23. They said to me, ‘We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. Make gods for us. They will lead us.’
24. So I told them to take off any gold they were wearing. They gave it to me. I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
25. Aaron had let the people get out of control, and they became an object of ridicule to their enemies. When Moses saw this,
26. he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “If you’re on the Lord’s side, come over here to me!” Then all the Levites gathered around him.
27. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors.”
28. The Levites did what Moses told them, and that day about 3,000 people died.
29. Moses said, “Today you are ordained as the Lord’s priests. God gave you a blessing today because each of you fought with your own sons and brothers.”