“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to me, “Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them. They have made a molten image for themselves!”
- 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.
- BSB And 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.”
- NASB Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, because your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast metal image for themselves.’
- NLT Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go down immediately, for the people you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted gold and made an idol for themselves!’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God told Moses to hurry down because the people had corrupted themselves with a molten image. Israel sinned grievously even while receiving the covenant.
Overview
While Moses was still on the mountain, the people made and worshiped a golden calf, quickly abandoning God's commands. Their swift apostasy demonstrates the depth of human sinfulness. This betrayal at the very birth of the covenant shows Israel's desperate need for mercy and intercession, ultimately met in Christ the faithful Mediator.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Exod 32:7–8Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
- Judg 2:17Yet they didn’t listen to their judges; for they prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying Yahweh’s commandments. They didn’t do so.
- Deut 31:29For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”
- Gal 1:6I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;
- Hos 6:4“Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.
- Deut 32:5They have dealt corruptly with him. They are not his children, because of their defect. They are a perverse and crooked generation.
- Jude 1:10But these speak evil of whatever things they don’t know. They are destroyed in these things that they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason.
- Deut 9:16I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly out of the way which Yahweh had commanded you.
- Deut 4:16lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself an engraved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
- Ps 78:57but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
- Gen 6:11–12The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 9:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.