New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Exodus 32
1
The people saw that Moses took a long time to come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, "Come. Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don't know what has happened to him."
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 9:9
2 Peter 3:4
Matthew 24:48
Exodus 13:21
References God
Acts 7:40
Acts 17:29
Acts 19:26
Exodus 32:11
References Moses
Exodus 24:18
Exodus 14:11
2
Aaron answered them, "Take the gold earrings off your wives, your sons and your daughters. Bring the earrings to me."
3
So all of the people took off their earrings. They brought them to Aaron.
4
He took what they gave him and made it into a metal statue of a god. It looked like a calf. He shaped it with a tool. Then the people said, "Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt."
Reference
Creation
Nehemiah 9:18
Deuteronomy 9:16
Acts 7:41
Exodus 32:8
1 Kings 12:28
Hosea 13:2
Parallel theme
Hosea 10:5
References God
Isaiah 46:6
Acts 17:29
Exodus 20:23
5
When Aaron saw it, he built an altar in front of the calf. He said, "Tomorrow will be a feast day in the Lord's honor."
Reference
6
So the next day the people got up early. They sacrificed burnt offerings and brought friendship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.
Reference
7
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "Go down. Your people you brought up out of Egypt have become very sinful.
Reference
8
They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a statue of a god that looks like a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said, 'Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.'
Reference
Creation
1 Kings 12:28
Deuteronomy 9:16
References God
Exodus 20:23
Judges 2:17
Sacrifice
Exodus 22:20
9
"I have seen those people," the Lord said to Moses. "They are stubborn.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 48:4
Acts 7:51
Exodus 33:3
Psalm 78:8
References Lord
Exodus 34:9
Exodus 33:5
Deuteronomy 9:13
Deuteronomy 31:27
Deuteronomy 9:6
2 Chronicles 30:8
10
Now leave me alone. My anger will burn against them. I will destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
Reference
Judgment
Exodus 22:24
Exodus 32:11
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 9:14
Numbers 14:12
Deuteronomy 9:19
Exodus 32:19
Numbers 16:22
11
But Moses asked the Lord his God to show favor to the people. "Lord," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people? You used your great power and mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt.
Reference
Judgment
Psalm 106:23
12
Why should the Egyptians say, 'He brought them out to hurt them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn away from your burning anger. Please take pity on your people. Don't destroy them!
Reference
Judgment
Psalm 85:3
Psalm 78:38
Zechariah 8:14
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 9:28
Joshua 7:9
Psalm 74:18
Repentance
Exodus 32:14
Psalm 90:13
Psalm 106:45
Genesis 6:6
13
"Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You made a promise. You took an oath in your name. You said, 'I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. I will give them all of this land I promised them. It will belong to them forever.' "
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 12:7
Genesis 22:16
Genesis 15:18
Genesis 15:5
Genesis 15:7
Deuteronomy 7:8
References Abraham
Hebrews 6:13
Genesis 48:16
Deuteronomy 9:27
Leviticus 26:42
15
Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 9:15
16
The tablets were the work of God. The words had been written by God. They had been carved on the tablets.
Reference
17
Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. So he said to Moses, "It sounds like war in the camp."
Reference
18
Moses replied, "It's not the sound of winning. It's not the sound of losing. It's the sound of singing that I hear."
19
As Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf. He also saw the people dancing. So he burned with anger. He threw the tablets out of his hands. They broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain.
20
He took the calf the people had made. He burned it in the fire. Then he ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water. And he made the people of Israel drink it.
Reference
Creation
Deuteronomy 9:21
21
He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you? How did they make you lead them into such terrible sin?"
Reference
Sin
Genesis 20:9
22
"Please don't be angry," Aaron answered. "You know how these people like to do what is evil.
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 16:20
Exodus 14:11
Exodus 15:24
References Lord
Deuteronomy 9:24
1 Samuel 15:24
23
They said to me, 'Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don't know what has happened to him.'
24
"So I told them, 'Anyone who has any gold jewelry, take it off.' They gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf!"
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 32:4
25
Moses saw that the people were running wild. Aaron had let them get out of control. The people had become a joke to their enemies.
Reference
26
Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, "Anyone who is on the Lord's side, come to me." All of the Levites joined him.
Reference
27
Then he spoke to them. He said, "The Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'Each man must put on his sword. Then he must go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, friend and neighbor.' "
Reference
28
The Levites did as Moses commanded. About 3,000 of the people died that day.
Reference
Word
Deuteronomy 33:9
29
Then Moses said to the Levites, "You have been set apart for the Lord today. You stood against your own sons and brothers. And he has blessed you this day."
Reference
30
The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin."
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 25:13
Jonah 3:9
References Lord
1 Samuel 12:20
Amos 5:15
References Moses
Numbers 16:47
Sin
2 Kings 17:21
1 Samuel 12:23
2 Samuel 16:12
31
So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, "These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves.
Reference
32
Now please forgive their sin. But if you won't, then erase my name from the scroll you have written."
Reference
33
The Lord replied to Moses, "I will erase from my scroll only the names of those who have sinned against me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 69:28
Psalm 9:5
Leviticus 23:30
Revelation 20:12
Revelation 13:8
Philippians 4:3
References Lord
Deuteronomy 29:20
Sin
Ezekiel 18:4
34
Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
Reference
35
The Lord struck the people with a plague. That's because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
Chapter Summary
Exodus chapter 32 records the Israelites making and worshipping a golden calf while Moses is on Mount Sinai. This chapter also records Moses’ anger, his prayer for the people, the calf’s destruction, and the ensuing consequences.
Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, during which God was giving him instructions. The people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron and asked him to make gods that would go before them. They said they did not know what had happened to Moses, the man who had brought them out of Egypt.
Aaron told the people to remove their golden earrings from their wives, sons, and daughters and take them to him. He took the gold and formed it into a molten calf. He then built an altar before it and announced that next day would be a feast to the Lord.
The people then offered burnt offerings and peace offerings the next morning and sat down to eat and drink and then got up to play. The Israelites had turned away from what God had ordered them to worship and had created their own object of worship.
While Moses was on the mountain, God told him to go down because the people had corrupted themselves. God told Moses the Israelites had quickly turned aside from His commandments and had made a molten calf, worshipping it and sacrificing to it.
God told Moses He would destroy the people and make a nation from Moses. Moses pleaded with the Lord not to destroy Israel. He reminded God He had brought them out of Egypt with great power and argued that the Egyptians might claim that God had brought Israel out only to destroy them.
Moses pleaded with God to remember his covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. It was promised that their descendants would become a great nation. The Lord turned from those words of judgment He was about to bring on the people.
Moses came down from the mountain carrying the two tables of testimony written by God. Joshua was with him, and they heard the noise coming from the camp. As they approached, Moses saw the golden calf and the dancing and his anger became very hot. He threw the tables from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
Moses took the calf that the people had made, burned it in the fire, ground it into powder, threw it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink. He then confronted Aaron and asked what the people had done to bring such a great sin upon them.
Aaron reminded Moses that the people had demanded gods and that he had taken their gold and cast it into the fire and said the calf had come out of the fire. Aaron’s excuse did not absolve the people of the sin they had committed.
Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and asked who was on the Lord’s side and to come to him. The sons of Levi gathered around him. Moses told them to go through the camp and deal with those who had participated in the rebellion. About three thousand people died that day.
The next day Moses went to the Lord and confessed the great sin of the people. Moses asked the Lord to forgive them, and even offered to have his own name removed from the book God had written if that would allow the people to be forgiven.
God told Moses that whoever had sinned against Him would be held accountable. He told Moses to lead the people toward the land He had promised. God told Moses His angel would go before them, but He would punish the people because of what they had done with the calf.
The chapter ends with the Lord sending a plague upon the people because they had made the golden calf that Aaron had created.
Exodus chapter 32 records a great crisis in the Israelites’ relationship with God. The people had only recently agreed to obey God’s covenant, but while Moses was on Mount Sinai; they turned to the golden calf. Moses intervened on their behalf, but the rebellion brought serious consequences. This chapter shows just how fast the Israelites turned away from what God had ordered them to worship and the effects it had on the whole community.
Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, during which God was giving him instructions. The people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron and asked him to make gods that would go before them. They said they did not know what had happened to Moses, the man who had brought them out of Egypt.
Aaron told the people to remove their golden earrings from their wives, sons, and daughters and take them to him. He took the gold and formed it into a molten calf. He then built an altar before it and announced that next day would be a feast to the Lord.
The people then offered burnt offerings and peace offerings the next morning and sat down to eat and drink and then got up to play. The Israelites had turned away from what God had ordered them to worship and had created their own object of worship.
While Moses was on the mountain, God told him to go down because the people had corrupted themselves. God told Moses the Israelites had quickly turned aside from His commandments and had made a molten calf, worshipping it and sacrificing to it.
God told Moses He would destroy the people and make a nation from Moses. Moses pleaded with the Lord not to destroy Israel. He reminded God He had brought them out of Egypt with great power and argued that the Egyptians might claim that God had brought Israel out only to destroy them.
Moses pleaded with God to remember his covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. It was promised that their descendants would become a great nation. The Lord turned from those words of judgment He was about to bring on the people.
Moses came down from the mountain carrying the two tables of testimony written by God. Joshua was with him, and they heard the noise coming from the camp. As they approached, Moses saw the golden calf and the dancing and his anger became very hot. He threw the tables from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
Moses took the calf that the people had made, burned it in the fire, ground it into powder, threw it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink. He then confronted Aaron and asked what the people had done to bring such a great sin upon them.
Aaron reminded Moses that the people had demanded gods and that he had taken their gold and cast it into the fire and said the calf had come out of the fire. Aaron’s excuse did not absolve the people of the sin they had committed.
Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and asked who was on the Lord’s side and to come to him. The sons of Levi gathered around him. Moses told them to go through the camp and deal with those who had participated in the rebellion. About three thousand people died that day.
The next day Moses went to the Lord and confessed the great sin of the people. Moses asked the Lord to forgive them, and even offered to have his own name removed from the book God had written if that would allow the people to be forgiven.
God told Moses that whoever had sinned against Him would be held accountable. He told Moses to lead the people toward the land He had promised. God told Moses His angel would go before them, but He would punish the people because of what they had done with the calf.
The chapter ends with the Lord sending a plague upon the people because they had made the golden calf that Aaron had created.
Exodus chapter 32 records a great crisis in the Israelites’ relationship with God. The people had only recently agreed to obey God’s covenant, but while Moses was on Mount Sinai; they turned to the golden calf. Moses intervened on their behalf, but the rebellion brought serious consequences. This chapter shows just how fast the Israelites turned away from what God had ordered them to worship and the effects it had on the whole community.