Exodus 32 · Verse 20

Exodus 32:20

And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Exodus 32:20, King James Version

Exodus 32:20 in other translations

BSB	Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
WEB	He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
ASV	And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
YLT	and he taketh the calf which they have made, and burneth it with fire, and grindeth until it is small, and scattereth on the face of the waters, and causeth the sons of Israel to drink.
DARBY	And he took the calf that they had made, and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
BBE	And he took the ox which they had made, burning it in the fire and crushing it to powder, and he put it in the water and made the children of Israel take a drink of it.
Webster	And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

What does Exodus 32:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

20. he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, &c.--It has been supposed that the gold was dissolved by natron or some chemical substance. But there is no mention of solubility here, or in De 9:21; it was "burned in the fire," to cast it into ingots of suitable size for the operations which follow--"grounded to powder"; the powder of malleable metals can be ground so fine as to resemble dust from the wings of a moth or butterfly; and these dust particles will float in water for hours, and in a running stream for days. These operations of grinding were intended to show contempt for such worthless gods, and the Israelites would be made to remember the humiliating lesson by the state of the water they had drunk for a time [Napier]. Others think that as the idolatrous festivals were usually ended with great use of sweet wine, the nauseous draught of the gold dust would be a severe punishment (compare 2Ki 23:6, 15; 2Ch 15:16; 34:7).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 20 He took the calf - and burnt - and ground it to powder, etc. - How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! "But," says an objector, "how could gold, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?" In Deu 9:21, this matter is fully explained. I took, says Moses, your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, that is, melted it down, probably into ingots, or gross plates, and stamped it, that is, beat into thin laminae, something like our gold leaf, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust, which might be very easily done by the action of the hands, when beat into thin plates or leaves, as the original words אכת eccoth and דק dak imply. And I cast the dust thereof into the brook, and being thus lighter than the water, it would readily float, so that they could easily see, in this reduced and useless state, the idol to which they had been lately offering Divine honors, and from which they were vainly expecting protection and defense. No mode of argumentation could have served so forcibly to demonstrate the folly of their conduct, as this method pursued by Moses.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 32:15-20

What a change it is, to come down from the mount of communion with God, to converse with a wicked world. In God we see nothing but what is pure and pleasing; in the world nothing but what is sinful and provoking. That it might appear an idol is nothing in the world, Moses ground the calf to dust. Mixing this powder with their drink, signified that the backslider in heart should be filled with his own ways.

Read the full comment on Exodus 32:15-20 →

Exodus 32:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקַּ֞חvai.yi.Kachand he tookH3947

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

הָעֵ֨גֶלha.'E.gelthe calfH5695

אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.SherwhichH834

עָשׂוּ֙'a.Suthey had madeH6213

וַיִּשְׂרֹ֣ףvai.yis.Rofand he burned [it]H8313

בָּאֵ֔שׁba.'Eshwith <the> fireH784

וַיִּטְחַ֖ןvai.yit.Chanand he ground [it]H2912

עַ֣ד'aduntilH5704

אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-thatH834

דָּ֑קDakit was fineH1854

וַיִּ֙זֶר֙vai.Yi.zerand he scattered [it]H2219

עַל\־'al-onH5921

פְּנֵ֣יpe.Nei[the] surface ofH6440

הַמַּ֔יִםha.Ma.yimthe waterH4325

וַיַּ֖שְׁקְvai.Yashkand he made drink [it]H8248

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵֽל\׃Yis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 32:20

Deuteronomy 9:21
And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
2 Kings 23:6
And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.
Deuteronomy 7:25
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.
Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Deuteronomy 7:5
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
2 Kings 23:15
Moreover the altar that was at Beth–el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
Proverbs 1:31
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

took the calf.How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear, when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder, and strewed on the water! Some have asked, how gold, the most ductile and ponderous of all metals, could have been stamped into dust, and strewed on the water. In De 9:21, this is fully explained. I took, says Moses, your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire; that is, melted it down, probably into ingots or gross plates, and stamped it, beat it into thin laminæ, something like our gold leaf, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust, which might be very easily done by the action of the hands, when beat into thin plates or leaves as the original words {ekkoth,} and {dak,} imply.
De 7:5,25; 9:21; 2Ki 23:6,15
made the.
Pr 1:31; 14:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 32:19
And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exodus 32:20
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exodus 32:21
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

Read all of Exodus 32

Exodus 32:20 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y tomó el becerro que habían hecho, y quemólo en el fuego, y moliólo hasta reducirlo á polvo, que esparció sobre las aguas, y diólo á beber á los hijos de Israel.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il prit le veau qu’ils avaient fait, et le brûla au feu, et le moulut jusqu’à ce qu’il fut en poudre; puis il le répandit sur la surface de l’eau, et en fit boire aux fils d’Israël.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er nahm das Kalb, das sie gemacht hatten, und verbrannte es im Feuer und zermalmte es, bis es zu Staub wurde; und er streute es auf das Wasser und ließ es die Kinder Israel trinken.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	arripiensque vitulum quem fecerant, combussit, et contrivit usque ad pulverem, quem sparsit in aquam, et dedit ex eo potum filiis Israël.