Exodus 32:18
ESV
But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear."
NIV
Moses replied: "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear."
NASB
But he said, 'It is not the sound of the cry of victory, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But I hear the sound of singing.'
CSB
But Moses replied: It’s not the sound of a victory cry and not the sound of a cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!
NLT
But Moses replied, 'No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.'
KJV
And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
NKJV
But he said: “ It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.”
What does Exodus 32:18 mean?
Joshua went with Moses onto Sinai (Exodus 24:12–13). There, Moses received two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments (Exodus 32:15; Deuteronomy 4:13). But Moses also heard, from God, that the Israelite people were committing idolatry (Exodus 32:7–10). As the two men descend, Joshua hears loud noise from the camp and thinks it is war. One would expect this assumption from a solider (Exodus 17:8–10). But what Joshua hears is much worse than the sounds of battle.Moses explains that the people are celebrating. He may have gone on to tell Joshua exactly what the people were doing (Exodus 32:1–6). Despite God's very recent commands (Exodus 20:3–6), they are sacrificing and dancing in front of an idol. This will prompt an angry response from Moses (Exodus 32:19) along with harsh lessons (Exodus 32:20).
