KJV King James Version
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt [it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it].
VERSE STUDY • KJV
Exodus 32:20
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt [it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it].
Read it in 5 translations
BSB Berean Standard Bible
Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
WEB World English Bible
He took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
ASV American Standard Version
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
YLT Young’s Literal Translation
and he taketh the calf which they have made, and burneth it with fire, and grindeth until it is small, and scattereth on the face of the waters, and causeth the sons of Israel to drink.
Surrounding context — Exodus 32
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, [There is] a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, [It is] not the voice of [them that] shout for mastery, neither [is it] the voice of [them that] cry for being overcome: [but] the noise of [them that] sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt [it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it].
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they [are set] on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Topics connected to this verse
Original-language word links
These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.
וַיִּקַּ֞חH3947 · la.qachto take: takeאֶת־H853 · et[Obj.]הָעֵ֨גֶלH5695 · e.gelcalfאֲשֶׁ֤רH834 · a.sherwhichעָשׂוּ֙H6213 · a.sahto make: doוַיִּשְׂרֹ֣ףH8313 · sa.raphto burnבָּאֵ֔שׁH784 · eshfireוַיִּטְחַ֖ןH2912 · ta.chanto grindעַ֣דH5704 · adtillאֲשֶׁר־H834 · a.sherwhichדָּ֑קH1854 · da.qaqto crushוַיִּ֙זֶר֙H2219 · za.rahto scatterעַל־H5921 · aluponפְּנֵ֣יH6440 · pa.nehface: beforeהַמַּ֔יִםH4325 · ma.yimwaterוַיַּ֖שְׁקְH8248 · sha.qahto water: wateringאֶת־H853 · et[Obj.]בְּנֵ֥יH1121 · benson: childיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃H3478 · yis.ra.elIsrael
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 9:21And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, [and] ground [it] very small, [even] until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.Deuteronomy 7:5But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.2 Kings 23:6And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped [it] small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.2 Kings 23:15Moreover the altar that [was] at Bethel, [and] the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, [and] stamped [it] small to powder, and burned the grove.Proverbs 1:31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.Deuteronomy 7:25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take [it] unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it [is] an abomination to the LORD thy God.Proverbs 14:14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man [shall be satisfied] from himself.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
Compare classic commentaries on Exodus 32:20
Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.
Compare commentaries →