19. As Moses got closer to the camp, he saw the idol, and he also saw the people dancing around. This made him so angry that he threw down the stones and broke them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
20. He melted the idol the people had made, and he ground it into powder. He scattered it in their water and made them drink it.
21. Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?”
22. Aaron answered:Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil.
23. They even told me, “That man Moses led us out of Egypt, but now we don't know what has happened to him. Make us a god to lead us.”
24. Then I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and gave them to me. I threw the gold into a fire, and out came this bull.
25. Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron's fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies.
26. So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the Lord's side come over here!”Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses,
27. and he said to them, “The Lord God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbours.”
28. The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about three thousand men.
29. Moses said to them, “You obeyed the Lord and did what was right, and so you will serve as his priests for the people of Israel. It was hard for you to kill your own sons and brothers, but the Lord has blessed you and made you his priests today.”
30. The next day Moses told the people, “This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the Lord to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.”
31. Moses returned to the Lord and said, “The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god.
32. But I beg you to forgive them. If you don't, please wipe my name out of your book.”
33. The Lord replied, “I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me.
34. Now take my people to the place I told you about, and my angel will lead you. But when the time comes, I will punish them for this sin.”