Exodus 32:15

Good News Translation

Moses went back down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets with the commandments written on both sides.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Moshe turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

King James Version
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

Lexham English Bible
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets written on their two sides; on the front and on the back they were written.

New Century Version
Then Moses went down the mountain, and in his hands he had the two stone tablets with the Agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back.

New English Translation
Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides—they were written on the front and on the back.

Amplified Bible
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both sides—they were written on one side and on the other.

New American Standard Bible
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

Geneva Bible (1587)
So Moses returned and went downe from the mountaine with the two Tables of the Testimonie in his hande: the Tables were written on both their sides, euen on the one side and on the other were they written.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain. And the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

Contemporary English Version
Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, and he had used both sides of the stones.

Complete Jewish Bible
Moshe turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back.

Darby Translation
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, [with] the two tables of the testimony in his hand—tables written on both their sides: on this side and on that were they written.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Moses went down the mountain. He had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back.

English Standard Version
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.

George Lamsa Translation
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two stone tablets of the testimony were in his hand, the tablets that were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back.

Literal Translation
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets written on their two sides, on this and on that side they were written.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Moses turned him, & wente downe from the mount, and in his hande he had the two tables of wytnesse, which were wrytte vpon both the sydes,

American Standard Version
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

Bible in Basic English
Then Moses came down the mountain with the two stones of the law in his hand; the stones had writing on their two sides, on the front and on the back.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Moyses turned his backe, & went downe from the hyll, & the two tables of the testimonie were in his hande.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

King James Version (1611)
And Moses turned, and went downe from the Mount, and the two Tables of the Testimony were in his hand: the Tables were written on both their sides; on the one side, and on the other were they written.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tables of testimony were in his hands, tables of stone written on both their sides: they were written within and without.

English Revised Version
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Moises turnede ayen fro the hil, and bar in his hond twei tablis of witnessyng, writun in euer either side,

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses turneth, and goeth down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [are] in his hand, tables written on both their sides, on this and on that [are] they written;

Update Bible Version
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand: the tables [were] written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other [were] they written.

World English Bible
Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

New King James Version
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

New Living Translation
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.

New Life Bible
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two stone writings of the Law in his hand. The stones were written on both sides, on one side and the other.

New Revised Standard
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Moses turned and went down out of the mount, with the two tables of testimony in his hand, - tables written upon on both sides of them, on this and on that, were they written.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,

Revised Standard Version
And Moses turned, and went down from the mountain with the two tables of the testimony in his hands, tables that were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

THE MESSAGE
Moses turned around and came down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. God made the tablets and God wrote the tablets—engraved them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ Moses went back down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets with the commandments written on both sides. ¹⁶ God himself had made the tablets and had engraved the commandments on them. ¹⁷ Joshua heard the people shouting and said to Moses, "I hear the sound of battle in the camp." ¹⁸ Moses said, "That doesn't sound like a shout of victory or a cry of defeat; it's the sound of singing." ¹⁹ When Moses came close enough to the camp to see the bull-calf and to see the people dancing, he became furious. There at the foot of the mountain, he threw down the tablets he was carrying and broke them. ²⁰ He took the bull-calf which they had made, melted it, ground it into fine powder, and mixed it with water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

turned: Exodus 24:18, Deuteronomy 9:15

the testimony: Exodus 16:34, Exodus 40:20, Deuteronomy 5:22, Psalms 19:7

written: Revelation 5:1

Reciprocal: Exodus 24:12 - tables Exodus 25:16 - General Exodus 31:18 - gave Exodus 34:29 - Two tables Deuteronomy 10:5 - I turned 2 Chronicles 5:10 - save Psalms 122:4 - the testimony 2 Corinthians 3:7 - written

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount,.... He turned himself from God, with whom he had been conversing forty days; his back was to the ascent of the mount, and he turned himself in order to go down; or "he looked" g, as a man considers what is to be done, as Aben Ezra observes, and he saw that he was obliged to go down in haste:

and the two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand; or hands, as in Exodus 32:19 for they were, perhaps, as much as he could carry in both hands, being of stone, as in Exodus 31:18 on which was written the law, the "testimony" of the will of God with respect to what was to be done or not done:

the letters were written on both their sides, on the one side and on the other were they written; some think that the engraving of the letters was such, that it went through the stones, and in a miraculous manner the letters and lines were in a regular order, and might be read on the other sides; to which Jarchi seems to incline, saying, the letters might be read, and it was a work of wonders; others think that the letters were written both within and without, like Ezekiel's book of woes; that the same that was within side was written without, that so, when held up, they might be read by those that stood before and those that stood behind; but rather so it was that the whole was written within, some of the commands on the right, and some on the left, and so the tables might be clapped together as a book is folded.

g ויפן "et aspexit", Pagninus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 consequence of his natural disposition. See Numbers 12:3; and compare Exodus 3:11. With this trial of Moses repeated in a very similar manner Numbers 14:11-23, may be compared the trial of Abraham Genesis 22:0 and of our Saviour Matthew 4:8-10.

Exodus 32:8

These be thy gods ... have brought - This is thy god, O Israel, who has brought ...

Exodus 32:10

Let me alone - But Moses did not let the Lord alone; he wrestled, as Jacob had done, until, like Jacob, he obtained the blessing Genesis 32:24-29.

Exodus 32:14

This states a fact which was not revealed to Moses until after his second intercession when he had come down from the mountain and witnessed the sin of the people Exodus 32:30-34. He was then assured that the Lord’s love to His ancient people would prevail God is said, in the language of Scripture, to “repent,” when His forgiving love is seen by man to blot out the letter of His judgments against sin (2 Samuel 24:16; Joel 2:13; Jonah 3:10, etc.); or when the sin of man seems to human sight to have disappointed the purposes of grace (Gen 6:6; 1 Samuel 15:35, etc.). The awakened conscience is said to “repent,” when, having felt its sin, it feels also the divine forgiveness: it is at this crisis that God, according to the language of Scripture, repents toward the sinner. Thus, the repentance of God made known in and through the One true Mediator reciprocates the repentance of the returning sinner, and reveals to him atonement.

Exodus 32:17-18

Moses does not tell Joshua of the divine communication that had been made to him respecting the apostasy of the people, but only corrects his impression by calling his attention to the kind of noise which they are making.

Exodus 32:19

Though Moses had been prepared by the revelation on the Mount, his righteous indignation was stirred up beyond control when the abomination was before his eyes.

Exodus 32:20

See Deuteronomy 9:21. What is related in this verse must have occupied some time and may have followed the rebuke of Aaron. The act was symbolic, of course. The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin (compare Micah 7:13-14).

Exodus 32:22

Aaron’s reference to the character of the people, and his manner of stating what he had done Exo. 5:24, are very characteristic of the deprecating language of a weak mind.

Exodus 32:23

Make us gods - Make us a god.

Exodus 32:25

Naked - Rather unruly, or “licentious”.

Shame among their enemies - Compare Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4; Deuteronomy 28:37.

Exodus 32:26-29

The tribe of Levi, Moses’ own tribe, now distinguished itself by immediately returning to its allegiance and obeying the call to fight on the side of Yahweh. We need not doubt that the 3,000 who were slain were those who persisted in resisting Moses. The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites was anything like an indiscriminate massacre. An amnesty had first been offered to all by the words: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Those who were forward to draw the sword were directed not to spare their closest relations or friends; but this must plainly have been with an understood qualification as regards the conduct of those who were to be slain. Had it not been so, they who were on the Lord’s side would have had to destroy each other. We need not stumble at the bold, simple way in which the statement is made.

Exodus 32:29

Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord ... - The margin contains the literal rendering. Our version gives the most probable meaning of the Hebrew, and is supported by the best authority. The Levites were to prove themselves in a special way the servants of Yahweh, in anticipation of their formal consecration as ministers of the sanctuary (compare Deuteronomy 10:8), by manifesting a self-sacrificing zeal in carrying out the divine command, even upon their nearest relatives.

Exodus 32:31

Returned unto the Lord - i. e. again he ascended the mountain.

Gods of gold - a god of gold.

Exodus 32:32

For a similar form of expression, in which the conclusion is left to be supplied by the mind of the reader, see Daniel 3:15; Luke 13:9; Luke 19:42; John 6:62; Romans 9:22. For the same thought, see Romans 9:3. It is for such as Moses and Paul to realize, and to dare to utter, their readiness to be wholly sacrificed for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to their love. This expresses the perfected idea of the whole burnt-offering.

Thy book - The figure is taken from the enrolment of the names of citizens. This is its first occurrence in the Scriptures. See the marginal references. and Isaiah 4:3; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, etc.

Exodus 32:33, Exodus 32:34

Each offender was to suffer for his own sin. Compare Exodus 20:5; Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20. Moses was not to be taken at his word. He was to fulfill his appointed mission of leading on the people toward the land of promise.

Exodus 32:34

Mine Angel shall go before thee - See the marginal references and Genesis 12:7.

In the day when I visit ... - Compare Numbers 14:22-24. But though the Lord chastized the individuals, He did not take His blessing from the nation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 32:15. The tables were written on both their sides — If we take this literally, it was certainly a very unusual thing; for in ancient times the two sides of the same substance were never written over. However, some rabbins suppose that by the writing on both sides is meant the letters were cut through the tables, so that they might be read on both sides, though on one side they would appear reversed. Supposing this to be correct, if the letters were the same with those called Hebrew now in common use, the ס samech, which occurs twice, and the final ם mem which occurs twenty-three times in the ten commandments, both of these being close letters, could not be cut through on both sides without falling out, unless, as some of the Jews have imagined, they were held in by miracle; but if this ancient character were the same with the Samaritan, this through cutting might have been quite practicable, as there is not one close letter in the whole Samaritan alphabet. On this transaction there are the three following opinions:

1. We may conceive the tables of stone to have been thin slabs or a kind of slate, and the writing on the back side to have been a continuation of that on the front, the first not being sufficient to contain the whole.

2. Or the writing on the back side was probably the precepts that accompanied the ten commandments; the latter were written by the Lord, the former by Moses; Exodus 34:1; and "Exodus 34:27".

3. Or the same words were written on both sides, so that when held up, two parties might read at the same time.