Bible Strands
Exodus 32:33
The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses immediately after the golden calf incident, replying to Moses’ offer to be removed from God’s book if Israel cannot be forgiven. This exchange occurs on Mount Sinai during the crisis of Israel’s covenant breach.
The words — The Hebrew אֶמְחֶ֖/נּוּ ('em.Che./nu) literally means “I will wipe out,” paired with מִ֚י (mi) meaning “who?” to frame a direct conditional question. The verb חָֽטָא\־ (cha.ta'-) establishes the triggering condition as the personal act of sinning against God.
The thread — The motif of divine erasure for covenant violation appears in Leviticus 23:30, which promises to destroy anyone who works on the appointed day, and in Ezekiel 18:4, which declares the soul who sins is the one who will die. Deuteronomy 29:20 reinforces this by stating God will not forgive the stubborn sinner, instead directing His anger and jealousy against that individual.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine judgment operates on individual responsibility rather than corporate anonymity. It demands acceptance that personal rebellion against God carries a finality that no human intercession can override.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 29:20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
- Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
- Leviticus 23:30 I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day.
- Psalms 69:28 May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.
- Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
- Psalms 9:5 You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.
- Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have contended at my side for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
- Psalms 109:13 May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
- Revelation 13:8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.