18-6 Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed;

Exodus 32

1 When the people saw that Moses was late in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron, and they said to him: “Come on! Make us gods that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt we don't know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “Remove the golden earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them [those earrings] to me.”

3 And all the people stripped themselves of the golden earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.

4 He took [them] from their hand[s], fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molten calf, upon which they said: “These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

Numbers 25

1 Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of the Moabites.

2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and prostrated themselves to their gods.

3 Israel became attached to Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord flared against Israel.

4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them before the Lord, facing the sun, and then the flaring anger of the Lord will be removed from Israel.

5 Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you shall kill the men who became attached to Baal Peor.

6 Then an Israelite man came and brought the Midianite woman to his brethren, before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the entire congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

7 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen saw this, arose from the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.

8 He went after the Israelite man into the chamber and drove [it through] both of them; the Israelite man, and the woman through her stomach, and the plague ceased from the children of Israel.

9 Those that died in the plague numbered twenty four thousand.