Exodus 32:21

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And Moses said unto Aaron, What had this people done to thee, - that thou shouldst have brought upon them a great sin?

Parallel Translations

Geneva Bible (1587)
Also Moses said vnto Aaron, What did this people vnto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sinne vpon them?

George Lamsa Translation
And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?

Hebrew Names Version
Moshe said to Aharon, "What did this people to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?"

Easy-to-Read Version
Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you that would make you do this? Why did you lead them to do such a terrible sin?"

English Standard Version
And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?"

American Standard Version
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them?

Bible in Basic English
And Moses said to Aaron, What did the people do to you that you let this great sin come on them?

Contemporary English Version
Moses asked Aaron, "What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?"

Complete Jewish Bible
Moshe said to Aharon, "What did these people do to you to make you lead them into such a terrible sin?"

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Moses said unto Aaron: 'What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them?'

King James Version (1611)
And Moses said vnto Aaron, What did this people vnto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sinne vpon them?

Amplified Bible
Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?"

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought upon them a great sin?

English Revised Version
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them?

Berean Standard Bible
"What did this people do to you," Moses asked Aaron, "that you have led them into so great a sin?"

Lexham English Bible
And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you brought on them such a great sin?"

Literal Translation
And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to you that you have made to come on them a great sin?

New Century Version
Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?"

New English Translation
Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?"

New King James Version
And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"

New Living Translation
Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, "What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?"

New Life Bible
Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you to make you bring such great sin upon them?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?

Revised Standard Version
And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought a great sin upon them?"

Good News Translation
He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?"

King James Version
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

Darby Translation
And Moses said to Aaron, What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin on them?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Moises seide to Aaron, What dide this puple to thee, that thou brouytist in on hym the gretteste synne?

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses saith unto Aaron, `What hath this people done to thee, that thou hast brought in upon it a great sin?'

World English Bible
Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?"

Update Bible Version
And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Moyses said vnto Aaron: What did this people vnto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sinne vpon them?

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& sayde vnto Aaron: What dyd this people vnto the, that thou hast brought so greate a synne vpon them?

THE MESSAGE
Moses said to Aaron, "What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?"

New American Standard Bible
Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?"

New Revised Standard
Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?"

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?"

Contextual Overview

²¹ And Moses said unto Aaron, What had this people done to thee, - that thou shouldst have brought upon them a great sin? ²² And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord kindle, - thou thyself, knowest the people, that ready for mischief, they are. ²³ So they said to me - Make for us gods, who shall go before us, - for, as for this, Moses - the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what hath befallen him. ²⁴ And I said to them - Whosoever hath gold let them break it off, So they gave it to me, - and I cast it into the fire, and there came out - this calf. ²⁵ And Moses saw the people, that unbridled, they were, - for Aaron had given them the rein, for a whispering, among their enemies. ²⁶ So Moses took his stand in the gate of the camp, and said - Who is for Yahweh? …To me! Then gathered unto him all the sons of Levi, ²⁷ And he said to them - Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, - pass through and return from gate to gate in the camp, and slay ye every man his brother and every man his friend and every man his neighbour. ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did, according to the word of Moses, - and there fell from among the people on that day, about three thousand men. ²⁹ And Moses said - Install yourselves to-day, unto Yahweh, yea every man for his son and for his brother, - so will he bestow upon you to-day, a blessing.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 20:9, Genesis 26:10, Deuteronomy 13:6-8, 1 Samuel 26:19, Joshua 7:19-26, 1 Kings 14:16, 1 Kings 21:22, 2 Kings 21:9-11

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:12 - General Genesis 12:18 - General Numbers 25:18 - vex you Deuteronomy 9:20 - General Judges 2:2 - why have 1 Samuel 2:24 - ye make 1 Samuel 8:6 - prayed 2 Samuel 11:13 - made him 1 Kings 15:26 - in his sin 1 Kings 16:2 - hast made my people 2 Kings 10:29 - made Israel 2 Kings 17:21 - a great sin 2 Kings 21:16 - beside his sin 1 Chronicles 21:3 - why will 2 Chronicles 16:3 - break Ecclesiastes 4:10 - if Jeremiah 32:35 - to cause Micah 1:13 - she Acts 14:18 - scarce 1 Corinthians 8:12 - when Galatians 2:11 - because Ephesians 4:26 - ye Hebrews 5:2 - is compassed Hebrews 7:28 - the law maketh Hebrews 12:15 - and thereby

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Moses said unto Aaron,.... Having destroyed the calf, and thereby expressed his abhorrence of their idolatry, he examines the principal persons concerned, and inquires into the cause and reason of it, how it came about; and begins with Aaron, though his own brother, with whom along with Hur he had committed the government of the people during his absence; and therefore was justly accountable for such a transaction, which could not have been without his knowledge and consent: no mention is made of Hur, whether he was dead or no is not certain; the Jewish writers say he was, and that he was killed for reproving the Israelites for their wickedness; and it looks as if he was dead, since he was not in the examination, and we hear of him no more afterwards:

what did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? as idolatry is, than which no sin can be greater, it being not only a breach of the first table of the law, but directly against God, against the very being of God, and his honour and glory; it is a denial of him, and setting up an idol in his room, and giving to that the glory that is only due to his name; and Aaron being the chief magistrate, whose business it was to see that the laws of God were observed, and to restrain the people from sin, and to have been a terror to evil doers; yet falling in with them, and conniving at them, he is charged with bringing sin upon them, or them into that; and is asked what the people had done to him, that he should do this to them, what offence they had given him, what injury they had done him, that he bore them a grudge for it, and took this method to be revenged? for it is suggested, had they used him ever so ill, he could not have requited it in a stronger manner than by leading them into such a sin, the consequence of which must be ruin and destruction, see Genesis 20:9 or else Moses inquires of Aaron what methods the people had made use of to prevail upon him to suffer them to do such a piece of wickedness; whether it was by persuasion and artful insinuations, or by threatening to take away his life if he did not comply, or in what manner they had wrought upon his weak side, to induce him to take such a step.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The faithfulness of Moses in the office that had been entrusted to him was now to be put to the test. It was to be made manifest whether he loved his own glory better than he loved the brethren who were under his charge; whether he would prefer that he should himself become the founder of a “great nation,” or that the Lord’s promise should be fulfilled in the whole people of Israel. This may have been especially needful for Moses, in consequence of his natural disposition. See Numbers 12:3; and compare Exodus 3:11. With this trial of Moses repeated in a very similar manner Numbers 14:11-23, may be compared the trial of Abraham Genesis 22:0 and of our Saviour Matthew 4:8-10.

Exodus 32:8

These be thy gods ... have brought - This is thy god, O Israel, who has brought ...

Exodus 32:10

Let me alone - But Moses did not let the Lord alone; he wrestled, as Jacob had done, until, like Jacob, he obtained the blessing Genesis 32:24-29.

Exodus 32:14

This states a fact which was not revealed to Moses until after his second intercession when he had come down from the mountain and witnessed the sin of the people Exodus 32:30-34. He was then assured that the Lord’s love to His ancient people would prevail God is said, in the language of Scripture, to “repent,” when His forgiving love is seen by man to blot out the letter of His judgments against sin (2 Samuel 24:16; Joel 2:13; Jonah 3:10, etc.); or when the sin of man seems to human sight to have disappointed the purposes of grace (Gen 6:6; 1 Samuel 15:35, etc.). The awakened conscience is said to “repent,” when, having felt its sin, it feels also the divine forgiveness: it is at this crisis that God, according to the language of Scripture, repents toward the sinner. Thus, the repentance of God made known in and through the One true Mediator reciprocates the repentance of the returning sinner, and reveals to him atonement.

Exodus 32:17-18

Moses does not tell Joshua of the divine communication that had been made to him respecting the apostasy of the people, but only corrects his impression by calling his attention to the kind of noise which they are making.

Exodus 32:19

Though Moses had been prepared by the revelation on the Mount, his righteous indignation was stirred up beyond control when the abomination was before his eyes.

Exodus 32:20

See Deuteronomy 9:21. What is related in this verse must have occupied some time and may have followed the rebuke of Aaron. The act was symbolic, of course. The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin (compare Micah 7:13-14).

Exodus 32:22

Aaron’s reference to the character of the people, and his manner of stating what he had done Exo. 5:24, are very characteristic of the deprecating language of a weak mind.

Exodus 32:23

Make us gods - Make us a god.

Exodus 32:25

Naked - Rather unruly, or “licentious”.

Shame among their enemies - Compare Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4; Deuteronomy 28:37.

Exodus 32:26-29

The tribe of Levi, Moses’ own tribe, now distinguished itself by immediately returning to its allegiance and obeying the call to fight on the side of Yahweh. We need not doubt that the 3,000 who were slain were those who persisted in resisting Moses. The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites was anything like an indiscriminate massacre. An amnesty had first been offered to all by the words: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Those who were forward to draw the sword were directed not to spare their closest relations or friends; but this must plainly have been with an understood qualification as regards the conduct of those who were to be slain. Had it not been so, they who were on the Lord’s side would have had to destroy each other. We need not stumble at the bold, simple way in which the statement is made.

Exodus 32:29

Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord ... - The margin contains the literal rendering. Our version gives the most probable meaning of the Hebrew, and is supported by the best authority. The Levites were to prove themselves in a special way the servants of Yahweh, in anticipation of their formal consecration as ministers of the sanctuary (compare Deuteronomy 10:8), by manifesting a self-sacrificing zeal in carrying out the divine command, even upon their nearest relatives.

Exodus 32:31

Returned unto the Lord - i. e. again he ascended the mountain.

Gods of gold - a god of gold.

Exodus 32:32

For a similar form of expression, in which the conclusion is left to be supplied by the mind of the reader, see Daniel 3:15; Luke 13:9; Luke 19:42; John 6:62; Romans 9:22. For the same thought, see Romans 9:3. It is for such as Moses and Paul to realize, and to dare to utter, their readiness to be wholly sacrificed for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to their love. This expresses the perfected idea of the whole burnt-offering.

Thy book - The figure is taken from the enrolment of the names of citizens. This is its first occurrence in the Scriptures. See the marginal references. and Isaiah 4:3; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, etc.

Exodus 32:33, Exodus 32:34

Each offender was to suffer for his own sin. Compare Exodus 20:5; Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20. Moses was not to be taken at his word. He was to fulfill his appointed mission of leading on the people toward the land of promise.

Exodus 32:34

Mine Angel shall go before thee - See the marginal references and Genesis 12:7.

In the day when I visit ... - Compare Numbers 14:22-24. But though the Lord chastized the individuals, He did not take His blessing from the nation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 32:21. What did this people unto thee. — It seems if Aaron had been firm, this evil might have been prevented.