Christian Standard Bible
Exodus 32:19
19As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain.
Exodus 32:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto 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 brake them beneath the mount.
- New International Version (NIV)When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
Context of Exodus 32:19
17When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” 18But Moses replied, It’s not the sound of a victory cry and not the sound of a cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing! As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water. 21Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”
Read all of Exodus 32Exodus 32:19 word by word
וַֽיְהִ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר קָרַב֙ אֶל־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה וַיַּ֥רְא אֶת־הָעֵ֖גֶל וּמְחֹלֹ֑ת וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֣ף מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֤ךְ מִיָּדָיו֙ אֶת־הַלֻּחֹ֔ת וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר אֹתָ֖ם תַּ֥חַת הָהָֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass, as soon as he came nighקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
- unto the campמַחֲנֶהmachăneh · campH4264
- that he sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
- and the dancingמְחוֹלָהmechôlâh · danceH4246
- and Moses’מֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
- waxed hotחָרָהchârâh · to be incensedH2734
- and he castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- the tablesלוּחַlûach lûach · tabletH3871
- out of his handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- and brakeשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- them beneathתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
- the mountהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
Cross-references for Exodus 32:19
- Exodus 32:4He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
- Deuteronomy 9:16I saw how you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the Lord had commanded for you.
- Exodus 15:20Then the prophetess Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.
- 2 Samuel 6:14David was dancing with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ephod.
- Lamentations 5:15Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.
- Exodus 32:11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?
- Numbers 12:3Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth.
- Matthew 5:22But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.
- Mark 3:5After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
- Mark 10:14When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
- Ephesians 4:26Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,
- Deuteronomy 9:17So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands, shattering them before your eyes.
- Deuteronomy 27:26‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
- Jeremiah 31:32This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” — the Lord’s declaration.
- Zechariah 11:10Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples.
Commentaries on Exodus 32:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19He saw the calf, and the dancing - Dancing before the idol takes place in almost every Hindoo idolatrous feast - Ward. He cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them - He might have done this through distress and anguish of spirit, on beholding their abominable idolatry and dissolute conduct; or he probably did it emblematically, intimating thereby that, as by this act of his the tables were broken in pieces, on which the law of God was written; so…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. 19Moses might have shattered the tablets out of anger. It could also have been his way of saying the people shattered the covenant with God. Later, God reminded Moses that he was the one who broke the tablets (see 34:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands--The arrival of the leader, like the appearance of a specter, arrested the revellers in the midst of their carnival, and his act of righteous indignation when he dashed on the ground the tables of the law, in token that as they had so soon departed from their covenant relation, so God could withdraw the peculiar privileges that He had promised them--that act, together with the rigorous…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 32:19
In the dictionaries
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
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