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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Exodus 32 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/exodus/32.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/exodus/32-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Exodus 32</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../exodus/31.htm" title="Exodus 31">◄</a> Exodus 32 <a href="../exodus/33.htm" title="Exodus 33">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">The People Make an Idol To Worship</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="DEU 9:6-29">Deuteronomy 9.6-29</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_1"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.1" class="v1_32_1">1</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.1!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> After the people saw that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, they went to Aaron and said, “Make us an image of a god who will lead and protect us. Moses brought us out of Egypt, but nobody knows what has happened to him.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_2"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.2" class="v1_32_2">2</span>Aaron told them, “Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing.” </span><span class="v1_32_3"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.3" class="v1_32_3">3</span>Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, </span><span class="v1_32_4"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.4" class="v1_32_4">4</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.4!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_4">All the people said to one another, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_5"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.5" class="v1_32_5">5</span>When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the <span class="nd">Lord</span>.” </span><span class="v1_32_6"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.6" class="v1_32_6">6</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.6!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_7"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.7" class="v1_32_7">7</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> said to Moses:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v1_32_7">Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. </span><span class="v1_32_8"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.8" class="v1_32_8">8</span>They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. </span><span class="v1_32_9"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.9" class="v1_32_9">9</span>Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, </span><span class="v1_32_10"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.10" class="v1_32_10">10</span>and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_11"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.11" class="v1_32_11">11</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.11!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Moses tried to get the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God to change his mind:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v1_32_11">Our <span class="nd">Lord</span>, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. </span><span class="v1_32_12"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.12" class="v1_32_12">12</span>If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them!</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v1_32_13"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.13" class="v1_32_13">13</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.13!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_14"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.14" class="v1_32_14">14</span>So even though the <span class="nd">Lord</span> had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_15"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.15-Exod.32.16" class="v1_32_15">15-16</span>Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, using both sides of the stones.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_17"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.17" class="v1_32_17">17</span>When Joshua heard the noisy shouts of the people, he said to Moses, “A battle must be going on down in the camp.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_18"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.18" class="v1_32_18">18</span>But Moses replied, “It doesn't sound like they are shouting because they have won or lost a battle. It sounds more like a wild party!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_19"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.19" class="v1_32_19">19</span>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. </span><span class="v1_32_20"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.20" class="v1_32_20">20</span>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. </span><span class="v1_32_21"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.21" class="v1_32_21">21</span>Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_22"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.22" class="v1_32_22">22</span>Aaron answered:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v1_32_22">Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil. </span><span class="v1_32_23"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.23" class="v1_32_23">23</span>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.” </span><span class="v1_32_24"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.24" class="v1_32_24">24</span>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.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_25"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.25" class="v1_32_25">25</span>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. </span><span class="v1_32_26"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.26" class="v1_32_26">26</span>So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s side come over here!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_26">Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses, </span><span class="v1_32_27"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.27" class="v1_32_27">27</span>and he said to them, “The <span class="nd">Lord</span> God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbors.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_28"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.28" class="v1_32_28">28</span>The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about 3,000 men. </span><span class="v1_32_29"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.29" class="v1_32_29">29</span>Moses said to them, “You obeyed the <span class="nd">Lord</span> 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 <span class="nd">Lord</span> has blessed you and made you his priests today.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_30"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.30" class="v1_32_30">30</span>The next day Moses told the people, “This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the <span class="nd">Lord</span> to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_31"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.31" class="v1_32_31">31</span>Moses returned to the <span class="nd">Lord</span> and said, “The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god. </span><span class="v1_32_32"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.32" class="v1_32_32">32</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.32!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> But I beg you to forgive them. If you don't, please wipe my name out of your book.”<a href="#fn" id="link_Exod.32.32!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_33"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.33" class="v1_32_33">33</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> replied, “I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me. </span><span class="v1_32_34"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.34" class="v1_32_34">34</span>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.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v1_32_35"><span class="reftext" id="Exod.32.35" class="v1_32_35">35</span>So the <span class="nd">Lord</span> punished the people of Israel with a terrible disease for talking Aaron into making the gold idol.</span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">32.32 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">your book: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The people of Israel believed that the <char style="nd">Lord</char> kept a record of the names of his people, and anyone whose name was removed from that book no longer belonged to the <char style="nd">Lord</char>.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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