God’s Word Translation
Exodus 32:20
20Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
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
18Moses replied, “It’s not the sound of winners shouting. It’s not the sound of losers crying. It’s the sound of a wild celebration that I hear.” 19When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it. 21Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you encouraged them to commit such a serious sin?” 22“Don’t be angry, sir,” Aaron answered. “You know that these people are evil.
Read all of Exodus 32Exodus 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 those who didn’t take the Lord’s warning seriously left their servants and animals out in the open.
- Deuteronomy 7:5But this is what you must do to these people: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols.
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took that sinful calf you made and burned it. I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as powder. Then I threw the powder into the river that flowed down the mountain.
- 2 Kings 23:6He took the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah from the temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust, and threw its ashes on the tombs of the common people.
- Proverbs 1:31They will eat the fruit of their lifestyle. They will be stuffed with their own schemes.
- Proverbs 14:14A heart that turns ⌞from God⌟ becomes bored with its own ways, but a good person is satisfied with God’s ways.
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
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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