And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Parallel translations
- WEB When Moses saw that the people had broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies),
- BSB Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.
- NKJV Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),
- NASB Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among their enemies—
- NLT Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies.
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
Moses sees the people running wild, a disgrace before their enemies, because Aaron let them loose. Unrestrained sin brings shame and reproach.
Overview
The phrase 'broken loose' pictures a people without restraint, exposed to mockery by surrounding nations. Aaron's failure to restrain them is again highlighted. The verse shows that godly leadership exists in part to guard God's people from the public dishonor that sin invites upon the Lord's name.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 47:3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
- Mic 1:11Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.
- Rev 16:15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
- Dan 12:2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Hos 2:3Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
- Exod 33:4–6And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
- Gen 3:10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
- Rom 6:21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
- Ezek 16:63That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
- Deut 9:20And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
- 2 Chr 28:19For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD.
- Rev 3:17–18Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 32:25 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.