Study Desk

"Then you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests.

"And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

"And you shall wrap their waists with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and fit caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a permanent statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

"The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, so that they may be anointed and ordained in them.

"So they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy.

"And they shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.

"You shall also make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two sides—on opposite sides—and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.

"So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die; and it shall be a permanent statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations."

"And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me.

"And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you:

the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place, they are to make them according to everything that I have commanded you."

Then he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a cast metal calf; and they said, "This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

So the next day they got up early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.

"They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.

"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

Then he took the calf which they had made and completely burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

And Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.

"So I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.' Then they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."