Deuteronomy 9:12
in Deuteronomy 9And the LORD said to me, “Get up and go down from here at once, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten image.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
KJV
And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
at the end of forty days and forty nights
on Deuteronomy 9:11-12
The tablets are handed over and the order to go down follows at once, so Aben Ezra, quoted by Gill, held that the calf was made the day the tablets were given. God puts the people into Moses' hands, "your people, whom you brought out of Egypt", as at Exodus 32:7. Moses hands them back at verse 26, "Your people", and the pronoun is the whole argument.
This site's exposition
How quickly they have turned aside
God's charge stresses speed, How quickly they have turned aside, since the calf was made while Moses was still on the mountain receiving the law. Adam Clarke reads corrupted themselves as debasing themselves by making and worshipping an Egyptian idol. The molten image named at the end of the verse is the kind of idol the second commandment at 5:8 had forbidden.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), "They are thy people, they are none of mine, nor shall they be dealt with as mine." 5. Aaron himself fell under God's displeasure for it, though he was the saint of the Lord, and was only brought by surprise or terror to be confederate with them in the sin: The Lord was very angry with Aaron,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord said unto me,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thy people - have corrupted themselves - Debased themselves by making and worshipping an Egyptian idol. See on Exodus 32 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
AT THE END. 8 Hebrew, mi-ketz. At the end or the beginning of the fortieth day. 9 According to I.E.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלַ֗י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| ק֣וּם | kum | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| רֵ֤ד | red | go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| מַהֵר֙ | maher | quickly | H4118 → | 14 times |
| מִזֶּ֔ה | mizeh | from here | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שִׁחֵ֣ת | shichet | it has acted corruptly | H7843 → | 146 times |
| עַמְּךָ֔ | ʾamekha | people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹצֵ֖אתָ | hotzeta | you brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| סָ֣רוּ | saru | they have turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מַהֵ֗ר | maher | quickly | H4118 → | 14 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ | haderekh | the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוִּיתִ֔ם | tzivitim | I commanded them | H6680 → | 494 times |
| עָשׂ֥וּ | ʾasu | they have made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | for <the> themselves | ||
| מַסֵּכָֽה׃ | masekhah | a molten image | H4541 → | 28 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלַ֗יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
ק֣וּםarise
kumH6965 →628 times
רֵ֤דgo down
redH3381 →381 times
מַהֵר֙quickly
maherH4118 →14 times
מִזֶּ֔הfrom here
mizehH2088 →1180 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שִׁחֵ֣תit has acted corruptly
shichetH7843 →146 times
עַמְּךָ֔people your
ʾamekhaH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הוֹצֵ֖אתָyou brought out
hotzetaH3318 →1067 times
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
סָ֣רוּthey have turned aside
saruH5493 →299 times
מַהֵ֗רquickly
maherH4118 →14 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙the way
haderekhH1870 →707 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוִּיתִ֔םI commanded them
tzivitimH6680 →494 times
עָשׂ֥וּthey have made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֖םfor <the> themselves
lahem
מַסֵּכָֽה׃a molten image
masekhahH4541 →28 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 1:6I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:4
For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you…
- Galatians 5:7–8
You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth?
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- Psalms 106:13
Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
- Galatians 3:1–5
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
- 2 Corinthians 11:4
Through
Hosea 6:4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
it leads to
- Hosea 11:8
How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Psalms 78:34–37
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Hosea 11:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.