22 Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil.
23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
24 So I told them, ‘Whoever is wearing gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild because Aaron had lost control—to the secret delight of their foes.
26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the Levites then rallied to him,
27 and he told them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put your sword on your hip! Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate, and kill your brothers, your friends, your neighbors!”
28 The Levites did as Moses had commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell.