So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin, and they have made for themselves gods of gold.

“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.

“If they do not believe you or pay attention to the former sign, then they may believe the latter sign.

He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe – there it was, restored like the rest of his skin!

He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Now when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand – when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

For seven days you are to make atonement for the altar and set it apart as holy. Then the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will be holy.

They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them – they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

Also, take your flocks and your herds, just as you have requested, and leave. But bless me also.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and make them wash their clothes

Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.

Let the priests also, who approach the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through against them.”

There I will meet with the Israelites, and it will be set apart as holy by my glory.

So you are to sanctify them, and they will be most holy; anything that touches them will be holy.

And he has put it in his heart to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

“On the first day of the first month you are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

You are to place the ark of the testimony in it and shield the ark with the special curtain.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make us gods that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!”