"Ye have sinned a great sin," he said, "and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin." He went, and in his confession before God he said, "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now if Thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written." The answer was, "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. Therefore now go, lead the people into the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, Mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

I har begået en stor synd; men nu vil jeg stige op til Herren, måske kan jeg skaffe soning for Eders synd! Derpå gik han, og i sin bekendelse over for Gud sagde han: Ak, dette folk har begået en stor synd, de har lavet sig en gud af guld. Om du dog ville tilgive dem deres synd ! Hvis ikke, så udslet mig af den bog, du fører! Svaret var: Den, som har syndet imod mig, ham vil jeg udslette af min bog! Men gå nu og før folket hen, hvor jeg har befalet dig at føre det hen; se, min engel skal drage foran dig! Men til sin tid vil jeg straffe dem for deres synd!