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Read the Bible

New American Standard Bible (1995)

Exodus 32:5

Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Falsehood;   Quotations and Allusions;   Thompson Chain Reference - Proclamations;   The Topic Concordance - Idolatry;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Calf of Gold;   Idolatry;   Offence;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Idol, Idolatry;   Image;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Idol, idolatry;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Aaron;   Israel;   Priest, Priesthood;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Calf Worship;   Egypt;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Calves, Golden;   Exodus, Book of;   Golden Calf;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aaron;   Anger (Wrath) of God;   Calf, Golden;   Exodus;   Moses;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Calf, Golden;   Idolatry;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Plagues of egypt;   Table;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Aaron;   Calf;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Moses;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Events of the Encampment;   Priesthood, the;   On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   Law of Moses, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Calf, Golden;   Moses;   Sacrifice;   Ten Commandments, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Aaron;   Sacrifice;   Wayiḳra Rabbah;   Yiẓḥaḳ Nappaḥa;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
When Aharon saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aharon made a proclamation, and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."
King James Version
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord .
Lexham English Bible
And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, "A feast for Yahweh tomorrow."
New Century Version
When Aaron saw all this, he built an altar before the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord ."
New English Translation
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord ."
Amplified Bible
Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD!"
New American Standard Bible
Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."
Geneva Bible (1587)
When Aaron sawe that, he made an Altar before it: and Aaron proclaimed, saying, To morow shalbe the holy day of the Lord.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Aaron looked and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh."
Contemporary English Version
When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, "Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord ."
Complete Jewish Bible
On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, "Tomorrow is to be a feast for Adonai ."
Darby Translation
And Aaron saw [it], and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to Jehovah!
Easy-to-Read Version
Aaron saw all these things, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, "Tomorrow will be a special festival to honor the Lord ."
English Standard Version
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord ."
George Lamsa Translation
And Aaron was afraid, and he built an altar before it; then Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.
Good News Translation
Then Aaron built an altar in front of the gold bull-calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to honor the Lord ."
Christian Standard Bible®
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.”
Literal Translation
And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it. And Aaron called and said, A feast to Jehovah tomorrow.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan Aaron sawe that, he buylded an altare before him, and caused it be proclamed, and sayde: Tomorow is the LORDES feast.
American Standard Version
And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to Jehovah.
Bible in Basic English
And when Aaron saw this, he made an altar before it, and made a public statement, saying, Tomorrow there will be a feast to the Lord.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when Aaron sawe that, he made an aulter before it, and Aaron made proclamation, saying: To morowe is the holy day of the Lorde.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said: 'To-morrow shall be a feast to the LORD.'
King James Version (1611)
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Aaron having seen it built an altar before it, and Aaron made proclamation saying, To-morrow is a feast of the Lord.
English Revised Version
And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne Aaron had seyn this thing, he bildide an auter bifore hym, and he criede bi the vois of a criere, and seide, To morewe is the solempnete of the Lord.
Young's Literal Translation
And Aaron seeth, and buildeth an altar before it, and Aaron calleth, and saith, `A festival to Jehovah -- to-morrow;'
Update Bible Version
And when Aaron saw [this], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.
Webster's Bible Translation
And when Aaron saw [it], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow [is] a feast to the LORD.
World English Bible
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh."
New King James Version
So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD."
New Living Translation
Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, "Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord !"
New Life Bible
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it. Aaron said to all the people, "Tomorrow will be a special supper to the Lord."
New Revised Standard
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord ."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation, and said, A festival to Yahweh, to-morrow!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
Revised Standard Version
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."
THE MESSAGE
Aaron, taking in the situation, built an altar before the calf. Aaron then announced, "Tomorrow is a feast day to God !"

Contextual Overview

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 Aaron said to them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." 5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Aaron: 1 Samuel 14:35, 2 Kings 16:11, Hosea 8:11, Hosea 8:14

made proclamation: Leviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:21, Leviticus 23:37, 1 Kings 21:9, 2 Kings 10:20, 2 Chronicles 30:5

a feast: Exodus 32:4, Exodus 10:9, Exodus 12:14, 1 Kings 12:32, 1 Kings 12:33, 1 Corinthians 5:8

Cross-References

Genesis 31:16
"Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you."
Genesis 33:8
And he said, "What do you mean by all this company which I have met?" And he said, "To find favor in the sight of my lord."
Genesis 33:11
"Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty." Thus he urged him and he took it.
Genesis 33:15
Esau said, "Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."
Genesis 47:25
So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves."
Ruth 2:2
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
1 Samuel 1:18
She said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
2 Samuel 16:4
So the king said to Ziba, "Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours." And Ziba said, "I prostrate myself; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!"
Job 6:22
"Have I said, 'Give me something,' Or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when Aaron saw it,.... In what form it was, and what a figure it made, and how acceptable it was to the Israelites. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it,

"and Aaron saw Hur slain before him;''

for reproving them for their idolatry, as the Midrash e, quoted by Jarchi, says: and Aaron fearing they would take away his life if he opposed them,

he built an altar before it; that sacrifice might be offered on it to it:

and Aaron made proclamation, and said, tomorrow [is] a feast to the Lord; that is, he gave orders to have it published throughout the camp, there would be solemn sacrifices offered up to the Lord, as represented by this calf, and a feast thereon, which was a public invitation of them to the solemnity: though some think this was a protracting time, and putting the people off till the morrow, who would have been for offering sacrifice immediately, hoping that Moses would come down from the mount before that time, and prevent their idolatry.

e So Pirke Eliezer, c. 45.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence.

The golden calf - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have imagined that he had deluded them, and had probably been destroyed amidst the thunders of the mountain Exodus 24:15-18. Accordingly, they gave way to their superstitious fears and fell back upon that form of idolatry which was most familiar to them (see Exodus 32:4 note). The narrative of the circumstances is more briefly given by Moses at a later period in one of his addresses to the people Deuteronomy 9:8-21, Deuteronomy 9:25-29; Deuteronomy 10:1-5, Deuteronomy 10:8-11. It is worthy of remark, that Josephus, in his very characteristic chapter on the giving of the law, says nothing whatever of this act of apostacy, though he relates that Moses twice ascended the mountain.

Exodus 32:1

Unto Aaron - The chief authority during the absence of Moses was committed to Aaron and Hur Exodus 24:14.

Make us gods - The substantive אלהים 'elôhı̂ym is plural in form and may denote gods. But according to the Hebrew idiom, the meaning need not be plural, and hence, the word is used as the common designation of the true God (Genesis 1:1, etc. See Exodus 21:6 note). It here denotes a god, and should be so rendered.

Exodus 32:2

Break off the golden earrings - It has been very generally held from early times, that Aaron did not willingly lend himself to the mad design of the multitude; but that, overcome by their importunity, he asked them to give up such possessions as he knew they would not willingly part with, in the hope of putting a check on them. Assuming this to have been his purpose, he took a wrong measure of their fanaticism, for all the people made the sacrifice at once Exodus 32:3. His weakness, in any case, was unpardonable and called for the intercession of Moses Deuteronomy 9:20.

Exodus 32:4

The sense approved by most modern critics is: and he received the gold at their hand and collected it in a bag and made it a molten calf. The Israelites must have been familiar with the ox-worship of the Egyptians; perhaps many of them had witnessed the rites of Mnevis at Heliopolis, almost; on the borders of the land of Goshen, and they could not have been unacquainted with the more famous rites of Apis at Memphis. It is expressly said that they yielded to the idolatry of Egypt while they were in bondage Joshua 24:14; Ezekiel 20:8; Ezekiel 23:3, Ezekiel 23:8; and this is in keeping with the earliest Jewish tradition (Philo). In the next verse, Aaron appears to speak of the calf as if it was a representative of Yahweh - “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” The Israelites did not, it should be noted, worship a living Mnevis, or Apis, having a proper name, but only the golden type of the animal. The mystical notions connected with the ox by the Egyptian priests may have possessed their minds, and, when expressed in this modified and less gross manner, may have been applied to the Lord, who had really delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Their sin then lay, not in their adopting another god, but in their pretending to worship a visible symbol of Him whom no symbol could represent. The close connection between the calves of Jeroboam and this calf is shown by the repetition of the formula, “which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” 1 Kings 12:28.

These be thy gods - This is thy god. See Exodus 32:1 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 32:5. To-morrow is a feast to the Lord — In Bengal the officiating Brahmin, or an appointed person proclaims, "To-morrow, or on -- day of -- , such a ceremony will be performed!"


 
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