Exodus 32:23
ESV
For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
NIV
They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’
NASB
For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’
CSB
They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’
NLT
They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’
KJV
For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
NKJV
For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
What does Exodus 32:23 mean?
When Moses went to hear from God (Exodus 24:12), Aaron was among those left in charge of Israel (Exodus 24:14). During the long wait (Exodus 24:18), the people lost patience. They pressured Aaron to make an idol (Exodus 32:1). This was probably the same insistent antagonism they'd shown in the past (Exodus 14:11; 15:24; 16:2; 17:2–4; Numbers 20:2–3). Aaron folded under pressure and cooperated (Exodus 32:2–6). Only God's mercy keeps him from terrible consequences (Deuteronomy 9:20).Aaron is trying to shift as much blame as possible onto the people (Exodus 32:22). His comment here is an exact repeat of the request (Exodus 32:1). In that sense, his words are true. He is explaining exactly what the people wanted and why they wanted it. What's false is the implication that Aaron was forced to do what the people asked (Exodus 32:22). He will go even further and talk down his role (Exodus 32:24). To hear Aaron tell the story, he was barely involved in the people's unstoppable thirst for an idol.
