuvo compasión de ellos y no los destruyó.15Luego Moisés descendió del monte, llevando en sus manos las dos tablas de piedra, en las que estaban escritos los mandamientos por ambos lados.16Dios mismo preparó las tablas y escribió en ellas.17Cuando Josué oyó el bullicio del pueblo que gritaba, le dijo a Moisés: ―Suena como si estuvieran preparándose para la guerra.18Pero Moisés le respondió: ―No es grito de victoria ni de derrota lo que yo oigo; lo que escucho son canciones.19Cuando llegaron cerca del campamento, Moisés vio el becerro y las danzas, y con terrible ira arrojó las tablas al suelo, al pie del monte, y se rompieron.20Luego tomó el becerro, lo fundió en fuego, y cuando se enfrió el metal, lo molió hasta hacerlo polvo. Mezcló ese polvo con agua, para que el pueblo bebiera.21Después se dirigió a Aarón, y le preguntó: ―¿Qué te ha hecho este pueblo, para que le hagas cometer este terrible pecado?22―No te enojes tanto —dijo Aarón—. Tú bien sabes que este pueblo es inclinado a la maldad.23Ellos me dijeron. “Haznos un dios que nos dirija, porque algo le habrá ocurrido a Moisés, el que nos sacó de Egipto”.24Entonces les dije: “Tráiganme sus aretes”. Ellos me los trajeron, los eché al fuego… y ¡salió este becerro!25Cuando Moisés vio que Aarón no había podido guiar bien a los israelitas, y que por eso se habían vuelto locos, de tal modo que la gente de otros pueblos se estaban burlando de ellos,26se paró a la entrada del campamento y gritó: «¡Todos los que estén de parte del SEÑOR, vengan aquí y únanse a mí!». Entonces todos los levitas se acercaron.27Moisés les dijo: «El SEÑOR, Dios de Israel, les ordena que tomen sus espadas y recorran el campamento, de uno a otro extremo, y maten a sus hermanos, parientes y vecinos».28Los levitas lo hicieron, y aquel día mataron a unos tres mil hombres.29Moisés, entonces, les dijo: «Hoy se han santificado para el servicio del SEÑOR, porque han obedecido, aun cuando tuvieron que dar muerte a sus hijos y hermanos. Ahora el SEÑOR les dará una gran bendición».30Al día siguiente, Moisés le dijo al pueblo: «Ustedes han cometido un gran pecado, pero yo regresaré a la montaña, y me presentaré delante del SEÑOR, para interceder por ustedes. Quizá él quiera otorgarles el perdón».31Moisés regresó a la presencia del SEÑOR, y le dijo: ―Desgraciadamente este pueblo ha pecado en gran manera y ha hecho ídolos de oro.32Sólo te ruego que perdones su pecado. Si no lo haces, te pido que borres mi nombre del libro que has escrito.33―Cualquiera que haya pecado contra mí —dijo el SEÑOR— será borrado.34Ahora vé y conduce al pueblo al lugar que yo te indiqué, y diles que mi ángel irá delante de ellos. Sin embargo, cuando yo visite a este pueblo, lo castigaré por sus pecados.35Luego el SEÑOR envió una gran plaga al pueblo, porque habían adorado al becerro que Aarón les hizo.
English Standard Version
The Golden Calf
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.”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.”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* calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”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.”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.7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.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!’”9And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.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.”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?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.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.’”14And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.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.16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”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.”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.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?”22And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.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.’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.”25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies),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.’”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.”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.”31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.32But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”33But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.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.”35Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
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