17. Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”
18. Moses answered:“It is not an army’s shout of victory.It is not an army’s cry of defeat.It is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19. When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing. He became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets which he was carrying. He broke them at the bottom of the mountain.
20. Then he took the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. And he ground the gold until it became powder. He threw the powder into the water. And he forced the Israelites to drink that water.
21. Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”
22. Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong.
23. The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.’
24. So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ So they gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”
25. Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. He saw that Aaron had let them get out of control. Their enemies would laugh at them.
26. So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.
27. Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend and his neighbor.’”
28. The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3,000 of the people of Israel died.
29. Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers. And God has blessed you for this.”