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Selected Verse: Exodus 32:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ex 32:1	Strong Concordance	And when the people [05971] saw [07200] that Moses [04872] delayed [0954] to come down [03381] out of the mount [02022], the people [05971] gathered themselves together [06950] unto Aaron [0175], and said [0559] unto him, Up [06965], make [06213] us gods [0430], which shall go [03212] before [06440] us; for as for this Moses [04872], the man [0376] that brought [05927] us up out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], we wot [03045] not what is become of him.
	King James	And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, 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.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
THE GOLDEN CALF. (Exo. 32:1-35) when the people saw that Moses delayed--They supposed that he had lost his way in the darkness or perished in the fire. the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron--rather, "against" Aaron in a tumultuous manner, to compel him to do what they wished. The incidents related in this chapter disclose a state of popular sentiment and feeling among the Israelites that stands in singular contrast to the tone of profound and humble reverence they displayed at the giving of the law. Within a space of little more than thirty days, their impressions were dissipated. Although they were still encamped upon ground which they had every reason to regard as holy; although the cloud of glory that capped the summit of Sinai was still before their eyes, affording a visible demonstration of their being in close contact, or rather in the immediate presence, of God, they acted as if they had entirely forgotten the impressive scenes of which they had been so recently the witnesses. said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us--The Hebrew word rendered "gods" is simply the name of God in its plural form. The image made was single, and therefore it would be imputing to the Israelites a greater sin than they were guilty of, to charge them with renouncing the worship of the true God for idols. The fact is, that they required, like children, to have something to strike their senses, and as the Shekinah, "the glory of God," of which they had hitherto enjoyed the sight, was now veiled, they wished for some visible material object as the symbol of the divine presence, which should go before them as the pillar of fire had done.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

THE GOLDEN CALF. (Exo. 32:1-35)

when the people saw that Moses delayed--They supposed that he had lost his way in the darkness or perished in the fire.

the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron--rather, "against" Aaron in a tumultuous manner, to compel him to do what they wished. The incidents related in this chapter disclose a state of popular sentiment and feeling among the Israelites that stands in singular contrast to the tone of profound and humble reverence they displayed at the giving of the law. Within a space of little more than thirty days, their impressions were dissipated. Although they were still encamped upon ground which they had every reason to regard as holy; although the cloud of glory that capped the summit of Sinai was still before their eyes, affording a visible demonstration of their being in close contact, or rather in the immediate presence, of God, they acted as if they had entirely forgotten the impressive scenes of which they had been so recently the witnesses.

said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us--The Hebrew word rendered "gods" is simply the name of God in its plural form. The image made was single, and therefore it would be imputing to the Israelites a greater sin than they were guilty of, to charge them with renouncing the worship of the true God for idols. The fact is, that they required, like children, to have something to strike their senses, and as the Shekinah, "the glory of God," of which they had hitherto enjoyed the sight, was now veiled, they wished for some visible material object as the symbol of the divine presence, which should go before them as the pillar of fire had done.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence. The golden calf - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have imagined that he had deluded them, and had probably been destroyed amidst the thunders of the mountain Exo 24:15-18. Accordingly, they gave way to their superstitious fears and fell back upon that form of idolatry which was most familiar to them (see Exo 32:4 note). The narrative of the circumstances is more briefly given by Moses at a later period in one of his addresses to the people Deu 9:8-21, Deu 9:25-29; Deu 10:1-5, Deu 10:8-11. It is worthy of remark, that Josephus, in his very characteristic chapter on the giving of the law, says nothing whatever of this act of apostacy, though he relates that Moses twice ascended the mountain. Exo 32:1 Unto Aaron - The chief authority during the absence of Moses was committed to Aaron and Hur Exo 24:14. Make us gods - The substantive אלהים 'elôhı̂ym is plural in form and may denote gods. But according to the Hebrew idiom, the meaning need not be plural, and hence, the word is used as the common designation of the true God (Gen 1:1, etc. See Exo 21:6 note). It here denotes a god, and should be so rendered. Exo 32:2 Break off the golden earrings - It has been very generally held from early times, that Aaron did not willingly lend himself to the mad design of the multitude; but that, overcome by their importunity, he asked them to give up such possessions as he knew they would not willingly part with, in the hope of putting a check on them. Assuming this to have been his purpose, he took a wrong measure of their fanaticism, for all the people made the sacrifice at once Exo 32:3. His weakness, in any case, was unpardonable and called for the intercession of Moses Deu 9:20. Exo 32:4 The sense approved by most modern critics is: and he received the gold at their hand and collected it in a bag and made it a molten calf. The Israelites must have been familiar with the ox-worship of the Egyptians; perhaps many of them had witnessed the rites of Mnevis at Heliopolis, almost; on the borders of the land of Goshen, and they could not have been unacquainted with the more famous rites of Apis at Memphis. It is expressly said that they yielded to the idolatry of Egypt while they were in bondage Jos 24:14; Eze 20:8; Eze 23:3, Eze 23:8; and this is in keeping with the earliest Jewish tradition (Philo). In the next verse, Aaron appears to speak of the calf as if it was a representative of Yahweh - "Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord." The Israelites did not, it should be noted, worship a living Mnevis, or Apis, having a proper name, but only the golden type of the animal. The mystical notions connected with the ox by the Egyptian priests may have possessed their minds, and, when expressed in this modified and less gross manner, may have been applied to the Lord, who had really delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Their sin then lay, not in their adopting another god, but in their pretending to worship a visible symbol of Him whom no symbol could represent. The close connection between the calves of Jeroboam and this calf is shown by the repetition of the formula, "which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" Kg1 12:28. These be thy gods - This is thy god. See Exo 32:1 note.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The long stay that Moses made upon the mountain rendered the people so impatient, that they desired another leader, and asked Aaron, to whom Moses had directed the people to go in all their difficulties during his absence (Exo 24:14), to make them a god to go before them. The protecting and helping presence of God had vanished with Moses, of whom they said, "We know not what has become of him," and whom they probably supposed to have perished on the mountain in the fire that was burning there. They came to Aaron, therefore, and asked him, not for a leader, but for a god to go before them; no doubt with the intention of trusting the man as their leader who was able to make them a god. They were unwilling to continue longer without a God to go before them; but the faith upon which their desire was founded was a very perverted one, not only as clinging to what was apparent to the eye, but as corrupted by the impatience and unbelief of a natural heart, which has not been pervaded by the power of the living God, and imagines itself forsaken by Him, whenever His help is not visibly and outwardly at hand. The delay (בּשׁשׁ, from בּושׁ to act bashfully, or with reserve, then to hesitate, or delay) of Moses' return was a test for Israel, in which it was to prove its faith and confidence in Jehovah and His servant Moses (Exo 19:9), but in which it gave way to the temptation of flesh and blood. Exo 32:2-3 Aaron also succumbed to the temptation along with the people. Instead of courageously and decidedly opposing their proposal, and raising the despondency of the people into the strength of living faith, by pointing them to the great deeds through which Jehovah had proved Himself to be the faithful covenant God, he hoped to be able to divert them from their design by means of human craftiness. "Tear off the golden ornaments in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me:" this he said in the hope that, by a demand which pressed so heavily upon the vanity of the female sex and its love of display, he might arouse such opposition as would lead the people to desist from their desire. But his cleverness was put to shame. "All the people" tore off their golden ornaments and brought them to him (Exo 32:3); for their object was not merely "to accomplish an act of pure self-will, in which case there is no sacrifice that the human heart is not ready to make," but to secure a pledge of the protection of God through a visible image of the Deity. The weak-minded Aaron had no other course left than to make (i.e., to cause to be made) an image of God for the people. Exo 32:4 He took (the golden ear-rings) from their hands, and formed it (the gold) with the graving-tool, or chisel, and made it a molten calf." Out of the many attempts that have been made at interpreting the words בּחרט אתו ויּצר, there are only two that deserve any notice, viz., the one adopted by Bochart and Schroeder, "he bound it up in a bag," and the one given by the earlier translators, "he fashioned (יצר, as in Kg1 7:15) the gold with the chisel." No doubt ויּצר (from צוּר = צרר) does occur in the sense of binding in Kg2 5:23, and חרט may certainly be used for חריט a bag; but why should Aaron first tie up the golden ear-rings in a bag? And if he did so, why this superfluous and incongruous allusion to the fact? We give in our adhesion to the second, which is adopted by the lxx, Onkelos, the Syriac, and even Jonathan, though the other rendering is also interpolated into the text. Such objections, as that the calf is expressly spoken of as molten work, or that files are used, and not chisels, for giving a finer finish to casts, have no force whatever. The latter is not even correct. A graving-knife is quite as necessary as a file for chiselling, and giving a finer finish to things cast in a mould; and cheret does not necessarily mean a chisel, but may signify any tool employed for carving, engraving, and shaping hard metals. The other objection rests upon the supposition that massecah means an image made entirely of metal (e.g., gold). But this cannot be sustained. Apart from the fact, that most of the larger idols worshipped by the ancients had a wooden centre, and were merely covered with gold plate, such passages as Isa 40:19 and Isa 30:22 prove, not only that the casting of gold for idols consisted merely in casting the metal into a flat sheet, which the goldsmith hammered out and spread into a coating of gold plate, but also that a wooden image, when covered in this way with a coating of gold, was actually called massecah. And Aaron's molten calf was also made in this way: it was first of all formed of wood, and then covered with gold plate. This is evident from the way in which it was destroyed: the image was first of all burnt, and then beaten or crushed to pieces, and pounded or ground to powder (Deu 9:21); i.e., the wooden centre was first burnt into charcoal, and then the golden covering beaten or rubbed to pieces (Exo 32:20 compared with Deu 9:21). The "golden calf" (עגל a young bull) was copied from the Egyptian Apis (vid., Hengstenberg, Dissertations); but for all that, it was not the image of an Egyptian deity-it was no symbol of the generative or bearing power of nature, but an image of Jehovah. For when it was finished, those who had made the image, and handed it over to the people, said, "This is thy God (pluralis majest.), O Israel, who brought thee out of Egypt." This is the explanation adopted in Psa 106:19-20. Exo 32:5-6 When Aaron saw it, he built an altar in front of the image, and called aloud to the people, "To-morrow is a feast of Jehovah;" and the people celebrated this feast with burnt-offerings and thank-offerings, with eating and drinking, i.e., with sacrificial meals and sports (צחק), or with loud rejoicing, shouting, antiphonal songs, and dances (cf. Exo 32:17-19), in the same manner in which the Egyptians celebrated their feast of Apis (Herod. 2, 60, and 3, 27). But this intimation of an Egyptian custom is no proof that the feast was not intended for Jehovah; for joyous sacrificial meals, and even sports and dances, are met with in connection with the legitimate worship of Jehovah (cf. Exo 15:20-21). Nevertheless the making of the calf, and the sacrificial meals and other ceremonies performed before it, were a shameful apostasy from Jehovah, a practical denial of the inimitable glory of the true God, and a culpable breach of the second commandment of the covenant words (Exo 20:4), whereby Israel had broken the covenant with the Lord, and fallen back to the heathen customs of Egypt. Aaron also shared the guilt of this transgression, although it was merely out of sinful weakness that he had assented to the proposals of the people and gratified their wishes (cf. Deu 9:20). He also fell with the people, and denied the God who had chosen him, though he himself was unconscious of it, to be His priest, to bear the sins of the people, and to expiate them before Jehovah. The apostasy of the nation became a temptation to him, in which the unfitness of his nature for the office was to be made manifest, in order that he might ever remember this, and not excuse himself from the office, to which the Lord had not called him because of his own worthiness, but purely as an act of unmerited grace.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The long stay that Moses made upon the mountain rendered the people so impatient, that they desired another leader, and asked Aaron, to whom Moses had directed the people to go in all their difficulties during his absence (Exo 24:14), to make them a god to go before them. The protecting and helping presence of God had vanished with Moses, of whom they said, "We know not what has become of him," and whom they probably supposed to have perished on the mountain in the fire that was burning there. They came to Aaron, therefore, and asked him, not for a leader, but for a god to go before them; no doubt with the intention of trusting the man as their leader who was able to make them a god. They were unwilling to continue longer without a God to go before them; but the faith upon which their desire was founded was a very perverted one, not only as clinging to what was apparent to the eye, but as corrupted by the impatience and unbelief of a natural heart, which has not been pervaded by the power of the living God, and imagines itself forsaken by Him, whenever His help is not visibly and outwardly at hand. The delay (בּשׁשׁ, from בּושׁ to act bashfully, or with reserve, then to hesitate, or delay) of Moses' return was a test for Israel, in which it was to prove its faith and confidence in Jehovah and His servant Moses (Exo 19:9), but in which it gave way to the temptation of flesh and blood.

Exo 32:2-3

Aaron also succumbed to the temptation along with the people. Instead of courageously and decidedly opposing their proposal, and raising the despondency of the people into the strength of living faith, by pointing them to the great deeds through which Jehovah had proved Himself to be the faithful covenant God, he hoped to be able to divert them from their design by means of human craftiness. "Tear off the golden ornaments in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me:" this he said in the hope that, by a demand which pressed so heavily upon the vanity of the female sex and its love of display, he might arouse such opposition as would lead the people to desist from their desire. But his cleverness was put to shame. "All the people" tore off their golden ornaments and brought them to him (Exo 32:3); for their object was not merely "to accomplish an act of pure self-will, in which case there is no sacrifice that the human heart is not ready to make," but to secure a pledge of the protection of God through a visible image of the Deity. The weak-minded Aaron had no other course left than to make (i.e., to cause to be made) an image of God for the people.

Exo 32:4

He took (the golden ear-rings) from their hands, and formed it (the gold) with the graving-tool, or chisel, and made it a molten calf." Out of the many attempts that have been made at interpreting the words בּחרט אתו ויּצר, there are only two that deserve any notice, viz., the one adopted by Bochart and Schroeder, "he bound it up in a bag," and the one given by the earlier translators, "he fashioned (יצר, as in Kg1 7:15) the gold with the chisel." No doubt ויּצר (from צוּר = צרר) does occur in the sense of binding in Kg2 5:23, and חרט may certainly be used for חריט a bag; but why should Aaron first tie up the golden ear-rings in a bag? And if he did so, why this superfluous and incongruous allusion to the fact? We give in our adhesion to the second, which is adopted by the lxx, Onkelos, the Syriac, and even Jonathan, though the other rendering is also interpolated into the text. Such objections, as that the calf is expressly spoken of as molten work, or that files are used, and not chisels, for giving a finer finish to casts, have no force whatever. The latter is not even correct. A graving-knife is quite as necessary as a file for chiselling, and giving a finer finish to things cast in a mould; and cheret does not necessarily mean a chisel, but may signify any tool employed for carving, engraving, and shaping hard metals. The other objection rests upon the supposition that massecah means an image made entirely of metal (e.g., gold). But this cannot be sustained. Apart from the fact, that most of the larger idols worshipped by the ancients had a wooden centre, and were merely covered with gold plate, such passages as Isa 40:19 and Isa 30:22 prove, not only that the casting of gold for idols consisted merely in casting the metal into a flat sheet, which the goldsmith hammered out and spread into a coating of gold plate, but also that a wooden image, when covered in this way with a coating of gold, was actually called massecah. And Aaron's molten calf was also made in this way: it was first of all formed of wood, and then covered with gold plate. This is evident from the way in which it was destroyed: the image was first of all burnt, and then beaten or crushed to pieces, and pounded or ground to powder (Deu 9:21); i.e., the wooden centre was first burnt into charcoal, and then the golden covering beaten or rubbed to pieces (Exo 32:20 compared with Deu 9:21).

The "golden calf" (עגל a young bull) was copied from the Egyptian Apis (vid., Hengstenberg, Dissertations); but for all that, it was not the image of an Egyptian deity-it was no symbol of the generative or bearing power of nature, but an image of Jehovah. For when it was finished, those who had made the image, and handed it over to the people, said, "This is thy God (pluralis majest.), O Israel, who brought thee out of Egypt." This is the explanation adopted in Psa 106:19-20.

Exo 32:5-6

When Aaron saw it, he built an altar in front of the image, and called aloud to the people, "To-morrow is a feast of Jehovah;" and the people celebrated this feast with burnt-offerings and thank-offerings, with eating and drinking, i.e., with sacrificial meals and sports (צחק), or with loud rejoicing, shouting, antiphonal songs, and dances (cf. Exo 32:17-19), in the same manner in which the Egyptians celebrated their feast of Apis (Herod. 2, 60, and 3, 27). But this intimation of an Egyptian custom is no proof that the feast was not intended for Jehovah; for joyous sacrificial meals, and even sports and dances, are met with in connection with the legitimate worship of Jehovah (cf. Exo 15:20-21). Nevertheless the making of the calf, and the sacrificial meals and other ceremonies performed before it, were a shameful apostasy from Jehovah, a practical denial of the inimitable glory of the true God, and a culpable breach of the second commandment of the covenant words (Exo 20:4), whereby Israel had broken the covenant with the Lord, and fallen back to the heathen customs of Egypt. Aaron also shared the guilt of this transgression, although it was merely out of sinful weakness that he had assented to the proposals of the people and gratified their wishes (cf. Deu 9:20). He also fell with the people, and denied the God who had chosen him, though he himself was unconscious of it, to be His priest, to bear the sins of the people, and to expiate them before Jehovah. The apostasy of the nation became a temptation to him, in which the unfitness of his nature for the office was to be made manifest, in order that he might ever remember this, and not excuse himself from the office, to which the Lord had not called him because of his own worthiness, but purely as an act of unmerited grace.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Up, make us gods which shall go before us. They were weary of waiting for the promised land. They thought themselves detained too long at mount Sinai. They had a God that stayed with them, but they must have a God to go before them to the land flowing with milk and honey. They were weary of waiting for the return of Moses: As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of Egypt, we know not what is become of him - Observe how slightly they speak of his person, this Moses: And how suspiciously of his delay, we know not what is become of him. And they were weary of waiting for a divine institution of religious worship among them, so they would have a worship of their own invention, probably such as they had seen among the Egyptians. They say, make us gods which shall go before us. Gods! How many would they have? Is not one sufficient? And what good would gods of their own making do them? They must have such Gods to go before them as could not go themselves farther than they were carried!

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
When the people saw that Moses delayed - How long this was before the expiration of the forty days, we cannot tell; but it certainly must have been some considerable time, as the ornaments must be collected, and the calf or ox, after having been founded, must require a considerable time to fashion it with the graving tool; and certainly not more than two or three persons could work on it at once. This work therefore, must have required several days. The people gathered themselves together - They came in a tumultuous and seditious manner, insisting on having an object of religious worship made for them, as they intended under its direction to return to Egypt. See Act 7:39, Act 7:40. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up - This seems to be the language of great contempt, and by it we may see the truth of the character given them by Aaron, Exo 32:22, they were set on mischief. It is likely they might have supposed that Moses had perished in the fire, which they saw had invested the top of the mountain into which he went.

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¹ And when the people [05971] saw [07200] that Moses [04872] delayed [0954] to come down [03381] out of the mount [02022], the people [05971] gathered themselves together [06950] unto Aaron [0175], and said [0559] unto him, Up [06965], make [06213] us gods [0430], which shall go [03212] before [06440] us; for as for this Moses [04872], the man [0376] that brought [05927] us up out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], we wot [03045] not what is become of him.

²⁸ Whereupon the king [04428] took counsel [03289], and made [06213] two [08147] calves [05695] of gold [02091], and said [0559] unto them, It is too much [07227] for you to go up [05927] to Jerusalem [03389]: behold thy gods [0430], O Israel [03478], which brought thee up [05927] out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

⁸ Neither left [05800] she her whoredoms [08457] brought from Egypt [04714]: for in her youth [05271] they lay [07901] with her, and they bruised [06213] the breasts [01717] of her virginity [01331], and poured [08210] their whoredom [08457] upon her.

³ And they committed whoredoms [02181] in Egypt [04714]; they committed whoredoms [02181] in their youth [05271]: there were their breasts [07699] pressed [04600], and there they bruised [06213] the teats [01717] of their virginity [01331].

⁸ But they rebelled [04784] against me, and would [014] not hearken [08085] unto me: they did not every man [0376] cast away [07993] the abominations [08251] of their eyes [05869], neither did they forsake [05800] the idols [01544] of Egypt [04714]: then I said [0559], I will pour out [08210] my fury [02534] upon them, to accomplish [03615] my anger [0639] against them in the midst [08432] of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

¹⁴ Now therefore fear [03372] the LORD [03068], and serve [05647] him in sincerity [08549] and in truth [0571]: and put away [05493] the gods [0430] which your fathers [01] served [05647] on the other side [05676] of the flood [05104], and in Egypt [04714]; and serve [05647] ye the LORD [03068].

⁴ And he received [03947] them at their hand [03027], and fashioned [06696] it with a graving tool [02747], after he had made [06213] it a molten [04541] calf [05695]: and they said [0559], These be thy gods [0430], O Israel [03478], which brought [05927] thee up out of the land [0776] of Egypt [04714].

²⁰ And the LORD [03068] was very [03966] angry [0599] with Aaron [0175] to have destroyed [08045] him: and I prayed [06419] for Aaron [0175] also the same time [06256].

³ And all the people [05971] brake off [06561] the golden [02091] earrings [05141] which were in their ears [0241], and brought [0935] them unto Aaron [0175].

⁶ Then his master [0113] shall bring [05066] him unto the judges [0430]; he shall also bring [05066] him to the door [01817], or unto the door post [04201]; and his master [0113] shall bore [07527] his ear [0241] through with an aul [04836]; and he shall serve [05647] him for ever [05769].

¹ In the beginning [07225] God [0430] created [01254] [0853] the heaven [08064] and [0853] the earth [0776].

¹⁴ And he said [0559] unto the elders [02205], Tarry [03427] ye here [02088] for us, until we come again [07725] unto you: and, behold, Aaron [0175] and Hur [02354] are with you: if any [04310] man [01167] have any matters [01697] to do [01167], let him come [05066] unto them.

⁸ At that time [06256] the LORD [03068] separated [0914] the tribe [07626] of Levi [03878], to bear [05375] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], to stand [05975] before [06440] the LORD [03068] to minister [08334] unto him, and to bless [01288] in his name [08034], unto this day [03117].
⁹ Wherefore Levi [03878] hath no part [02506] nor inheritance [05159] with his brethren [0251]; the LORD [03068] is his inheritance [05159], according as the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] promised [01696] him.
¹⁰ And I stayed [05975] in the mount [02022], according to the first [07223] time [03117], forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915]; and the LORD [03068] hearkened [08085] unto me at that time [06471] also, and the LORD [03068] would [014] not destroy [07843] thee.
¹¹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto me, Arise [06965], take [03212] thy journey [04550] before [06440] the people [05971], that they may go in [0935] and possess [03423] the land [0776], which I sware [07650] unto their fathers [01] to give [05414] unto them.

¹ At that time [06256] the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto me, Hew [06458] thee two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068] like unto the first [07223], and come up [05927] unto me into the mount [02022], and make [06213] thee an ark [0727] of wood [06086].
² And I will write [03789] on the tables [03871] the words [01697] that were in the first [07223] tables [03871] which thou brakest [07665], and thou shalt put [07760] them in the ark [0727].
³ And I made [06213] an ark [0727] of shittim [07848] wood [06086], and hewed [06458] two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068] like unto the first [07223], and went up [05927] into the mount [02022], having the two [08147] tables [03871] in mine hand [03027].
⁴ And he wrote [03789] on the tables [03871], according to the first [07223] writing [04385], the ten [06235] commandments [01697], which the LORD [03068] spake [01696] unto you in the mount [02022] out of the midst [08432] of the fire [0784] in the day [03117] of the assembly [06951]: and the LORD [03068] gave [05414] them unto me.
⁵ And I turned [06437] myself and came down [03381] from the mount [02022], and put [07760] the tables [03871] in the ark [0727] which I had made [06213]; and there they be, as the LORD [03068] commanded [06680] me.

²⁵ Thus I fell down [05307] before [06440] the LORD [03068] forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915], as I fell down [05307] at the first; because the LORD [03068] had said [0559] he would destroy [08045] you.
²⁶ I prayed [06419] therefore unto the LORD [03068], and said [0559], O Lord [0136] GOD [03069], destroy [07843] not thy people [05971] and thine inheritance [05159], which thou hast redeemed [06299] through thy greatness [01433], which thou hast brought forth [03318] out of Egypt [04714] with a mighty [02389] hand [03027].
²⁷ Remember [02142] thy servants [05650], Abraham [085], Isaac [03327], and Jacob [03290]; look [06437] not unto the stubbornness [07190] of this people [05971], nor to their wickedness [07562], nor to their sin [02403]:
²⁸ Lest the land [0776] whence thou broughtest us out [03318] say [0559], Because the LORD [03068] was not able [03201] to bring [0935] them into the land [0776] which he promised [01696] them, and because he hated [08135] them, he hath brought them out [03318] to slay [04191] them in the wilderness [04057].
²⁹ Yet they are thy people [05971] and thine inheritance [05159], which thou broughtest out [03318] by thy mighty [01419] power [03581] and by thy stretched out [05186] arm [02220].

⁸ Also in Horeb [02722] ye provoked [07107] the LORD [03068] to wrath [07107], so that the LORD [03068] was angry [0599] with you to have destroyed [08045] you.
⁹ When I was gone up [05927] into the mount [02022] to receive [03947] the tables [03871] of stone [068], even the tables [03871] of the covenant [01285] which the LORD [03068] made [03772] with you, then I abode [03427] in the mount [02022] forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915], I neither did eat [0398] bread [03899] nor drink [08354] water [04325]:
¹⁰ And the LORD [03068] delivered [05414] unto me two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068] written [03789] with the finger [0676] of God [0430]; and on them was written according to all the words [01697], which the LORD [03068] spake [01696] with you in the mount [02022] out of the midst [08432] of the fire [0784] in the day [03117] of the assembly [06951].
¹¹ And it came to pass at the end [07093] of forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915], that the LORD [03068] gave [05414] me the two [08147] tables [03871] of stone [068], even the tables [03871] of the covenant [01285].
¹² And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto me, Arise [06965], get thee down [03381] quickly [04118] from hence; for thy people [05971] which thou hast brought forth [03318] out of Egypt [04714] have corrupted [07843] themselves; they are quickly [04118] turned aside [05493] out of the way [01870] which I commanded [06680] them; they have made [06213] them a molten image [04541].
¹³ Furthermore the LORD [03068] spake [0559] unto me, saying [0559], I have seen [07200] this people [05971], and, behold, it is a stiffnecked [06203] [07186] people [05971]:
¹⁴ Let me alone [07503], that I may destroy [08045] them, and blot out [04229] their name [08034] from under heaven [08064]: and I will make [06213] of [0854] thee a nation [01471] mightier [06099] and greater [07227] than they.
¹⁵ So I turned [06437] and came down [03381] from the mount [02022], and the mount [02022] burned [01197] with fire [0784]: and the two [08147] tables [03871] of the covenant [01285] were in my two [08147] hands [03027].
¹⁶ And I looked [07200], and, behold, ye had sinned [02398] against the LORD [03068] your God [0430], and had made [06213] you a molten [04541] calf [05695]: ye had turned aside [05493] quickly [04118] out of the way [01870] which the LORD [03068] had commanded [06680] you.
¹⁷ And I took [08610] the two [08147] tables [03871], and cast [07993] them out of [05921] my two [08147] hands [03027], and brake [07665] them before your eyes [05869].
¹⁸ And I fell down [05307] before [06440] the LORD [03068], as at the first [07223], forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915]: I did neither eat [0398] bread [03899], nor drink [08354] water [04325], because of all your sins [02403] which ye sinned [02398], in doing [06213] wickedly [07451] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], to provoke him to anger [03707].
¹⁹ For I was afraid [03025] of [06440] the anger [0639] and hot displeasure [02534], wherewith the LORD [03068] was wroth [07107] against you to destroy [08045] you. But the LORD [03068] hearkened [08085] unto me at that time [06471] also.
²⁰ And the LORD [03068] was very [03966] angry [0599] with Aaron [0175] to have destroyed [08045] him: and I prayed [06419] for Aaron [0175] also the same time [06256].
²¹ And I took [03947] your sin [02403], the calf [05695] which ye had made [06213], and burnt [08313] it with fire [0784], and stamped [03807] it, and ground [02912] it very small [03190], even until it was as small [01854] as dust [06083]: and I cast [07993] the dust [06083] thereof into the brook [05158] that descended out [03381] of the mount [02022].

¹⁵ And Moses [04872] went up [05927] into the mount [02022], and a cloud [06051] covered [03680] the mount [02022].
¹⁶ And the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] abode [07931] upon mount [02022] Sinai [05514], and the cloud [06051] covered [03680] it six [08337] days [03117]: and the seventh [07637] day [03117] he called [07121] unto Moses [04872] out of the midst [08432] of the cloud [06051].
¹⁷ And the sight [04758] of the glory [03519] of the LORD [03068] was like devouring [0398] fire [0784] on the top [07218] of the mount [02022] in the eyes [05869] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478].
¹⁸ And Moses [04872] went [0935] into the midst [08432] of the cloud [06051], and gat him up [05927] into the mount [02022]: and Moses [04872] was in the mount [02022] forty [0705] days [03117] and forty [0705] nights [03915].

²⁰ And the LORD [03068] was very [03966] angry [0599] with Aaron [0175] to have destroyed [08045] him: and I prayed [06419] for Aaron [0175] also the same time [06256].

⁴ Thou shalt not make [06213] unto thee any graven image [06459], or any likeness [08544] of any thing that [0834] is in heaven [08064] above [04605], or that is in the earth [0776] beneath, or that is in the water [04325] under the earth [0776]:

²⁰ And Miriam [04813] the prophetess [05031], the sister [0269] of Aaron [0175], took [03947] a timbrel [08596] in her hand [03027]; and all the women [0802] went out [03318] after [0310] her with timbrels [08596] and with dances [04246].
²¹ And Miriam [04813] answered [06030] them, Sing [07891] ye to the LORD [03068], for he hath triumphed [01342] gloriously [01342]; the horse [05483] and his rider [07392] hath he thrown [07411] into the sea [03220].

¹⁷ And when Joshua [03091] heard [08085] the noise [06963] of the people [05971] as they shouted [07452], he said [0559] unto Moses [04872], There is a noise [06963] of war [04421] in the camp [04264].
¹⁸ And he said [0559], It is not the voice [06963] of them that shout [06030] for mastery [01369], neither is it the voice [06963] of them that cry [06030] for being overcome [02476]: but the noise [06963] of them that sing [06031] do I hear [08085].
¹⁹ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh [07126] unto the camp [04264], that he saw [07200] the calf [05695], and the dancing [04246]: and Moses [04872]' anger [0639] waxed hot [02734], and he cast [07993] the tables [03871] out of his hands [03027], and brake [07665] them beneath [08478] the mount [02022].

⁵ And when Aaron [0175] saw [07200] it, he built [01129] an altar [04196] before [06440] it; and Aaron [0175] made proclamation [07121], and said [0559], To morrow [04279] is a feast [02282] to the LORD [03068].
⁶ And they rose up early [07925] on the morrow [04283], and offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930], and brought [05066] peace offerings [08002]; and the people [05971] sat [03427] down to eat [0398] and to drink [08354], and rose up [06965] to play [06711].

¹⁹ They made [06213] a calf [05695] in Horeb [02722], and worshipped [07812] the molten image [04541].
²⁰ Thus they changed [04171] their glory [03519] into the similitude [08403] of an ox [07794] that eateth [0398] grass [06212].

²¹ And I took [03947] your sin [02403], the calf [05695] which ye had made [06213], and burnt [08313] it with fire [0784], and stamped [03807] it, and ground [02912] it very small [03190], even until it was as small [01854] as dust [06083]: and I cast [07993] the dust [06083] thereof into the brook [05158] that descended out [03381] of the mount [02022].

²⁰ And he took [03947] the calf [05695] which they had made [06213], and burnt [08313] it in the fire [0784], and ground [02912] it to powder [01854], and strawed [02219] it upon [06440] the water [04325], and made the children [01121] of Israel [03478] drink [08248] of it.

²² Ye shall defile [02930] also the covering [06826] of thy graven images [06456] of silver [03701], and the ornament [0642] of thy molten images [04541] of gold [02091]: thou shalt cast them away [02219] as a menstruous cloth [01739]; thou shalt say [0559] unto it, Get thee hence [03318].

¹⁹ The workman [02796] melteth [05258] a graven image [06459], and the goldsmith [06884] spreadeth [07554] it over with gold [02091], and casteth [06884] silver [03701] chains [07577].

²³ And Naaman [05283] said [0559], Be content [02974], take [03947] two talents [03603]. And he urged [06555] him, and bound [06696] two [08147] talents [03603] of silver [03701] in two [08147] bags [02754], with two [08147] changes [02487] of garments [0899], and laid [05414] them upon two [08147] of his servants [05288]; and they bare [05375] them before [06440] him.

¹⁵ For he cast [06696] two [08147] pillars [05982] of brass [05178], of eighteen [08083] [06240] cubits [0520] high [06967] apiece [05982] [0259]: and a line [02339] of twelve [08147] [06240] cubits [0520] did compass [05437] either [08145] of them about [05437].

³ And all the people [05971] brake off [06561] the golden [02091] earrings [05141] which were in their ears [0241], and brought [0935] them unto Aaron [0175].

² And Aaron [0175] said [0559] unto them, Break off [06561] the golden [02091] earrings [05141], which are in the ears [0241] of your wives [0802], of your sons [01121], and of your daughters [01323], and bring [0935] them unto me.
³ And all the people [05971] brake off [06561] the golden [02091] earrings [05141] which were in their ears [0241], and brought [0935] them unto Aaron [0175].

⁹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Lo, I come [0935] unto thee in a thick [05645] cloud [06051], that the people [05971] may hear [08085] when I speak [01696] with thee, and believe [0539] thee for ever [05769]. And Moses [04872] told [05046] the words [01697] of the people [05971] unto the LORD [03068].

²² And Aaron [0175] said [0559], Let not the anger [0639] of my lord [0113] wax hot [02734]: thou knowest [03045] the people [05971], that they are set on mischief [07451].

⁴⁰ Saying [2036] unto Aaron [2], Make [4160] us [2254] gods [2316] to [3739] go before [4313] us [2257]: for [1063] as for this [3778] Moses [3475], which [3739] brought [1806] us [2248] out of [1537] the land [1093] of Egypt [125], we wot [1492] not [3756] what [5101] is become [1096] of him [846].

³⁹ To whom [3739] our [2257] fathers [3962] would [2309] not [3756] obey [1096] [5255], but [235] thrust him from them [683], and [2532] in their [846] hearts [2588] turned back again [4762] into [1519] Egypt [125],