قَالَ يَٰهَٰرُونُ مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذۡ رَأَيۡتَهُمۡ ضَلُّوٓاْ
Moses scolded ˹his brother˺, “O Aaron! What prevented you, when you saw them going astray,
أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِۖ أَفَعَصَيۡتَ أَمۡرِي
from following after me? How could you disobey my orders?”
قَالَ يَبۡنَؤُمَّ لَا تَأۡخُذۡ بِلِحۡيَتِي وَلَا بِرَأۡسِيٓۖ إِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقۡتَ بَيۡنَ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَـٰٓءِيلَ وَلَمۡ تَرۡقُبۡ قَوۡلِي
Aaron pleaded, “O son of my mother! Do not seize me by my beard or ˹the hair of˺ my head. I really feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and did not observe my word.’”
قَالَ فَمَا خَطۡبُكَ يَٰسَٰمِرِيُّ
Moses then asked, “What did you think you were doing, O Sâmiri?”
قَالَ بَصُرۡتُ بِمَا لَمۡ يَبۡصُرُواْ بِهِۦ فَقَبَضۡتُ قَبۡضَةٗ مِّنۡ أَثَرِ ٱلرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذۡتُهَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ سَوَّلَتۡ لِي نَفۡسِي
He said, “I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful ˹of dust˺ from the hoof-prints of ˹the horse of˺ the messenger-angel ˹Gabriel˺ then cast it ˹on the moulded calf˺. This is what my lower-self tempted me into.”
قَالَ فَٱذۡهَبۡ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَۖ وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوۡعِدٗا لَّن تُخۡلَفَهُۥۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَٰهِكَ ٱلَّذِي ظَلۡتَ عَلَيۡهِ عَاكِفٗاۖ لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُۥ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُۥ فِي ٱلۡيَمِّ نَسۡفًا
Moses said, “Go away then! And for ˹the rest of your˺ life you will surely be crying, ‘Do not touch ˹me˺!’ Then you will certainly have a fate that you cannot escape. Now look at your god to which you have been devoted: we will burn it up, then scatter it in the sea completely.”