Exodus 32:31
in Exodus 32So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
KJV
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
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This verse in Exodus 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You have committed a great sin
on Exodus 32:30-31
Moses goes back up with no promise of success, saying perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. He states the case as it stands, that the people have committed a great sin, and softens nothing before he asks.
This site's exposition
They have made gods of gold for themselves
Gods of gold is the very thing 20:23 had forbidden, gods of silver or gold made alongside the LORD. John Gill notes that the people had called the single calf Elohim, gods. Adam Clarke notes that Moses now knows the whole sin.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Moses returned unto the Lord,.... On the mount where he was in the cloud: and said, oh, this people have sinned a great sin; which to following words explain; he confesses the same to God he had charged the people with in Exo 32:30, and have made them gods of gold; the golden calf, which they themselves called "Elohim", gods.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin--Moses labored to show the people the heinous nature of their sin, and to bring them to repentance.
Moses returned unto the Lord - Before he went down from the mountain God had acquainted him with the general defection of the people, whereupon he immediately, without knowing the extent of their crime, began to make intercession for them; and God, having given him a general assurance that they should not be cut off, hastened him to go down, and bring them off from their idolatry.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֧שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָ֣נָּ֗א | ʾana' | I beg you | H577 → | |
| חָטָ֞א | chata' | it has sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| הָעָ֤ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| חֲטָאָ֣ה | chataah | a sin | H2401 → | 8 times |
| גְדֹלָ֔ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּ | vaiyaasu | and they have made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | for <the> themselves | ||
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| זָהָֽב׃ | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
וַיָּ֧שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אָ֣נָּ֗אI beg you
ʾana'H577 →
חָטָ֞אit has sinned
chata'H2398 →238 times
הָעָ֤םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
חֲטָאָ֣הa sin
chataahH2401 →8 times
גְדֹלָ֔הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּand they have made
vaiyaasuH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֖םfor <the> themselves
lahem
אֱלֹהֵ֥יgods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
זָהָֽב׃gold
zahavH2091 →389 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
Exodus 34:28So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
it leads to
- Exodus 34:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
- Deuteronomy 4:13
He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
- Exodus 24:18
Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Deuteronomy 9:18
Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you…
- Deuteronomy 9:25
So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.
- Exodus 34:1
Through
Daniel 9:11All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:5–10
Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Jeremiah 8:5–10
Through
Daniel 9:8O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:6–7
We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, and fathers, and to all the people of the land.
- Daniel 9:6–7
Through
Exodus 32:30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 12:20
“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
- 1 Samuel 12:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
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About Exodus

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
