Exodus 32:26

Good News Translation

So he stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, "Everyone who is on the Lord 's side come over here!" So all the Levites gathered around him,

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
then Moshe stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side, come to me!" All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

King James Version
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord 's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Lexham English Bible
And Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, and he said, "Whoever is for Yahweh, to me." And all the sons of Levi were gathered to him.

New Century Version
So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me." And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.

New English Translation
So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord , come to me." All the Levites gathered around him,

Amplified Bible
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD'S side, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him.

New American Standard Bible
Moses then stood at the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Moses stoode in ye gate of the campe, and sayde, Who pertaineth to the Lorde? let him come to mee. And all the sonnes of Leui gathered themselues vnto him.

Legacy Standard Bible
so Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Whoever is for Yahweh, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

Contemporary English Version
So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, "Everyone who is on the Lord 's side come over here!" Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses,

Complete Jewish Bible
Moshe stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, "Whoever is for Adonai , come to me!" All the descendants of Levi rallied around him.

Darby Translation
And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, He that is for Jehovah, [let him come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered to him.

Easy-to-Read Version
So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Anyone who wants to follow the Lord should come to me." Everyone from the tribe of Levi ran to Moses.

English Standard Version
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord 's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the LORDS side? Let him come to me. And all the Levites gathered themselves together to him.

Christian Standard Bible®
And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

Literal Translation
And Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is for Jehovah? Come to me! And all the sons of Levi assembled to him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
he wete in to the gate of the hoost, and sayde: who so belongeth vnto the LORDE, let him come hither vnto me. Then all the children of Leui gathered them selues vnto him,

American Standard Version
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on Jehovah's side, let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Bible in Basic English
Then Moses took his place at the way into the tents, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi came together to him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Moyses stode in the gate of the hoast, and sayd: Who [pertayneth] to the Lorde, [let hym come] vnto me. And all the sonnes of Leui gathered theselues together vnto hym.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said: 'Whoso is on the LORD'S side, let him come unto me.' And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

King James Version (1611)
Then Moses stood in the gate of the campe, and saide, Who is on the Lords side? let him come vnto mee. And all the sonnes of Leui gathered themselues together vnto him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
then stood Moses at the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come to me. Then all the sons of Levi came to him.

English Revised Version
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on the LORD'S side, let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Berean Standard Bible
So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites gathered around him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Moises stood in the yate of the castels, and seide, If ony man is of the Lord, be he ioyned to me; and alle the sones of Leuy weren gaderid to hym.

Young's Literal Translation
and Moses standeth in the gate of the camp, and saith, `Who [is] for Jehovah? -- unto me!' and all the sons of Levi are gathered unto him;

Update Bible Version
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on Yahweh's side, [let him come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side? [let him come] to me. And all the sons of Levi assembled themselves to him.

World English Bible
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on Yahweh's side, come to me!" All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

New King James Version
then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side--come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

New Living Translation
So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, "All of you who are on the Lord 's side, come here and join me." And all the Levites gathered around him.

New Life Bible
So Moses stood in the gate of the place where they had set up their tents and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi came together around him.

New Revised Standard
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is on the Lord 's side? Come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Moses took his stand in the gate of the camp, and said - Who is for Yahweh? …To me! Then gathered unto him all the sons of Levi,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord’s side, let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:

Revised Standard Version
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

Contextual Overview

²¹ He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?" ²² Aaron answered, "Don't be angry with me; you know how determined these people are to do evil. ²³ They said to me, ‘We don't know what has happened to this man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt; so make us a god to lead us.' ²⁴ I asked them to bring me their gold ornaments, and those who had any took them off and gave them to me. I threw the ornaments into the fire and out came this bull-calf!" ²⁵ Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get out of control and make fools of themselves in front of their enemies. ²⁶ So he stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, "Everyone who is on the Lord 's side come over here!" So all the Levites gathered around him, ²⁷ and he said to them, "The Lord God of Israel commands every one of you to put on your sword and go through the camp from this gate to the other and kill your brothers, your friends, and your neighbors." ²⁸ The Levites obeyed, and killed about three thousand men that day. ²⁹ Moses said to the Levites, "Today you have consecrated yourselves as priests in the service of the Lord by killing your sons and brothers, so the Lord has given you his blessing."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Who is on: Joshua 5:13, 2 Samuel 20:11, 2 Kings 9:32, Matthew 12:30

Reciprocal: Genesis 29:34 - was Exodus 32:27 - slay every man Numbers 1:50 - thou shalt Numbers 3:6 - General Numbers 3:40 - General Numbers 3:41 - General Psalms 94:16 - rise up Malachi 2:5 - I gave

Cross-References

Genesis 32:1
As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him.

Genesis 32:6
When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you. He has four hundred men with him."

Genesis 32:7
Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided into two groups the people who were with him, and also his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels.

Genesis 32:8
He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape."

Genesis 32:9
Then Jacob prayed, "God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, Lord , to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me.

Genesis 32:12
Remember that you promised to make everything go well for me and to give me more descendants than anyone could count, as many as the grains of sand along the seashore."

Genesis 32:13
After spending the night there, Jacob chose from his livestock as a present for his brother Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 males.

Genesis 32:28
The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel."

Genesis 32:29
Jacob said, "Now tell me your name." But he answered, "Why do you want to know my name?" Then he blessed Jacob.

Exodus 32:10
Now, don't try to stop me. I am angry with them, and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants into a great nation."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp,.... In one of the gates of it; for it doubtless had more than one to go in and out of, as is clear from Exodus 32:27 it being probably entrenched all around; here Moses set himself, it being the usual place, as in cities, where the people were summoned together on important occasions, and justice and judgment were administered:

and said, who is on the Lord's side? [let him come] unto me; who is for the worship of the true God, and him only, and against the worship of a gold calf, or any other idol, and is zealous for the glory of God, and the honour of his name;

and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him; that is, all those that had not given in to the idolatry of the calf; all is put for many. Jarchi infers from hence, that this tribe was wholly free from that sin; but the contrary is most evident, for it appears from the context that many of them were slain for it; yea, as, on the one hand, they were only of the tribe of Levi, who joined themselves to Moses, though there was no doubt many in all the tribes that were not in the idolatry; so, on the other hand, there were none slain, or very few, but of the tribe of Levi, as will appear in the exposition of the following verses, the being principally concerned with Aaron in making the calf; and therefore those of the same tribe that joined them not were the more zealous and studious to purge themselves from the imputation of the crime, by going over to Moses at once, and showing themselves to be on the Lord's side.

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 32:26. Who is on the Lord's side? — That is, Who among you is free from this transgression?

And all the sons of Levi, &c. — It seems they had no part in this idolatrous business.