Bible Strands
Exodus 32:35
And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports Yahweh executing judgment on the Israelites immediately after He tells Moses to lead them forward and declares He will punish them on the day of settlement.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּגֹּף (va.yi.gof) translates literally as "and He struck," describing a direct, violent divine action against the people.
The thread — The text explicitly links this plague to the calf incident recorded in Exodus 32:4 and Exodus 32:25, while the principle of settled accounts for covenant violation aligns with the accountability noted in 2 Samuel 12:9.
Why it lands — The passage states that divine punishment follows the people's participation in idolatry, requiring the reader to acknowledge that enabling or joining rebellion triggers immediate, unmediated judgment.
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 plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 12:9 Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.
- Exodus 32:4 He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
- Exodus 32:25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.
- Matthew 27:3 When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.
- Acts 1:18 (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Acts 7:41 At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.