“Then the Lord told Moses, "Quick! Go down the mountain! The people you brought from Egypt have defiled themselves.”

“They have already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They have made an idol shaped like a calf, and they have worshiped and sacrificed to it. They are saying, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.' "

“Then the Lord said, "I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. [10] Now leave me alone so my anger can blaze against them and destroy them all. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation instead of them."

“The Egyptians will say, 'God tricked them into coming to the mountains so he could and wipe them from the face of the earth.' Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you are planning against your people!”

“Remember your covenant with your servants—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You swore by your own self, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. Yes, I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.' "

“So the Lord withdrew his threat and didn't bring against his people the disaster he had threatened.”