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Deuteronomy 9:16

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 9:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
Deuteronomy 9:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13Furthermore Jehovah spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
14let 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.
15So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount was burning with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
16And 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.
17And I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
18And I fell down before Jehovah, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water; because of all your sin which ye sinned, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith Jehovah was wroth against you to destroy you. But Jehovah hearkened unto me that time also.
← Deuteronomy 9:15Deuteronomy 9:17 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And I looked, etc.] When he was come down from the mount, and was nigh the camp: and, behold, ye had sinned against the Lord your God; that plainly appeared by what they had done, and at which he was amazed; and therefore a behold is prefixed to it, it being such a gross sin, having so much impiety and ingratitude, and stupidity in it: and made you a molten calf; that he saw with his eyes, and them dancing about it; (see <023219>Exodus 32:19) ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you; (see <050907>Deuteronomy 9:7).”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“9:16 The gold calf idol Israel made at Sinai (Exod 32) was probably modeled after bovine deities of Egypt, such as the bull god Apis and the cow goddess Hathor, both associated with fertility. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they would be confronted with the fertility gods of the Canaanite cults. They would be tempted to rely upon these false gods, rather than the one true God, as the source of their blessings (cp. Deut 8:18-20).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I looked: Exo 32:19; Act 7:40, Act 7:41 Deuteronomy 9:17”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 9 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification