American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Exodus 32
1
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to 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 know not what is become of 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
And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.
3
And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4
And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a engraving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land 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
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Reference
6
And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Reference
7
And the LORD said to Moses, Go, get you down; for your people, which you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Reference
8
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be your gods, O Israel, which have brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Reference
Creation
1 Kings 12:28
Deuteronomy 9:16
References God
Exodus 20:23
Judges 2:17
Sacrifice
Exodus 22:20
9
And the LORD said to Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff necked people:
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 therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of you 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
And Moses sought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why does your wrath wax hot against your people, which you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Reference
Judgment
Psalm 106:23
12
Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against your people.
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 Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
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
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 9:15
16
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven on the tables.
Reference
17
And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Reference
18
And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19
And it came to pass, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.
20
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Reference
Creation
Deuteronomy 9:21
21
And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?
Reference
Sin
Genesis 20:9
22
And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: you know the people, that they are set on mischief.
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 16:20
Exodus 14:11
Exodus 15:24
References Lord
Deuteronomy 9:24
1 Samuel 15:24
23
For they said to me, 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 know not what is become of him.
24
And I said to them, Whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 32:4
25
And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies:)
Reference
26
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
Reference
27
And he said to them, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
Reference
28
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
Reference
Word
Deuteronomy 33:9
29
For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man on his son, and on his brother; that he may bestow on you a blessing this day.
Reference
30
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said to the people, You have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up to the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for 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
And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Reference
32
Yet now, if you will forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray you, out of your book which you have written.
Reference
33
And the LORD said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
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
Therefore now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you: behold, my Angel shall go before you: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin on them.
Reference
35
And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Summary of Exodus 32
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.