Exodus 32 · Verse 3

Exodus 32:3

And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exodus 32:3, King James Version

Exodus 32:3 in other translations

BSBThen all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
WEBAll the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
ASVAnd all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
YLTand all the people themselves break off the rings of gold which are in their ears, and bring in unto Aaron,
DARBYThen all the people broke off the golden rings that were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
BBEAnd all the people took the gold rings from their ears and gave them to Aaron.
WebsterAnd all the people broke off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

What does Exodus 32:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. all the people brake off the golden earrings--The Egyptian rings, as seen on the monuments, were round massy plates of metal; and as they were rings of this sort the Israelites wore, their size and number must, in the general collection, have produced a large store of the precious metal.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings - The human being is naturally fond of dress, though this has been improperly attributed to the female sex alone, and those are most fond of it who have the shallowest capacities; but on this occasion the bent of the people to idolatry was greater than even their love of dress, so that they readily stripped themselves of their ornaments in order to get a molten god. They made some compensation for this afterwards; see Exo 36:22, and See Clarke's note on Exo 38:9.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 32:1-6

While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people made a tumultuous address to Aaron. This giddy multitude were weary of waiting for the return of Moses. Weariness in waiting betrays to many temptations. The Lord must be waited for till he comes, and waited for though he tarry. Let their readiness to part with their ear-rings to make an idol, shame our niggardliness in the service of the true God…

Read the full comment on Exodus 32:1-6 →

Exodus 32:3 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.

וַיִּתְפָּֽרְקוּ֙vai.yit.pa.re.Kuand they tore off from themselvesH6561
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הָעָ֔םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
נִזְמֵ֥יniz.Mei[the] rings ofH5141
הַזָּהָ֖בha.za.Hav<the> goldH2091
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑םbe.'a.ze.nei.Hem[were] on ears theirH241
וַיָּבִ֖יאוּvai.ya.Vi.'uand they brought [them]H935
אֶֽל\־'el-toH413
אַהֲרֹֽן\׃'a.ha.RonAaronH175

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

Cross references for Exodus 32:3

  • Isaiah 40:19-20

    The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

  • Jeremiah 10:9

    Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

  • Isaiah 46:6

    They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

  • Judges 17:3-4

    And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jud 17:3,4; Isa 40:19,20; 46:6; Jer 10:9

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

Context

  • Exodus 32:2

    And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

  • Exodus 32:3

    And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

  • Exodus 32:4

    And 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.

Read all of Exodus 32

Exodus 32:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces todo el pueblo apartó los zarcillos de oro que tenían en sus orejas, y trajéronlos á Aarón:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et tout le peuple arracha les pendants d’or qui étaient à leurs oreilles, et ils les apportèrent à Aaron;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und das ganze Volk riß sich die goldenen Ringe ab, die in ihren Ohren waren, und sie brachten sie zu Aaron.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Fecitque populus quæ jusserat, deferens inaures ad Aaron.