Psalms 106 · Verse 19

Psalms 106:19

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
Psalms 106:19, King James Version

Psalms 106:19 in other translations

BSBAt Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image.
WEBThey made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
ASVThey made a calf in Horeb, And worshipped a molten image.
YLTThey make a calf in Horeb, And bow themselves to a molten image,
DARBYThey made a calf in Horeb, and did homage to a molten image;
BBEThey made a young ox in Horeb, and gave worship to an image of gold.
WebsterThey made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image.

What does Psalms 106:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 106:19-23
19-23. From indirect setting God at naught, they pass to direct. made--though prohibited in Ex 20:4, 5 to make a likeness, even of the true God. calf--called so in contempt. They would have made an ox or bull, but their idol turned out but a calf; an imitation of the divine symbols, the cherubim; or of the sacred bull of Egyptian idolatry. The idolatry was more sinful in view of their recent experience of God's power in Egypt and His wonders at Sinai (Ex 32:1-6). Though intending to worship Jehovah under the symbol of the calf, yet as this was incompatible with His nature (De 4:15-17), they in reality gave up Him, and so were given up by Him. Instead of the Lord of heaven, they had as their glory the image of an ox that does nothing but eat grass.

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

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 106:13-33

Those that will not wait for God's counsel, shall justly be given up to their own hearts' lusts, to walk in their own counsels. An undue desire, even for lawful things, becomes sinful. God showed his displeasure for this. He filled them with uneasiness of mind, terror of conscience, and self-reproach. Many that fare deliciously every day, and whose bodies are healthful, have leanness in their souls: no love to God…

Read the full comment on Psalms 106:13-33 →

Psalms 106:19 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.

יַעֲשׂוּ\־ya.'a.su-they madeH6213
עֵ֥גֶל'E.gela calfH5695
בְּחֹרֵ֑בbe.cho.Revat HorebH2722
וַ֝יִּשְׁתַּחֲו֗וּvai.yish.ta.cha.Vuand they bowed downH7812
לְמַסֵּכָֽה\׃le.ma.se.Khahto a molten imageH4541

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

Cross references for Psalms 106:19

  • Exodus 32:35

    And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

  • Exodus 32:4-8

    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. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: …

  • Deuteronomy 9:12-16

    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. Furthermore the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. …

  • Deuteronomy 9:8

    Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:7

    Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

  • Nehemiah 9:18

    Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

  • Acts 7:41

    And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

  • 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.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ex 32:4-8,35; De 9:12-16,21; Ne 9:18; 1Co 10:7

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

Context

  • Psalms 106:18

    And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

  • Psalms 106:19

    They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

  • Psalms 106:20

    Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

Read all of Psalms 106

Psalms 106:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Hicieron becerro en Horeb, y encorváronse á un vaciadizo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils firent un veau en Horeb, et se prosternèrent devant une image de fonte;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Sie machten ein Kalb am Horeb und bückten sich vor einem gegossenen Bilde;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et clamaverunt ad Dominum cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum liberavit eos.