ख़ुरूज 32
1When the people saw that Musa delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Harun, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Musa, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
2Harun said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Harun. 4He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a moulded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5When Harun saw this, he built an altar before it; and Harun made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
6They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7The LORD spoke to Musa, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! 8They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a moulded calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”
9The LORD said to Musa, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. 10Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
11Musa begged the LORD his Allah, and said, “The LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?’ Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil against your people. 13Remember Ibrahim, Isḥāq, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring 32:13 or, seed as the stars of the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
14So The LORD turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15Musa turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other. 16The tablets were the work of Allah, and the writing was the writing of Allah, engraved on the tablets.
17When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Musa, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”
18He said, “It isn’t the voice of those who shout for victory. It is not the voice of those who cry for being overcome; but the noise of those who sing that I hear.” 19As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Musa’s anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain. 20He took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
21Musa said to Harun, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
22Harun said, “Don’t let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For they said to me, ‘Make us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Musa, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them take it off.’ So they gave it to me; and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25When Musa saw that the people were out of control, (for Harun had let them lose control, causing derision amongst their enemies), 26then Musa stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side, come to me!”
All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27He said to them, “The LORD, Allah of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.’” 28The sons of Levi did according to the word of Musa. About three thousand men fell of the people that day. 29Musa said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, for every man was against his son and against his brother, that he may give you a blessing today.”
30On the next day, Musa said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.”
31Musa returned to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold. 32Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33The LORD said to Musa, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35The LORD struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Harun made.