21. And as for that sinful thing you made, that calf, I took it and I burned it with fire. Then I smashed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as dust. Then I dumped the dust into the stream that ran down the mountain.
22. Also at Taberah, again at Massah, and then again at Kibroth-hattaavah, you have been the kind of people who make the Lord angry.
23. And then, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, telling you: "Go up and take possession of the land that I’m giving you," you disobeyed the Lord your God’s command. You didn’t trust him. You didn’t obey God’s voice.
24. You’ve been rebellious toward the Lord from the day I met you.
25. But I fell on my knees in the Lord’s presence forty days and forty nights, lying flat out, because the Lord planned on wiping you out.
26. But I prayed to the Lord! I said: Lord, my Lord! Don’t destroy your people, your own possession, whom you saved by your own power, whom you brought out of Egypt with a strong hand!
27. Remember your servants: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Don’t focus on this people’s stubbornness, wickedness, and sin.