Revised Webster's Bible
Exodus 32:20
20And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of 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
18And 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. 19And it came to pass, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger burned, and he cast the tables from his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it . 21And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? 22And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord burn: thou knowest the people, that they are set on 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
- tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
- madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- groundטָחַןţâchan · to grindH2912
- powderדָּקַקdâqaq · to crushH1854
- scatteredזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
- uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248
Cross-references for Exodus 32:20
- Exodus 9:21And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
- Deuteronomy 7:5But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
- Deuteronomy 9:21And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust of it into the brook that descended from the mount.
- 2 Kings 23:6And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder of it upon the graves of the children of the people.
- Proverbs 1:31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Proverbs 14:14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
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
Revised Webster's Bible — 1833 — Public Domain
Commentaries