18. Then I bowed down before the Lord with my face to the ground for 40 days and 40 nights, as I did before. I did not eat any food or drink any water. I did this because you had sinned so badly. You did the thing that is evil to the Lord, and you made him angry.
19. I was afraid of the Lord’S terrible anger. He was angry enough to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me again.
20. The Lord was very angry with Aaron—enough to destroy him! So I also prayed for Aaron at that time.
21. I took that terrible thing, the calf you made, and burned it in the fire. I broke it into small pieces. And I crushed the pieces until they were dust. Then I threw the dust into the river that came down from the mountain.
22. “Also, at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah you made the Lord angry.
23. And you did not obey when the Lord told you to leave Kadesh Barnea. He said, ‘Go up and take the land I am giving you.’ But you refused to obey the Lord your God. You did not trust him. You did not listen to his command.
24. All the time that I have known you, you have refused to obey the Lord.
25. “So I bowed down before the Lord 40 days and 40 nights, because the Lord said he would destroy you.
26. I prayed to the Lord. I said, ‘Lord GOD, don’t destroy your people. They belong to you. You freed them and brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.
27. Remember your promise to your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Forget how stubborn these people are. Don’t look at their evil ways or their sins.
28. If you punish your people, the Egyptians might say, “The Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them. And he hated them. So he took them into the desert to kill them.”
29. But they are your people, Lord. They belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.’