English Standard Version
Exodus 32:4
4And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
Exodus 32:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
- New International Version (NIV)He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Context of Exodus 32:4
2So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
Read all of Exodus 32Exodus 32:4 word by word
וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he receivedלָקַחlâqach · to take: recieveH3947
- at their handיָדyâd · hand: themselvesH3027
- and fashionedצוּרtsûr · to formH6696
- it with a graving toolחֶ֫רֶטchereţ · stylusH2747
- after he had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- it a moltenמַסֵּכָהmassêkâh · molten metalH4541
- calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
- and they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- thy godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- O Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- which broughtעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
- thee up out of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
Cross-references for Exodus 32:4
- Exodus 20:23You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
- Deuteronomy 9:16And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.
- Psalms 106:19They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.
- Isaiah 44:9All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
- Isaiah 46:6Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!
- Acts 7:41And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.
- Acts 17:29Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
- Exodus 28:9You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,
- 1 Kings 12:28So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
- 2 Kings 10:29But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.
- 2 Chronicles 11:15and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made.
- 2 Chronicles 13:8"And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.
- Hosea 8:4They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
- Hosea 10:5The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them.
- Hosea 13:2And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, "Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!"
- Exodus 32:8They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"
Commentaries on Exodus 32:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Fashioned it with a graving tool - There has been much controversy about the meaning of the word חרט cheret in the text: some make it a mould, others a garment, cloth, or apron; some a purse or bag, and others a graver. It is likely that some mould was made on this occasion, that the gold when fused was cast into it, and that afterwards it was brought into form and symmetry by the action of the chisel and graver. These be thy gods, O Israel - The whole of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-6Verses 1-6 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4fashioned it into a molten calf: The idol might have been a bull, similar to the Egyptian god Amon-Re, which the people knew from Egypt. The bull represented power, domination, and fertility. The writer might have said calf to despise the idol. Or, Aaron might have made a calf, thinking this sin was less severe than making a full-sized bull. These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out: The people credited the idol with what they had just said…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf--The words are transposed, and the rendering should be, "he framed with a graving tool the image to be made, and having poured the liquid gold into the mould, he made it a molten calf." It is not said whether it was of life size, whether it was of solid gold or merely a wooden frame covered with plates of gold. This idol seems to have been the god Apis, the chief deity of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 32:4
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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