የወርቅ ጥጃ
1ሕዝቡ ሙሴ ከተራራው ላይ ሳይ ወርድ ብዙ እንደ ቈየ ባዩ ጊዜ፣ ወደ አሮን ተሰብስበው፣ “ናና በፊታችን የሚሄዱ አማልክት32፥1 በዚህ እንዲሁም በቍጥር 23 እና 31 ላይ አምላክ ሥራልን፤ ያ ከግብፅ ያወጣን ሙሴ ምን እንዳገኘው አናውቅም” አሉት።
2አሮንም፣ “የሚስቶቻችሁን፣ የወንድና የሴት ልጆቻችሁን የጆሮ ወርቅ አውልቃችሁ ወደ እኔ አምጡ” ብሎ መለሰላቸው። 3ሕዝቡም ሁሉ የጆሮ ወርቃቸውን አውልቀው ወደ አሮን አመጡ። 4እርሱም የሰጡትን ወስዶ በመሣሪያ በመቅረጽ በጥጃ ምስል ጣዖት አድርጎ ሠራው፤ ከዚያም እነርሱ፣ “እስራኤል ሆይ፤ ከግብፅ ያወጡህ አማልክት32፥4 በዚህና በቍጥር 8 ላይ፣ ይህ አምላካችሁ ነው። እነዚህ ናቸው” አሉ።
5አሮን ይህን ባየ ጊዜ በወርቅ ጥጃው ፊት ለፊት መሠዊያ ሠርቶ፣ “ነገ ለእግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) በዓል ይሆናል” ብሎ ዐወጀ። 6በማግስቱም ሕዝቡ በማለዳ ተነሥተው የሚቃጠል መሥዋዕት ሠዉ፤ የኅብረት መሥዋዕት32፥6 በትውፊት፣ የሰላም መሥዋዕት በመባል ይታወቃል። አቀረቡ፤ ከዚህም በኋላ ይበሉና ይጠጡ ዘንድ ተቀመጡ፤ ሊዘፍኑም ተነሡ።
7ከዚያም እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ሙሴን፣ “ከግብፅ ያወጣሃቸው ሕዝብህ ስተዋልና ውረድ” አለው። 8“ካዘዝኋቸው ፈቀቅ ለማለት ፈጣኖች ሆኑ፤ ለራሳቸውም በጥጃ ምስል የተቀረጸ ጣዖትን ሠሩ፤ ለእርሱም ሰገዱለት፤ ሠዉለትም፤ እንዲሁም፣ ‘እስራኤል ሆይ፤ ከግብፅ ምድር ያወጡህ አማልክትህ እነዚህ ናቸው’ ” አሉ።
9እግዚአብሔርም (ያህዌ) ሙሴን እንዲህ አለው፤ “እነዚህን ሕዝብ አይቻቸዋለሁ፤ ዐንገተ ደንዳናዎችም ናቸው። 10አሁንም በእነርሱ ላይ፣ ቍጣዬ እንዲነድድና እንዳጠፋቸው ተወኝ፤ ከዚያም አንተን ለታላቅ ሕዝብ አደርግሃለሁ።”
11ነገር ግን ሙሴ የአምላኩን የእግዚአብሔርን (ኤሎሂም ያህዌ) ቸርነት ፈለገ፤ እንዲህም አለ፤ “እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ሆይ በታላቅ ሥልጣንህና በኀያል ክንድህ ከግብፅ ባወጣኸው ሕዝብህ ላይ ቍጣህ ለምን ይነድዳል? 12ግብፃውያን፣ ‘በተራራዎቹ ላይ ሊገድላቸው፣ ከገጸ ምድርም ሊያጠፋቸው ስለ ፈለገ ነው ያወጣቸው’ ለምን ይበሉ? ከክፉ ቍጣህ ተመለስ፤ ታገሥ፤ በሕዝብህም ላይ ጥፋት አታምጣ። 13ለባሪያዎችህ ለአብርሃም፣ ለይስሐቅና ለእስራኤል፣ ‘ዘርህን እንደ ሰማይ ከዋክብት አበዛዋለሁ፤ ለዘርህም ተስፋ አድርጌ የሰጠኋቸውን ይህችን ምድር ሁሉ እሰጣቸዋለሁ፤ ለዘላለምም ርስታቸው ትሆናለች’ በማለት በራስህ የማልኸውን አስታውስ።” 14ከዚያም እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ታገሠ፤ በሕዝቡም ላይ አመጣባቸዋለሁ ያለውን ጥፋት አላመጣባቸውም።
15ሙሴም ሁለቱን የምስክር ጽላቶች በእጆቹ ይዞ ከተራራው ወረደ፤ ጽላቶቹም ከፊትና ከኋላ በሁለቱም ጐኖች ተጽፎባቸው ነበር። 16ጽላቶቹ የእግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) ሥራ ነበሩ፤ በጽላቶቹ ላይ የተቀረጸ ጽሕፈትም የእግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ጽሕፈት ነበር።
17ኢያሱ የሕዝቡን የጩኸት ድምፅ በሰማ ጊዜ ሙሴን፣ “በሰፈሩ ውስጥ የጦርነት ድምፅ አለ አለው።”
18ሙሴም፣
“የድል ድምፅ አይደለም፤
የሽንፈትም ድምፅ አይደለም፤
የምሰማው የዘፈን ድምፅ ነው”
ብሎ መለሰለት።
19ሙሴ ወደ ሰፈሩ ደርሶ ጥጃውንና ጭፈራውን ባየ ጊዜ ቍጣው ነደደ፤ ጽላቶቹን ከእጁ በመወርወር ከተራራው ግርጌ ሰባበራቸው። 20የሠሩትን ጥጃ ወስዶ በእሳት አቃጠለው፤ ከዚያም ዱቄት እስኪሆን ፈጨው፤ በውሃ ላይ በተነው፤ እስራኤላውያንም እንዲጠጡት አደረገ።
21አሮንንም፣ “ወደዚህ አስከፊ ኀጢአት ትመራቸው ዘንድ እነዚህ ሕዝብ ምን አደረጉህ?” አለው።
22አሮንም መልሶ፣ “ጌታዬ ሆይ፤ አትቈጣ” ብሎ መለሰለት፤ “ይህ ሕዝብ ሁልጊዜ ለክፋት ያዘነበለ መሆኑን አንተ ታውቃለህ። 23እነርሱም ‘በፊታችን የሚሄዱ አማልክት ሥራልን፤ ይህ ከግብፅ ያወጣን ሙሴ ምን እንዳገኘው አናውቅም’ አሉኝ። 24ስለዚህ፣ ‘ማንኛውም ዐይነት የወርቅ ጌጣጌጥ ያለው ሁሉ ያውልቀው’ አልኋቸው፤ ከዚያም ወርቁን ሰጡኝ፤ ወደ እሳቱ ጣልሁት፤ ይህም ጥጃ ወጣ።”
25ሕዝቡ ከቍጥጥር ውጭ እንደ ሆኑ፣ አሮንም መረን እንደ ለቀቃቸውና በጠላቶቻቸውም ዘንድ መሣለቂያ እንደ ሆኑ ሙሴ አስተዋለ። 26ስለዚህ በሰፈሩ መግቢያ ላይ ቆሞ፣ “የእግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) የሆነ ሁሉ ወደ እኔ ይምጣ” አለ፤ ሌዋውያኑም ሁሉ ከእርሱ ጋር ሆኑ።
27ከዚያም፣ “የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) የሚለው ይህ ነው፤ ‘እያንዳንዱ ሰው በወገቡ ላይ ሰይፍ ይታጠቅ፤ በሰፈር ውስጥ ከዳር እዳር እየተመላለሰ እያንዳንዱ ወንድሙን፣ ጓደኛውንና ጎረቤቱን ይግደል’ ” አላቸው። 28ሌዋውያኑ ሙሴ እንዳዘዛቸው ፈጸሙ፤ በዚያኑም ዕለት ከሕዝቡ ሦስት ሺሕ ያህል ዐለቁ። 29ከዚያም ሙሴ፣ “በራሳችሁ ወንዶች ልጆችና ወንድሞች ላይ በመነሣታችሁ፣ በዛሬዋ ቀን ለእግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) የተለያችሁ ሆናችኋል፤ በዛሬዋም ዕለት ባርኳችኋል” አለ።
30በማግስቱም ሙሴ ሕዝቡን፣ “እጅግ የከፋ ኀጢአት ሠርታችኋል፤ አሁን ግን ወደ እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) እወጣለሁ፤ ምናልባት ኀጢአታችሁን ማስተስረይ እችል ይሆናል” አላቸው።
31ስለዚህ ሙሴ ወደ እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ተመልሶ እንዲህ አለው፤ “ወዮ እነዚህ ሕዝብ የሠሩት ምን ዐይነት የከፋ ኀጢአት ነው! ለራሳቸውም የወርቅ አማልክት ሠሩ። 32አሁን ግን አቤቱ ኀጢአታቸውን ይቅር በል፤ ያለዚያ ግን ከጻፍኸው መጽሐፍ እኔን ደምስሰኝ።” 33እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ለሙሴ እንዲህ ሲል መለሰለት፤ “የበደለኝን ሁሉ ከመጽሐፌ እደመስሰዋለሁ። 34አሁን ሂድ፤ ሕዝቡን ወደ ተናገርሁት ስፍራ ምራው፤ መልአኬም በፊትህ ይሄዳል፤ ሆኖም የምቀጣበት ጊዜ ሲደርስ፣ ስለ ኀጢአታቸው እቀጣቸዋለሁ።”
35አሮን በሠራው ጥጃ ባደረጉት ነገር እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) ሕዝቡን በመቅሠፍት መታ።
The Golden Calf
1When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods32:1 Or a god; also in verses 23 and 31 who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,32:4 Or This is your god; also in verse 8 Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
7Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
9“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ” 14Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
25Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
27Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
33The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
