Exodus 32:20

Exodus 32:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
• New International Version (NIV)And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

Context of Exodus 32:20

18But Moses said, “It is not the sound of the cry of victory, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But I hear the sound of singing.” 19And as soon as he approached the camp and he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned; and he threw the tablets from his hands and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. Then Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it on the surface of the water and made the Israelites drink it. 21Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?” 22Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.

Exodus 32:20 word by word

וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־הָעֵ֨גֶל אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ וַיִּשְׂרֹ֣ף בָּאֵ֔שׁ וַיִּטְחַ֖ן עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁר־דָּ֑ק וַיִּ֙זֶר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַמַּ֔יִם וַיַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• the calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• which they had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• and burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• in the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and groundטָחַןţâchan · to grindH2912
• to powderדָּקַקdâqaq · to crushH1854
• and strawedזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
• uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• and made the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248

Cross-references for Exodus 32:20

• Exodus 9:21but everyone who ignored and did not take seriously the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
• Deuteronomy 7:5But this is how you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire.
• Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it in the fire and thoroughly crushed it, grinding the metal thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.
• 2 Kings 23:6Josiah brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, and burned it there, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
• Proverbs 1:31Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own [wicked] way And be satiated with [the penalty of] their own devices.
• Proverbs 14:14The backslider in heart will have his fill with his own [rotten] ways, But a good man will be satisfied with his ways [the godly thought and action which his heart pursues and in which he delights].

Commentaries on Exodus 32:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20He took the calf - and burnt - and ground it to powder, etc. - How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! "But," says an objector, "how could gold, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?" In Deuteronomy 9:21, this matter is fully explained. I took, says Moses, your sin, the calf which ye…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-35Verses 7-35 The faithfulness of Moses in the office that had been entrusted to him was now to be put to the test. It was to be made manifest whether he loved his own glory better than he loved the brethren who were under his charge; whether he would prefer that he should himself become the founder of a “great nation,” or that the Lord‘s promise should be fulfilled in the whole people of Israel. This may have been especially needful for Moses, in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-20Verses 15-20 What a change it is, to come down from the mount of communion with God, to converse with a wicked world. In God we see nothing but what is pure and pleasing; in the world nothing but what is sinful and provoking. That it might appear an idol is nothing in the world, Moses ground the calf to dust. Mixing this powder with their drink, signified that the backslider in heart should be filled with his own ways.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Passing the gold powder of the image through the bodies of the people effectively rendered it unclean.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, &c.--It has been supposed that the gold was dissolved by natron or some chemical substance. But there is no mention of solubility here, or in De 9:21; it was "burned in the fire," to cast it into ingots of suitable size for the operations which follow--"grounded to powder"; the powder of malleable metals can be ground so fine as to resemble dust from the wings of a moth or butterfly; and…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 32:20

• Falsehood
• Iconoclasm
• Idol
• Idolatry
• Israel
• Reproof
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Consume
• Corrupt
• Fashion
• Golden calf
• Grind
• Levite

Commentaries on Exodus 32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings