Exodus 32:4-8

32:4 He accepted the gold ¹  from them, ²  fashioned ³  it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. ⁴  Then they said, “These are your gods, ⁵  O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

32:5 When ⁶  Aaron saw this, ⁷  he built an altar before it, ⁸  and Aaron made a proclamation ⁹  and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast ¹⁰  to the Lord.” 32:6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, ¹¹  and they rose up to play. ¹² 

32:7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go quickly, descend, ¹³  because your ¹⁴  people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. 32:8 They have quickly turned aside ¹⁵  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.’”

Exodus 32:31-32

32:31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin, ¹⁶  and they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32:32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…, ¹⁷  but if not, wipe me out ¹⁸  from your book that you have written.” ¹⁹ 

Deuteronomy 9:12-16

9:12 And he said to me, “Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.” ²⁰  9:13 Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn ²¹  lot! 9:14 Stand aside ²²  and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, ²³  and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.”

9:15 So I turned and went down the mountain while it ²⁴  was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. 9:16 When I looked, you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf; ²⁵  you had quickly turned aside from the way he ²⁶  had commanded you!

Psalms 106:19-23

106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,

and worshiped a metal idol.

106:20 They traded their majestic God ²⁷ 

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

106:21 They rejected ²⁸  the God who delivered them,

the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,

106:22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,

mighty ²⁹  acts by the Red Sea.

106:23 He threatened ³⁰  to destroy them,

but ³¹  Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him ³² 

and turned back his destructive anger. ³³ 

Ezekiel 20:7-44

20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, ³⁴  and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, ³⁵  nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out ³⁶  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, ³⁷  so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, ³⁸  before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ³⁹ 

20:10 “‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them to the wilderness. 20:11 I gave them my statutes ⁴⁰  and revealed my regulations to them. The one ⁴¹  who carries ⁴²  them out will live by them! ⁴³  20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths ⁴⁴  as a reminder of our relationship, ⁴⁵  so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. ⁴⁶  20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out ⁴⁷  my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them. ⁴⁸  20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:15 I also swore ⁴⁹  to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 20:16 I did this ⁵⁰  because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols. ⁵¹  20:17 Yet I had pity on ⁵²  them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

20:18 “‘But I said to their children ⁵³  in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, ⁵⁴  nor defile yourselves with their idols. 20:19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out. 20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy ⁵⁵  and they will be a reminder of our relationship, ⁵⁶  and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 20:21 “‘But the children ⁵⁷  rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys ⁵⁸  them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out ⁵⁹  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness. 20:22 But I refrained from doing so, ⁶⁰  and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 20:23 I also swore ⁶¹  to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. ⁶²  20:24 I did this ⁶³  because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on ⁶⁴  their fathers’ idols. 20:25 I also gave ⁶⁵  them decrees ⁶⁶  which were not good and regulations by which they could not live. 20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices ⁶⁷  – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire ⁶⁸  – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ ⁶⁹ 

20:27 “Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. 20:28 I brought them to the land which I swore ⁷⁰  to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings. 20:29 So I said to them, What is this high place you go to?’” (So it is called “High Place” ⁷¹  to this day.)

20:30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers ⁷²  and engage in prostitution with detestable idols? 20:31 When you present your sacrifices ⁷³  – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, ⁷⁴  O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me! ⁷⁵ 

20:32 “‘What you plan ⁷⁶  will never happen. You say, “We will be ⁷⁷  like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” ⁷⁸  20:33 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, ⁷⁹  and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 20:34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 20:35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord. 20:37 I will make you pass under ⁸⁰  the shepherd’s staff, ⁸¹  and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 20:38 I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt ⁸²  against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

20:39 “‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ⁸³  if you will not listen to me. ⁸⁴  But my holy name will not be profaned ⁸⁵  again by your sacrifices ⁸⁶  and your idols. 20:40 For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them ⁸⁷  in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things. 20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 20:42 Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore ⁸⁸  to give to your fathers. 20:43 And there you will remember your conduct ⁸⁹  and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves ⁹⁰  because of all the evil deeds you have done. 20:44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

[32:4]  ¹ tn Here “the gold” has been supplied.

[32:4]  ² tn Heb “from their hand.”

[32:4]  ³ tn The verb looks similar to יָצַר (yatsar), “to form, fashion” by a plan or a design. That is the verb used in Gen 2:7 for Yahweh God forming the man from the dust of the ground. If it is here, it is the reverse, a human – the dust of the ground – trying to form a god or gods. The active participle of this verb in Hebrew is “the potter.” A related noun is the word יֵצֶּר (yetser), “evil inclination,” the wicked designs or intent of the human heart (Gen 6:5). But see the discussion by B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 555-56) on a different reading, one that links the root to a hollow verb meaning “to cast out of metal” (as in 1 Kgs 7:15).

[32:4]  ⁴ sn The word means a “young bull” and need not be translated as “calf” (although “calf” has become the traditional rendering in English). The word could describe an animal three years old. Aaron probably made an inner structure of wood and then, after melting down the gold, plated it. The verb “molten” does not need to imply that the image was solid gold; the word is used in Isa 30:22 for gold plating. So it was a young bull calf that was overlaid with gold, and the gold was fashioned with the stylus.

[32:4]  ⁵ tn The word could be singular here and earlier; here it would then be “this is your god, O Israel.” However, the use of “these” indicates more than one god was meant by the image. But their statement and their statue, although they do not use the holy name, violate the first two commandments.

[32:5]  ⁶ tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated as a temporal clause to the next preterite.

[32:5]  ⁷ tn The word “this” has been supplied.

[32:5]  ⁸ tn “Before it” means before the deity in the form of the calf. Aaron tried to redirect their worship to Yahweh, but the people had already broken down the barrier and were beyond control (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 413).

[32:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “called.”

[32:5]  ¹⁰ sn The word is חַג (khag), the pilgrim’s festival. This was the word used by Moses for their pilgrimage into the wilderness. Aaron seems here to be trying to do what Moses had intended they do, make a feast to Yahweh at Sinai, but his efforts will not compete with the idol. As B. Jacob says, Aaron saw all this happening and tried to rescue the true belief (Exodus, 941).

[32:6]  ¹¹ tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).

[32:6]  ¹² tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.

[32:7]  ¹³ tn The two imperatives could also express one idea: “get down there.” In other words, “Make haste to get down.”

[32:7]  ¹⁴ sn By giving the people to Moses in this way, God is saying that they have no longer any right to claim him as their God, since they have shared his honor with another. This is God’s talionic response to their “These are your gods who brought you up.” The use of these pronoun changes also would form an appeal to Moses to respond, since Moses knew that God had brought them up from Egypt.

[32:8]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is a perfect tense, reflecting the present perfect nuance: “they have turned aside” and are still disobedient. But the verb is modified with the adverb “quickly” (actually a Piel infinitive absolute). It has been only a matter of weeks since they heard the voice of God prohibiting this.

[32:31]  ¹⁶ tn As before, the cognate accusative is used; it would literally be “this people has sinned a great sin.”

[32:32]  ¹⁷ tn The apodosis is not expressed; it would be understood as “good.” It is not stated because of the intensity of the expression (the figure is aposiopesis, a sudden silence). It is also possible to take this first clause as a desire and not a conditional clause, rendering it “Oh that you would forgive!”

[32:32]  ¹⁸ tn The word “wipe” is a figure of speech indicating “remove me” (meaning he wants to die). The translation “blot” is traditional, but not very satisfactory, since it does not convey complete removal.

[32:32]  ¹⁹ sn The book that is referred to here should not be interpreted as the NT “book of life” which is portrayed (figuratively) as a register of all the names of the saints who are redeemed and will inherit eternal life. Here it refers to the names of those who are living and serving in this life, whose names, it was imagined, were on the roster in the heavenly courts as belonging to the chosen. Moses would rather die than live if these people are not forgiven (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 356).

[9:12]  ²⁰ tc Heb “a casting.” The MT reads מַסֵּכָה (massekhah, “a cast thing”) but some mss and Smr add עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”), “a molten calf” or the like (Exod 32:8). Perhaps Moses here omits reference to the calf out of contempt for it.

[9:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “stiff-necked.” See note on the word “stubborn” in 9:6.

[9:14]  ²² tn Heb “leave me alone.”

[9:14]  ²³ tn Heb “from under heaven.”

[9:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the mountain.” The translation uses a pronoun for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[9:16]  ²⁵ tn On the phrase “metal calf,” see note on the term “metal image” in v. 12.

[9:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

[106:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “their glory.” According to an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition, the text originally read “his glory” or “my glory.” In Jer 2:11 the Lord states that his people (Israel) exchanged “their glory” (a reference to the Lord) for worthless idols.

[106:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “forgot.”

[106:22]  ²⁹ tn Or “awe-inspiring.”

[106:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he said.”

[106:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”

[106:23]  ³² tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”

[106:23]  ³³ tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”

[20:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.

[20:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of their eyes did not throw away.”

[20:8]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[20:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”

[20:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”

[20:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.

[20:11]  ⁴⁰ sn The laws were given at Mount Sinai.

[20:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the man.”

[20:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “does.”

[20:11]  ⁴³ tn The wording and the concept is contained in Lev 18:5 and Deut 30:15-19.

[20:12]  ⁴⁴ sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

[20:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

[20:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.

[20:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[20:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to bring them to an end.”

[20:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[20:16]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 15-16 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

[20:16]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for after their idols their heart was going.” The use of the active participle (“was going”) in the Hebrew text draws attention to the ongoing nature of their idolatrous behavior.

[20:17]  ⁵² tn Heb “my eye pitied.”

[20:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “sons,” reflecting the patriarchal idiom of the culture.

[20:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “standard of justice.” See Ezek 7:27.

[20:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”

[20:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”

[20:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “sons.”

[20:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “carries them out.”

[20:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and I said/thought to pour out.”

[20:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “drew my hand back.” This idiom also occurs in Lam 2:8 and Ps 74:11.

[20:23]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[20:23]  ⁶² sn Though the Pentateuch does not seem to know of this episode, Ps 106:26-27 may speak of God’s oath to exile the people before they had entered Canaan.

[20:24]  ⁶³ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

[20:24]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).

[20:25]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “permitted.”

[20:25]  ⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew term חֻקּוֹת (khuqot; translated “statutes” elsewhere in this chapter) is normally feminine. Here Ezekiel changes the form to masculine: חֻקִּים (khuqim). Further, they are not called “my decrees” as vv. 11 and 13 refer to “my statutes.” The change is a signal that Ezekiel is not talking about the same statutes in vv. 11 and 13, which lead to life.

[20:26]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:26]  ⁶⁸ sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).

[20:26]  ⁶⁹ sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.

[20:28]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “which I lifted up my hand.”

[20:29]  ⁷¹ tn The Hebrew word (“Bamah”) means “high place.”

[20:30]  ⁷² tn Heb “in the way of your fathers.”

[20:31]  ⁷³ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”

[20:31]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”

[20:32]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”

[20:32]  ⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”

[20:32]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”

[20:33]  ⁷⁹ sn This phrase occurs frequently in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8).

[20:37]  ⁸⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew verb used to describe the passing of the children through the fire.

[20:37]  ⁸¹ sn The metaphor may be based in Lev 27:32 (see also Jer 33:13; Matt 25:32-33). A shepherd would count his sheep as they passed beneath his staff.

[20:38]  ⁸² tn See the note at 2:3.

[20:39]  ⁸³ sn Compare the irony here to Amos 4:4 and Jer 44:25.

[20:39]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “and after, if you will not listen to me.” The translation leaves out “and after” for smoothness. The text is difficult. M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:374) suggests that it may mean “but afterwards, if you will not listen to me…” with an unspoken threat.

[20:39]  ⁸⁵ sn A similar concept may be found in Lev 18:21; 20:3.

[20:39]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:40]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “all of it.”

[20:42]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[20:43]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “ways.”

[20:43]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “loathe yourselves in your faces.”