Exodus 32:8

Good News Translation

They have already left the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made a bull-calf out of melted gold and have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They are saying that this is their god, who led them out of Egypt.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, Yisra'el, which brought you up out of the land of Mitzrayim.'"

King James Version
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Lexham English Bible
They have turned aside quickly from the way that I commanded them; they have made for themselves a cast-image bull calf, and they bowed to it, and they sacrificed to it, and they said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.'"

New Century Version
They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf covered with gold, and they have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.'"

New English Translation
They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them—they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.'"

Amplified Bible
"They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

New American Standard Bible
"They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
They are soone turned out of the way, which I commanded them: for they haue made them a molten calfe and haue worshipped it, and haue offered thereto, saying, These be thy gods, O Israel, which haue brought thee out of the lande of Egypt.

Legacy Standard Bible
They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

Contemporary English Version
They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt.

Complete Jewish Bible
So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, ‘Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

Darby Translation
They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them: they have made themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down to it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, This is thy god, Israel, who has brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!

Easy-to-Read Version
They have very quickly turned away from what I commanded them to do. They made a calf from melted gold for themselves. They are worshiping that calf and making sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are the gods that led you out of Egypt.'"

English Standard Version
They 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!'"

George Lamsa Translation
They have turned aside quickly from the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, This is your god, O Israel, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Christian Standard Bible®
They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Literal Translation
they have quickly turned off from the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a casted calf and have bowed to it, and have sacrificed to it. And they have said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
haue marred all: they are soone gone out of the waie, which I commaunded them. They haue made them a molten calfe, and haue worshipped it, & offred vnto it, & sayde: These are thy goddes (O Israel) that brought the out of the lande of Egipte.

American Standard Version
they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Bible in Basic English
Even now they are turned away from the rule I gave them, and have made themselves a metal ox and given worship to it and offerings, saying, This is your god, O Israel, who took you up out of the land of Egypt.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They are turned quickly out of the way whiche I commaunded them: for they haue made them a calfe of moulten mettall, and haue worshipped it, and haue offred thervnto, saying: These be thy goddes O Israel, whiche haue brought thee out of the lande of Egypt.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said: This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'

King James Version (1611)
They haue turned aside quickly out of the way which I commaunded them: they haue made them a molten Calfe, and haue worshipped it, and haue sacrificed thereunto, and saide, These bee thy gods, O Israel, which haue brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
they have quickly gone out of the way which thou commandedst; they have made for themselves a calf, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, (32:9) These are thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

English Revised Version
they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Berean Standard Bible
How quickly they have turned aside from the way I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, 'O Israel, this is your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei yeden awei soone fro the weie which thou schewidst to hem, and thei maden to hem a yotun calf, and worschipyden it, and thei offeriden sacrifices to it, and seiden, Israel, these ben thi goddis, that ledden thee out of the lond of Egipt.

Young's Literal Translation
they have turned aside hastily from the way that I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and bow themselves to it, and sacrifice to it, and say, These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'

Update Bible Version
they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Webster's Bible Translation
They have turned aside quickly from the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

World English Bible
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"

New King James Version
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"'

New Living Translation
How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

New Life Bible
They have been quick to turn aside from the way I have told them. They have melted gold and made a calf for themselves. They have worshiped it, have given gifts to it, and have said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

New Revised Standard
they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a 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!'"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them, they have made for themselves - a molten calf, and have bowed themselves down thereto mad have sacrificed thereto, and have said. These, are thy gods, O Israel, who have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Revised Standard Version
they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten 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!'"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"

Contextual Overview

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, "Hurry and go back down, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have sinned and rejected me. ⁸ They have already left the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made a bull-calf out of melted gold and have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They are saying that this is their god, who led them out of Egypt. ⁹ I know how stubborn these people are. 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." ¹¹ But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God and said, " Lord , why should you be so angry with your people, whom you rescued from Egypt with great might and power? ¹² Why should the Egyptians be able to say that you led your people out of Egypt, planning to kill them in the mountains and destroy them completely? Stop being angry; change your mind and do not bring this disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember the solemn promise you made to them to give them as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and to give their descendants all that land you promised would be their possession forever." ¹⁴ So the Lord changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

have turned: Deuteronomy 9:16, Judges 2:17

which I: Exodus 20:3, Exodus 20:4, Exodus 20:23

These be: Exodus 32:4, 1 Kings 12:28

Reciprocal: Exodus 32:23 - General Exodus 34:17 - General Deuteronomy 9:12 - Arise Deuteronomy 31:27 - stiff neck Joshua 22:15 - General 1 Kings 22:43 - he turned 2 Kings 17:16 - molten images Psalms 101:3 - them Isaiah 42:17 - say to Isaiah 44:12 - The smith Isaiah 63:10 - they rebelled Jeremiah 7:24 - they Ezekiel 20:13 - rebelled Romans 3:12 - They are Hebrews 5:2 - them Hebrews 8:9 - they continued

Cross-References

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

Genesis 32:3
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the country of Edom.

Matthew 10:16
"Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, by way of explanation,

"on Sinai, saying, ye shall not make to yourselves an image, or figure, or any similitude.''

This was the command God had given to them; this the way he had directed them to walk in; from this they turned aside, by making the golden calf as an image or representation of God; and this they had done very quickly, since it was but about six weeks ago that this command was given; wherefore if Moses had delayed coming down from the mount, they had made haste to commit iniquity; and, perhaps, this observation is made of their quick defection, in opposition to their complaint of Moses's long absence:

they have made them a molten calf; for though it was made by Aaron, or by his direction to the founder or goldsmith, yet it was at their request and earnest solicitation; they would not be easy without it:

and have worshipped it; by bowing the knee to it, kissing it or their hands at the approach of it, see Hosea 13:2.

and have sacrificed thereunto burnt offerings and peace offerings:

and said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt; the very words they used, Exodus 32:4 and which were taken particular notice of by the Lord with resentment.

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.