And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh struck the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
- BSB And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.
- NKJV So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
- NASB Then the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
- NLT Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.
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 strikes the people with a plague for the calf they made. The chapter closes with a sober reminder that idolatry brings judgment.
Overview
The plague reinforces that sin, even when followed by intercession, has real consequences before a holy God. Aaron is again named as the one who made the calf, underscoring leadership accountability. The verse leaves Israel humbled and aware that they live wholly by God's mercy, not their own merit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Sam 12:9–10Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
- Exod 32:25And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
- Acts 1:18Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
- Matt 27:3–7Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
- Exod 32:4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
- Acts 7:41And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 32:35 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.