19. The people made a gold calf at Mount Sinai.They worshiped a metal statue.
20. They exchanged their glorious Godfor a statue of a bull, which eats grass.
21. They forgot the God who saved them,who had done great things in Egypt.
22. He did miracles in Egypt.He did amazing things by the Red Sea.
23. So God said he would destroy them.But Moses, his chosen one, stood before him.He stopped God’s anger from destroying them.
24. Then they refused to go into the beautiful land of Canaan.They did not believe what God promised.
25. They grumbled in their tentsand did not obey the Lord.
26. So he swore to themthat they would die in the desert.
27. He said their children would be killed by other nationsand that they would be scattered among other countries.
28. They joined in worshiping Baal at Peor.They ate meat that had been sacrificed to lifeless statues.
29. They made the Lord angry by what they did.So many people became sick with a terrible disease.
30. But Phinehas prayed to the Lord,and the disease stopped.
31. The Lord will remember that Phinehas did what was right.And God will remember this from now on.