The great leader summoned his guilty brother and sternly demanded, "What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" Aaron endeavored to shield himself by relating the clamors of the people; that if he had not complied with their wishes, he would have been put to death. "Let not the anger of my lord wax hot," he said; "thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf." He would lead Moses to believe that a miracle had been wrought--that the gold had been cast into the fire, and by supernatural power changed to a calf. But his excuses and prevarications were of no avail. He was justly dealt with as the chief offender.

Den store leder kaldte sin broder til sig og spurgte strengt: "Hvad har dette folk gjort dig, siden du har bragt så stor en synd over det?" Aron prøvede at dække over sig selv ved at fortælle om folkets optræden. Han sagde, at hvis han ikke havde givet efter for deres ønsker, ville han være blevet slået ihjel. "Vredes ikke, herre! Du ved selv, at folket ligger i det onde, og de sagde til mig: Lav os en gud, som kan drage foran os, thi vi ved ikke, hvad der er blevet af denne Moses, der førte os ud af Ægypten! Da sagde jeg til dem: De, der har guldsmykker, skal rive dem af! De bragte mig da guldet, og jeg kastede det i ilden, og så kom denne tyrekalv ud deraf!" Han ville have Moses til at tro, at der var sket et mirakel - at guldet var blevet kastet i ilden og forvandlet til en kalv ved overnaturlig kraft. Men hans undskyldninger og udflugter gavnede intet. Han blev med rette behandlet som den største overtræder.