Deuteronomy 9:18-25
9:18 Then I again fell down before the
Lord for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before the
Lord as to enrage him.
9:19 For I was terrified at the
Lord’s intense anger
that threatened to destroy you. But he
listened to me this time as well.
9:20 The
Lord was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for him
too.
9:21 As for your sinful thing
that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down,
ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
9:22 Moreover, you continued to provoke the
Lord at Taberah,
Massah,
and Kibroth-Hattaavah.
9:23 And when he
sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the
Lord your God
and would neither believe nor obey him.
9:24 You have been rebelling against him
from the very first day I knew you!
Moses’ Plea on Behalf of the Lord’s Reputation
9:25 I lay flat on the ground before the Lord for forty days and nights, for he had said he would destroy you.