Deuteronomy 9:20 kjv
And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
Deuteronomy 9:20 nkjv
And the LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
Deuteronomy 9:20 niv
And the LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.
Deuteronomy 9:20 esv
And the LORD was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
Deuteronomy 9:20 nlt
The LORD was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But I prayed for Aaron, and the LORD spared him.
Deuteronomy 9 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exo 32:1-6 | ...the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods... And Aaron built an altar before it... | Aaron's direct involvement in crafting the Golden Calf idol. |
| Exo 32:7-10 | And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people... have corrupted themselves... Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot... | God's initial intent to consume and destroy the people (and implicitly, their leaders like Aaron). |
| Exo 32:11-14 | And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot... Turn from thy fierce wrath... | Moses' intercession for Israel following the Golden Calf incident. |
| Exo 32:21 | And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? | Moses confronts Aaron regarding his central role in the sin. |
| Exo 32:35 | And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. | God's judgment upon the people for their idolatry. |
| Lev 10:1-2 | And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer... and there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them... | Demonstrates God's swift judgment on priestly misconduct, parallel to Aaron's near-destruction. |
| Num 14:11-20 | And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me?... I will smite them... And Moses said unto the Lord... Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people... | Another instance of Moses' successful intercession preventing immediate divine judgment against Israel. |
| Num 16:41-50 | But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron... Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer... and make an atonement... | Aaron himself acts as an intercessor/atoning figure during a plague, highlighting the need for mediation. |
| Psa 106:19-20 | They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. | Describes the specific sin of idolatry at Horeb that incurred God's wrath. |
| Psa 106:23 | Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. | A poetic summary confirming Moses' crucial intercessory role at the Golden Calf event. |
| Jer 15:1 | Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people... | Indicates the powerful and effective nature of Moses' intercession, though not limitless. |
| Eze 22:30 | And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it... | General principle of a righteous intercessor standing in the breach to avert judgment. |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... | God's unchanging wrath against all forms of unrighteousness, including idolatry. |
| 1 Cor 10:7-8 | Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them... Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. | Paul uses Israel's idolatry as a warning against sin for New Testament believers. |
| Gal 3:19 | Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. | Highlights Moses' role as a mediator in delivering the Law, demonstrating his position between God and man. |
| 1 Tim 2:5 | For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; | Identifies Christ as the ultimate, sole, perfect mediator between God and humanity, fulfilling Moses' foreshadowing. |
| Heb 4:14-16 | Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God... Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace... | Describes Jesus as the New Covenant High Priest, enabling direct access to God's grace and mercy. |
| Heb 7:25 | Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. | Christ's eternal, ongoing intercession for His people. |
| Rom 8:34 | Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. | Further affirmation of Christ's current intercessory role on behalf of believers. |
| 1 Jn 2:1 | My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: | Christ serving as an advocate for believers who sin, mirroring Moses' role for Aaron and Israel. |
| Jas 5:16 | The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. | Upholds the power of intercessory prayer, applicable to Moses' action. |
| Isa 59:16 | And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor... | Emphasizes the crucial need for an intercessor in the absence of one. |
Deuteronomy 9 verses
Deuteronomy 9 20 Meaning
Deuteronomy 9:20 recounts Moses' fervent intercession for Aaron, whom the Lord was severely angered with, intending to destroy him, following Aaron's complicity in the Golden Calf idolatry. This verse emphasizes the profound seriousness of divine wrath against sin, even for a high priest, and underscores the vital role of a mediator in averting immediate judgment. It illustrates God's just condemnation of rebellion alongside His mercy, which can be extended through intercession.
Deuteronomy 9 20 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 9 is a pivotal part of Moses' farewell speeches to the Israelites on the plains of Moab before entering the Promised Land. In this chapter, Moses emphatically reminds the people that their success in conquering the land will not be due to their own righteousness or strength, but solely to God's covenant faithfulness and their enemies' wickedness. To underscore this, Moses recounts specific instances of Israel's grievous rebellion and idolatry during their wilderness journey, particularly focusing on the profound sin of the Golden Calf at Mount Horeb (vv. 8-21). This verse (9:20) specifically highlights Aaron's direct involvement in this profound act of rebellion and the severity of God's wrath that Aaron faced, illustrating that no one, not even the designated high priest, was exempt from divine judgment for sin. Moses’s subsequent intercession, alongside his pleas for the people and for the renewed covenant tablets (vv. 18-19), underscores the theme of God’s grace amidst their continuous unfaithfulness, all channeled through the crucial role of Moses as a mediator.
Deuteronomy 9 20 Word analysis
- "And the Lord": Hebrew: וַיהוָה (va'YHWH). Refers to Yahweh, the covenant name of God. This emphasizes His personal involvement, His covenant relationship, and His inherent holiness and justice as the sovereign ruler who actively intervenes in human history.
- "was very angry": Hebrew: וּבְאַהֲרֹן הִתְאַנַּף יְהוָה מְאֹד (uv'aharon hit'annaf YHWH m'od), literally "and upon Aaron, Yahweh was incensed exceedingly." The verb הִתְאַנַּף (hit'annaf) denotes a strong, intense burning anger, often involving sniffing in fury. מְאֹד (m'od), meaning "very" or "exceedingly," intensifies this divine wrath, indicating the extreme displeasure and seriousness of Aaron's offense from God's holy perspective.
- "with Aaron": Hebrew: בְאַהֲרֹן (b'aharon). Specifies the target of God's intense wrath. Aaron, as Moses' brother and the divinely chosen High Priest, bore significant responsibility for the spiritual well-being of the people. His active role in the Golden Calf idolatry (Exo 32:1-6) was a grievous betrayal of his calling, making him particularly culpable.
- "to have destroyed him": Hebrew: לְהַשְׁמִדוֹ (lehashmido). The infinitive construct form implies God's definite intention or immediate readiness to utterly destroy or annihilate Aaron. It comes from the root שָׁמַד (shamad), which means to devastate, exterminate, or utterly demolish. This highlights that divine judgment was deserved, imminent, and would have been fully executed if not for intervening grace through Moses’s intercession.
- "and I prayed": Hebrew: וָאֶתְפַּלֵּל (va'etpallel). Moses' use of the first-person singular emphasizes his direct and personal involvement. It underscores his earnest supplication and crucial role as mediator between God and His people (and their leaders). Moses truly "stood in the breach."
- "for Aaron also": Hebrew: גַּם־לְאַהֲרֹן (gam-le'aharon). The particle "gam" (also or even) is significant, highlighting that Moses’s intercession extended beyond the general population to include his own brother, the High Priest. This stresses that sin’s consequences and the need for divine mercy spare no one, regardless of status, and that Moses’s mediatorial efforts were comprehensive.
- "at the same time": Hebrew: בָּעֵת הַהִוא (ba'et ha'hiv). "At that particular time" or "during that specific period." This phrase specifies that Moses’s prayer for Aaron occurred simultaneously with his intensive forty-day fasting and intercession for the entire nation (Deu 9:18-19), underscoring the urgency, interconnectedness, and sheer magnitude of his mediatorial role during this critical period of judgment and repentance.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him": This clause forcefully portrays the magnitude of God's holy wrath against idolatry and leadership failure. It demonstrates that spiritual position provides no immunity from divine judgment. God's absolute holiness demanded such a response to blatant covenant transgression.
- "and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time": This highlights Moses' indispensable mediatorial role, not only for the masses but for key figures, even his own brother and the high priest. It powerfully illustrates the interrelationship between divine justice and divine mercy, with mercy being mediated through a human agent's fervent plea, prefiguring the ultimate intercession of Christ.
Deuteronomy 9 20 Bonus section
- The detail of Aaron's near-destruction and Moses' intercession is more explicit and forceful in Deuteronomy than in the Book of Exodus, emphasizing Moses' pedagogical purpose in this farewell address to underscore Israel's profound unrighteousness and their complete dependence on God's grace and His appointed mediators, rather than on their own merit.
- This account underscores that God holds leaders to a higher standard (Jas 3:1). Aaron's unique position made his sin of leading Israel astray in idolatry particularly egregious.
- Moses’s "forty days and forty nights" of fasting (Deu 9:18) encompass the intensity and the complete devotion of his intercession, not just for the people generally, but specifically for figures like Aaron, showcasing the depth of spiritual travail involved in averting divine wrath.
- The fact that God, after being "very angry... to have destroyed him," relented due to intercession, showcases the divine willingness to respond to righteous pleas, maintaining both justice and covenant faithfulness.
Deuteronomy 9 20 Commentary
Deuteronomy 9:20 is a sharp reminder of God's absolute holiness and the uncompromising nature of His justice when confronted with sin, even from a high-ranking spiritual leader like Aaron. The phrase "the Lord was very angry... to have destroyed him" signifies an imminent, deserved divine execution of judgment, underscoring the extreme gravity of Aaron's complicity in the Golden Calf idolatry. However, the verse simultaneously shines a light on God's profound mercy, which was extended due to Moses' passionate intercession. This critical act of mediation by Moses not only averted destruction for Aaron but serves as a profound biblical type, foreshadowing the salvific and continuous intercession of Jesus Christ. Moses, in standing between a righteous God and a sinful humanity (including its leadership), exemplified the role of a true mediator. It demonstrates that God's judgment, while just, can be deferred or mitigated by earnest, Spirit-led prayer by a faithful intercessor, a principle brought to full reality in the New Covenant through Christ.