Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 10Exodus 32:1-20

The Golden Calf

While Moses stays on the mountain, the people ask Aaron for gods, and he makes a calf from their gold. The LORD tells Moses to leave him alone, and Moses speaks to the LORD. Moses goes down with the two tablets and comes near the camp. Read the story in simple English, with the real verse at the end.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~41 min · free

Two stone tablets standing together on a rocky mountain path

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

ear
the part on the side of the head that you hear with
noun
wrath
very strong anger
noun
power
the strength or the ability to do great things
noun
side
one of the two faces of a flat thing, like a page; also the left or the right part of something
noun
work
something that a person makes or does; also a job, the things you do to earn money
noun
camp
a place where many people stay outside, in tents, for a time
noun
receive
to take something that someone gives or hands to you
verb
alone
by yourself, with no other person; also with no one troubling you
adverb
swear
to make a very serious promise
verb
scatter
to throw or spread small things over a wide place
verb

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

The people ask Aaron for gods, and he makes a calf from the gold in their ears.
The LORD tells Moses to leave him alone, and Moses speaks of great power.
Moses asks the LORD to remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and the LORD turns away from the evil.
Moses goes down with two tablets, comes near the camp, and scatters powder on water.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Exodus 32:4 · WEB

He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

The world of the story

How long was Moses away from the people? Exodus 24:18 says that he went up the mountain and was there forty days and forty nights.

Source: World English Bible · Public domain

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 15 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Exodus 32:1 to 20, in the World English Bible.

What do the people ask Aaron for?

They ask him to make gods for them (Exodus 32:1).

What does Aaron make?

He receives what the people hand him and makes a molded calf (Exodus 32:4).

What does the LORD say to Moses about the people?

He says: leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them (Exodus 32:10).

What does Moses carry down from the mountain?

He carries the two tablets, written on both sides (Exodus 32:15).

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Exodus 32:1 to 20 in order, in short sentences. It leaves out the altar and the offerings (Exodus 32:5-6) and parts of the speeches. The real verses at the end are Exodus 32:4, 32:10 and 32:14.

Other questions:Do I need to know English?Does Biblup teach doctrine?