They gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! Exodus 32:24

他们就给了我，我把金环扔在火中，这牛犊便出来了。-出埃及记32章24节

“Mistakes were made,” said the CEO as he discussed the illegal activity his company had been involved in. He looked regretful, yet he kept blame at arm’s length and couldn’t admit he had personally done anything wrong.

当一位总裁谈到他的公司卷入非法活动时，他懊恼地说：“犯错了！”他看起来很后悔，但却不肯承认自己有任何错误。

Some “mistakes” are just mistakes: driving in the wrong direction, forgetting to set a timer and burning dinner, miscalculating your checkbook balance. But then there are the deliberate deeds that go far beyond—God calls those sin. When God questioned Adam and Eve about why they had disobeyed Him, they quickly tried to shift the blame to another (Gen. 3:8–13). Aaron took no personal responsibility when the people built a golden calf to worship in the desert. He explained to Moses, “[The people] gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Ex. 32:24).

有些错误只是单纯的“过错”，如：开车走错路了、不小心将晚餐烧焦、要开支票时才发现支票簿已用完了。但有些错误则是蓄意犯下的偏差行为，上帝称之为罪。当上帝询问亚当和夏娃，为什么不听从祂的吩咐？他们两人立刻互相推卸责任、怪罪他人（创世记3章8-13节） 。当百姓在旷野中铸造并敬拜金牛犊时，亚伦也不肯为此担负起个人的责任。亚伦向摩西解释说：“他们就给了我，我把金环扔在火中，这牛犊便出来了。”（出埃及记32章24节）

He might as well have muttered, “Mistakes were made.”

他还不如低声地说：“我犯错了！”

Sometimes it seems easier to blame someone else rather than admitting our own failings. Equally dangerous is to try to minimize our sin by calling it “just a mistake” instead of acknowledging its true nature.

有时，怪罪他人会比承认自己的过失更加容易。同样地，我们也不应该将所犯的罪视为单纯的“过错”，而不肯承认自己犯了罪。

But when we take responsibility—acknowledging our sin and confessing it—the One who “is faithful and just . . . will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our God offers His children forgiveness and restoration.

但当我们肯负起责任，承认我们的罪并悔改时，上帝“是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义”（约翰一书1章9节） 。上帝赐下赦免，让祂的儿女可以回转归向祂。

The first step to receiving God’s forgiveness is to admit that we need it.

要得上帝的赦免，需先承认我们的罪。

Exodus 32:1-5New International Version (NIV)

The Golden Calf

32  1.When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”

3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 

4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.”

出埃及 32:1-5Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

亚伦造犊

32  1.百姓见摩西迟延不下山，就大家聚集到亚伦那里，对他说：“起来，为我们做神像，可以在我们前面引路，因为领我们出埃及地的那个摩西，我们不知道他遭了什么事。” 

2 亚伦对他们说：“你们去摘下你们妻子、儿女耳上的金环，拿来给我。”

3 百姓就都摘下他们耳上的金环，拿来给亚伦。

4 亚伦从他们手里接过来，铸了一只牛犊，用雕刻的器具做成。他们就说：“以色列啊，这是领你出埃及地的神！” 

5 亚伦看见，就在牛犊面前筑坛，且宣告说：“明日要向耶和华守节。”

整理：于姊妹