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.
Ndama Wa Dhahabu
(Kumbukumbu 9:6-29)
132:1 Mwa 7:4; Kum 9:9-12; Kut 13:21; 24:18; Mdo 7:40Watu walipoona kuwa Mose amekawia sana kushuka kutoka mlimani, walimkusanyikia Aroni na kumwambia, “Njoo, tutengenezee miungu itakayotutangulia. Kwa maana huyu jamaa yetu Mose aliyetupandisha kutoka Misri, hatujui jambo lililompata.”
232:2 Kut 35:22; Amu 8:24-27Aroni akawajibu, “Vueni vipuli vya dhahabu ambavyo wake zenu, wana wenu na binti zenu wamevaa, mkaniletee.” 3Kwa hiyo watu wote wakavua vipuli vyao, wakavileta kwa Aroni. 432:4 Kut 20:23; Amu 17:3-4; Isa 30:22; Kum 9:16; Neh 9:18; Za 106:19; Mdo 7:41; Kut 20:23; Isa 42:17; 1Fal 12:28; 14:9; 2Fal 10:29; 17:16; 2Nya 13:8; Hos 8:6; 10:5Akavichukua vile vitu walivyomkabidhi, akavifanyiza kwa kusubu sanamu yenye umbo la ndama, akaichonga kwa kutumia chombo. Kisha wakasema, “Hii ndiyo miungu yenu, ee Israeli, iliyowapandisha kutoka Misri.”
532:5 Law 23:2, 37; 2Fal 10:20; Yoe 2:15Aroni alipoona hili, akajenga madhabahu mbele ya yule ndama na kutangaza, “Kesho kutakuwa na sikukuu kwa Bwana.” 632:6 Kut 20:24; 34:15; Law 3:1; 4:10; 6:12; 9:4; 22:21; Hes 6:14; 25:2; Kum 27:7; Amu 20:26; Eze 43:27; Mdo 7:14; Amu 19:4; Rut 3:3; 1Sam 1:9; 2Sam 11; 11; 1Fal 13:23; 18:42; Neh 8:12; Mhu 5:18; Yer 16:8; 1Kor 10:7Kwa hiyo siku iliyofuata watu wakaamka asubuhi na mapema na kutoa sadaka za kuteketeza na sadaka za amani. Baadaye watu wakaketi kula na kunywa, nao wakasimama, wakajizamisha katika sherehe.
732:7 Kut 33:1; Mwa 6:11-12; Kut 20:8Kisha Bwana akamwambia Mose, “Shuka, kwa sababu watu wako, uliowatoa Misri, wamepotoka. 832:8 Yer 7:26; 16:12; Mal 2:8; 3:7; Kut 20:4; 22:20; 1Fal 12:28; Eze 23:8Wamekuwa wepesi kugeuka na kuacha niliyowaamuru, na wamejitengenezea sanamu ya kuyeyusha yenye umbo la ndama. Wameisujudia na kuitolea dhabihu, nao wamesema, ‘Hii ndiyo miungu yenu, ee Israeli iliyokupandisha kutoka Misri.’ ”
932:9 Kut 33:3-5; 34:9; Kum 9:6, 13; 10:16; 31:27; Amu 2:19; 2Fal 17:14; 2Nya 30:8; 36:13; Neh 9:16; Za 78:8; Mit 29:1; Isa 46:12; 48:4; Yer 7:26; Eze 2:4; Hos 4:16; Mdo 7:51Bwana akamwambia Mose, “Nimeona watu hawa, nao ni watu wenye shingo ngumu. 1032:10 1Sam 2:25; Yer 11:14; 7:16; 14:11; Kut 22:24; 33:3-5; Hes 16:21; Kum 9:14-19; Za 106:22; Yer 14:12; Eze 20:13; Hes 14:12; Dan 9:14Sasa niache ili hasira yangu ipate kuwaka dhidi yao, nami nipate kuwaangamiza. Kisha nitakufanya wewe kuwa taifa kubwa.”
1132:11 Kum 9:18; 2Sam 21:1; 2Nya 15:2; Za 9:10; 34:4; 106:23; Isa 9:13; Yer 15:1; Kum 9:26; 1Sam 7:9; Neh 1:10; Za 136:12Lakini Mose akamsihi Bwana Mungu wake, akasema, “Ee Bwana, kwa nini hasira yako iwake dhidi ya watu wako, wale uliowatoa Misri kwa uweza mkuu na mkono wenye nguvu? 1232:12 Hes 14:13-16; Kum 9:28; Kut 33:13Kwa nini Wamisri waseme, ‘Ni kwa nia mbaya aliwatoa Misri, ili awaue milimani na kuwafuta usoni mwa dunia’? Achilia mbali hasira yako kali, waonee huruma na usilete maafa juu ya watu wako. 1332:13 Kut 2:24; 33:14; Mwa 22:16; Ebr 6:13; Mwa 15:5; 22:17; 12:7; 26:4Wakumbuke watumishi wako Abrahamu, Isaki na Israeli, ambao uliwaapia kwa nafsi yako mwenyewe: ‘Nitawafanya uzao wako kuwa wengi kama nyota za angani, nami nitawapa wazao wako nchi hii yote ambayo niliwaahidia, nayo itakuwa urithi wao milele.’ ” 1432:14 Kum 9:19; 1Sam 15:11; 2Sam 24:16; 1Fal 21:29; 1Nya 21:15; Za 106:45; Yer 18:8; 26:3; Amo 7:3; Yn 3:10Kisha Bwana akawaonea huruma, wala hakuleta juu ya watu wake maafa aliyokuwa amekusudia.
1532:15 Kut 31:18; 19:18; Ebr 9:4; Kut 34:4, 29; Kum 9:15; 2Kor 3:3Mose akageuka, akashuka kutoka mlimani akiwa na vibao viwili vya Ushuhuda mikononi mwake. Vilikuwa vimeandikwa pande zote mbili, mbele na nyuma. 1632:16 Kut 24:12; 31:18Vibao hivyo vilikuwa kazi ya Mungu; maandishi yalikuwa mwandiko wa Mungu, yaliyochorwa kama muhuri juu ya vibao.
1732:17 Kut 17:9; 31:18Yoshua aliposikia sauti za watu wakipiga kelele, akamwambia Mose, “Kuna sauti ya vita kambini.”
18Mose akajibu:
“Si sauti ya ushindi,
wala si sauti ya kushindwa;
ni sauti ya kuimba ninayosikia.”
1932:19 Kum 9:16; 1Kor 10:7; Ezr 9:3; Za 119:53, 158; Kut 34:1; Kum 9:17Mose alipoikaribia kambi na kuona yule ndama na ile michezo, hasira yake ikawaka, akatupa vile vibao vilivyokuwa mikononi mwake, akavipasua vipande vipande pale chini ya mlima. 2032:20 Kut 7:25; 12:3; Yos 7:1; 2Fal 23:6; 1Nya 14:12; 2Nya 34:7; Mik 1:7; Kum 9:21Kisha akamchukua yule ndama waliokuwa wamemtengeneza na kumchoma kwenye moto, kisha akamsaga kuwa unga, akanyunyiza kwenye maji na kuwafanya Waisraeli wanywe.
21Mose akamwambia Aroni, “Watu hawa walikufanyia nini, hata ukawaongoza kufanya dhambi kubwa hivyo?”
2232:22 Mwa 18:30; Kum 9:24; 28:20; 2Fal 21:15; Ezr 9:13; Neh 9:28; Yer 4:4; 44:3; Eze 6:9Aroni akamwambia, “Usikasirike bwana wangu. Unajua jinsi watu hawa walivyo tayari kwa maovu. 2332:23 Mdo 7:40Wao waliniambia, ‘Tufanyie miungu itakayotuongoza. Kwa kuwa huyu jamaa yetu Mose aliyetupandisha kutoka Misri, hatufahamu yaliyompata.’ 24Kwa hiyo nikawaambia, ‘Yeyote aliye na kito chochote cha dhahabu avue.’ Kisha wakanipa hiyo dhahabu, nami nikaitupa motoni, akatokea huyu ndama!”
2532:25 Mwa 38:23Mose akaona kuwa watu wameasi, kwa kuwa Aroni alikuwa amewaacha waasi, na hivyo kuwa kichekesho kwa adui zao. 26Kwa hiyo Mose akasimama kwenye ingilio la kambi, akasema, “Yeyote aliye upande wa Bwana, aje upande wangu.” Walawi wote wakamjia.
2732:27 Hes 25:3-5; Kum 33:9; Eze 9:5Ndipo alipowaambia, “Hili ndilo Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli asemalo: ‘Kila mmoja wenu ajifunge upanga wake kiunoni aende huku na huko kambi yote mwisho hadi mwisho mwingine, kila mmoja amuue ndugu yake, na rafiki yake na jirani yake.’ ” 28Walawi wakafanya kama Mose alivyoamuru, siku ile wakafa watu wapatao 3,000. 29Kisha Mose akasema, “Leo mmewekwa wakfu kwa Bwana, kwa kuwa mlikuwa kinyume na wana wenu wenyewe na ndugu zenu, naye Mungu amewabariki leo.”
3032:30 1Sam 12:20; Za 25:11; 85:2; Law 4:20; 5:6-13; 6:7; Hes 25:13Siku iliyofuata Mose akawaambia watu, “Mmefanya dhambi kubwa. Lakini sasa nitapanda juu kwa Bwana, labda nitaweza kufanya upatanisho kwa ajili ya dhambi yenu.”
3132:31 Kut 34:9; 9:18; 20:23Hivyo Mose akarudi kwa Bwana na kumwambia, “Lo! Hawa watu wamefanya dhambi kubwa namna gani! Wamejitengenezea miungu ya dhahabu. 3232:32 Hes 14:19; Rum 9:3; Za 69:28; Eze 13:9; Dan 7:10; 12:1; Mal 3:16; Lk 10:20; Efe 4:3Lakini sasa nakusihi, wasamehe dhambi yao; lakini kama sivyo, basi nifute kutoka kwenye kitabu ulichoandika.”
3332:33 Kut 17:14; Ay 21:20; Ufu 3:5; Za 9:5Bwana akamjibu Mose, “Yeyote aliyenitenda dhambi ndiye nitakayemfuta kutoka kwenye kitabu changu. 3432:34 Kut 15:17; 3:17; 14:19; Mwa 50:19; Kum 32:35; Za 89:32; 94:23; 99:8; 109:20; Isa 27:1; Yer 5:9; 11:22; 23:20; 44:13, 29; Hos 12:2; Rum 2:5-6Sasa nenda, uongoze hao watu mpaka mahali nilipokuambia, naye malaika wangu atakutangulia. Pamoja na hayo, wakati utakapofika wa mimi kuwaadhibu, nitawaadhibu kwa ajili ya dhambi yao.”
3532:35 2Sam 12:9Ndipo Bwana akawapiga watu kwa ugonjwa wa tauni kwa sababu ya yale waliyoyafanya kwa ndama yule ambaye alitengenezwa na Aroni.
