Deuteronomy 9:16
New International Version
When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

New Living Translation
There below me I could see that you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the LORD had commanded you to follow!

English Standard Version
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

Berean Standard Bible
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

King James Bible
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

New King James Version
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

New American Standard Bible
And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a cast metal image of a calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

NASB 1995
“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

NASB 1977
“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Legacy Standard Bible
And I saw that you had indeed sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which Yahweh had commanded you.

Amplified Bible
And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf (idol). You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Christian Standard Bible
I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the LORD had commanded for you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the LORD had commanded for you.

American Standard Version
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against Jehovah your God; ye had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which Jehovah had commanded you.

Contemporary English Version
I saw how quickly you had sinned and disobeyed the LORD your God. There you were, worshiping the metal idol you had made in the shape of a calf.

English Revised Version
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God; ye had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made a statue of a calf for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the LORD commanded you to live.

Good News Translation
I saw that you had already disobeyed the command that the LORD your God had given you, and that you had sinned against him by making yourselves a metal idol in the form of a bull-calf.

International Standard Version
Then I saw how you had really sinned against the LORD your God! You had made for yourselves a calf, a cast idol. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD your God had commanded.

Majority Standard Bible
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

NET Bible
When I looked, you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way he had commanded you!

New Heart English Bible
I looked, and look, you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf: you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I looked, and behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

World English Bible
I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made yourselves a molded calf. You had quickly turned away from the way which Yahweh had commanded you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and I see, and behold, you have sinned against your God YHWH; you have made a molten calf for yourselves; you have quickly turned aside from the way which YHWH has commanded you.

Young's Literal Translation
and I see, and lo, ye have sinned against Jehovah your God; ye have made to yourselves a molten calf; ye have turned aside hastily out of the way which Jehovah hath commanded you.

Smith's Literal Translation
And I shall see, and behold, ye sinned against Jehovah your God; ye made to you a molten calf; ye turned aside quickly from the way which Jehovah commanded you.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten calf, and had quickly forsaken his way, which he had shewn you:

Catholic Public Domain Version
and I had seen that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made a molten calf for yourselves, and had quickly abandoned his way, which he had revealed to you,

New American Bible
I saw how you had sinned against the LORD, your God, by making for yourselves a molten calf. You had already turned aside from the way which the LORD had commanded you.

New Revised Standard Version
Then I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God, by casting for yourselves an image of a calf; you had been quick to turn from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made to yourselves a molten calf; and you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD your God had commanded you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And I saw that you sinned against LORD JEHOVAH your God, and you had made for yourselves a calf of a molten image, and you had turned quickly from the way that LORD JEHOVAH your God commanded you.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God; ye had made you a molten calf; ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And when I saw that ye had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten image, and had gone astray out of the way, which the Lord commanded you to keep;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Golden Calf
15So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands. 16And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. 17So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, shattering them before your eyes.…

Cross References
Exodus 32:19-20
As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain. / 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.

Exodus 32:7-8
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. / How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

Nehemiah 9:18
Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

Psalm 106:19-20
At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image. / They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.

Acts 7:41
At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.

1 Kings 12:28-30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” / One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. / And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.

2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.

Hosea 8:4-6
They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction. / He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? / For this thing is from Israel—a craftsman made it, and it is not God. It will be broken to pieces, that calf of Samaria.

1 Corinthians 10:7
Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”

Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. / You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Exodus 34:15-16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. / And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Judges 2:11-13
And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. / Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, / for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

2 Chronicles 11:15
And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.

Isaiah 2:8
Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.

Jeremiah 10:3-5
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. / They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. / Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”


Treasury of Scripture

And I looked, and, behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

I looked

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.

Acts 7:40,41
Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him…

Jump to Previous
Calf Cast Commanded Evil Hastily Idol Image Indeed Metal Molten Orders Ox Quickly Shape Sinned Turned Way Young Yourselves
Jump to Next
Calf Cast Commanded Evil Hastily Idol Image Indeed Metal Molten Orders Ox Quickly Shape Sinned Turned Way Young Yourselves
Deuteronomy 9
1. Moses dissuades them from the opinion of their own righteousness
7. Moses reminds them of the golden calf














And I saw
This phrase indicates Moses' firsthand observation of the Israelites' actions. The Hebrew root for "saw" is רָאָה (ra'ah), which implies not just physical sight but also understanding and perceiving the gravity of the situation. Moses, as a leader and prophet, was deeply aware of the spiritual implications of the people's actions, highlighting the role of a leader in discerning and addressing sin within the community.

how you had sinned
The Hebrew word for "sinned" is חָטָא (chata), which means to miss the mark or to err. This term underscores the seriousness of the Israelites' actions as a deviation from God's commandments. Sin, in this context, is not merely a mistake but a deliberate act of rebellion against God's established covenant, reflecting the human tendency to stray from divine instructions.

against the LORD your God
This phrase emphasizes the personal nature of the offense. The use of "LORD" (יהוה, Yahweh) signifies the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. The sin was not just a breach of law but a betrayal of a personal relationship with God, who had delivered them from Egypt and established them as His people. It serves as a reminder of the importance of faithfulness in our relationship with God.

you had made for yourselves a molten calf
The "molten calf" refers to the idol crafted by the Israelites, as described in Exodus 32. The Hebrew word for "molten" is מַסֵּכָה (massekah), meaning a cast image or idol. This act of idolatry was a direct violation of the first two commandments and represented a regression to pagan practices. Archaeological findings have shown that calf idols were common in ancient Near Eastern cultures, indicating the Israelites' temptation to conform to surrounding nations rather than uphold their distinct identity as God's chosen people.

You had turned aside quickly
The phrase "turned aside quickly" highlights the rapidity and ease with which the Israelites abandoned their commitment to God. The Hebrew root סוּר (sur) means to turn away or depart. This swift departure from God's path illustrates the fickleness of human nature and the constant need for vigilance and steadfastness in faith. It serves as a warning against complacency and the allure of immediate gratification over long-term obedience.

from the way that the LORD had commanded you
"The way" refers to the path of righteousness and obedience outlined by God. The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) signifies a journey or course of life. God's commandments were intended to guide the Israelites in a life of holiness and blessing. Their deviation from this path underscores the consequences of disobedience and the importance of adhering to divine guidance. It is a call to remain faithful to God's instructions, recognizing them as the true path to life and fulfillment.

(16) Ye had turned aside quickly.--The words of Jehovah in Deuteronomy 9:16, repeated here, and also recorded in Exodus 32:8. There is nothing so sad in human experience as the rapidity with which good resolutions and impressions fade from the natural heart of man.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And I saw
וָאֵ֗רֶא (wā·’ê·re)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7200: To see

how
וְהִנֵּ֤ה (wə·hin·nêh)
Conjunctive waw | Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

you had sinned
חֲטָאתֶם֙ (ḥă·ṭā·ṯem)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 2398: To miss, to sin, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, lead astray, condemn

against the LORD
לַיהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God;
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם (’ĕ·lō·hê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

you had made
עֲשִׂיתֶ֣ם (‘ă·śî·ṯem)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make

for yourselves
לָכֶ֔ם (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

a molten
מַסֵּכָ֑ה (mas·sê·ḵāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4541: A pouring over, fusion of metal, a libation, league, a coverlet

calf.
עֵ֖גֶל (‘ê·ḡel)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5695: A, calf, one nearly grown

You had turned aside
סַרְתֶּ֣ם (sar·tem)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

quickly
מַהֵ֔ר (ma·hêr)
Adverb
Strong's 4118: Hastening, speedy, swift

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the way
הַדֶּ֕רֶךְ (had·de·reḵ)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action

the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

had commanded you.
צִוָּ֥ה (ṣiw·wāh)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 9:16 I looked and behold you had sinned (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 9:15
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