1 ^fWhen the people saw that Moses ^gdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, ^hmake 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 So Aaron said to them, “Take off ⁱthe rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 ^jSo all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and ^kmade a golden¹ calf. And they said, ^l“These are your gods, O Israel, ^mwho brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ⁿ“Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And ^othe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way ^pthat 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!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a ^qstiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore ^rlet me alone, ^sthat my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that ^tI may make a ^ugreat nation of you.”

11 But ^vMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, ^wwhy 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? 12 ^xWhy 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. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you ^yswore 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.’” 14 And the Lord ^zrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.