Exodus 32:22 kjv
And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Exodus 32:22 nkjv
So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
Exodus 32:22 niv
"Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil.
Exodus 32:22 esv
And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
Exodus 32:22 nlt
"Don't get so upset, my lord," Aaron replied. "You yourself know how evil these people are.
Exodus 32 22 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 6:5 | The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination... was only evil continually. | Human heart's inclination to evil before flood. |
| Gen 8:21 | The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. | Post-flood continuation of human depravity. |
| Deut 9:12 | "Go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly." | Lord's immediate assessment of their corruption. |
| Deut 9:16 | "I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a molded calf." | Moses recalls the specific sin of idolatry. |
| Judg 2:19 | But whenever the judge died, they turned back and acted more corruptly... | Israel's repeated backsliding nature. |
| 1 Sam 8:7 | For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. | Israel's historical rejection of God. |
| 1 Kin 8:46 | For there is no one who does not sin. | Universal reality of human sinfulness. |
| Psa 14:2-3 | The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man... All have turned aside; together they have become corrupt. | Universal human depravity, none good. |
| Psa 106:19-20 | They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image; they exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox. | Remembrance of the Golden Calf sin. |
| Jer 17:9 | The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? | Deep-seated corruption of the human heart. |
| Mark 7:21-23 | "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality..." | Evil originating from within the human heart. |
| Rom 1:21-23 | For although they knew God, they did not honor him... they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images. | Humanity's turning from God to idolatry. |
| Rom 3:10-12 | "None is righteous, no, not one... all have turned aside; together they have become worthless." | Paul's strong declaration of universal sin. |
| Eph 2:3 | Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath. | Humanity's natural state of being prone to sin. |
| Tit 1:15-16 | To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds. | Corrupted mind leading to corrupt deeds. |
| Exo 14:11 | "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?" | Example of people's complaining nature. |
| Num 14:2 | And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. | People's consistent grumbling against leadership. |
| Exo 32:7-8 | The Lord said to Moses, "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves." | God's observation of the people's corruption. |
| Exo 32:10 | "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them." | God's righteous anger at their sin. |
| Num 11:1 | Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord. | Example of people's complaining nature. |
Exodus 32 verses
Exodus 32 22 Meaning
Exodus 32:22 captures Aaron's attempt to deflect blame from himself regarding the Golden Calf incident. He pleads with Moses to calm his intense anger, stating that Moses is fully aware of the inherent wickedness and predisposition of the Israelite people toward evil. This implies that the people's corrupted nature was an irresistible force that compelled Aaron to comply with their demand for an idol, portraying him as a victim rather than a responsible leader.
Exodus 32 22 Context
Exodus chapter 32 recounts the seminal event of the Golden Calf, occurring while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. The Israelites, growing impatient with Moses's prolonged absence (forty days), approached Aaron and demanded that he "make for us gods who shall go before us" (Exo 32:1). Aaron capitulated, collected their gold, fashioned an image of a calf, and they proclaimed it their god who brought them out of Egypt, engaging in idolatrous worship and revelry. The Lord, seeing this abominable act, expressed His burning wrath to Moses and threatened to consume the people. Moses descended the mountain, witnessing the depravity firsthand, and in his rage, he smashed the stone tablets. He then destroyed the calf and confronted Aaron. Exodus 32:22 is Aaron's initial defensive response to Moses's direct question in verse 21: "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?" Aaron's statement seeks to shift the onus onto the people's inherent wickedness.
Exodus 32 22 Word Analysis
- And he said: Refers to Aaron's response to Moses's confrontation, signaling the beginning of his defense.
- Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: A direct plea to Moses to control his profound rage. The Hebrew word for "wax hot" is ḥārāh (חָרָה), often translated as "burn" or "be kindled," which is frequently used to describe the fierce, just anger of God, as well as righteous human anger, particularly Moses's own in this chapter. Aaron appeals to Moses's authority and judgment while also attempting to de-escalate the tension.
- my lord: A deferential term of respect used by Aaron towards Moses, acknowledging Moses's leadership and authority. It is an appeal for leniency from one in a position of power.
- thou knowest: Aaron implies a shared understanding between himself and Moses about the nature of the Israelites. This phrase attempts to draw Moses into complicity by asserting that Moses, having led them, is already fully aware of their true character and propensity for sin.
- the people: This refers to the collective Israelite community. Aaron deliberately frames the people as an uncontrollable force separate from himself, a common strategy to deflect personal responsibility.
- that they are set on mischief: This is Aaron's core excuse. The Hebrew phrase is kî bĕrā‘â hū’ (כִּי בְרָעָה הוּא), which literally means "for in evil is it/he."
- bĕrā‘â (בְרָעָה) derives from the Hebrew root raʿ (רַע), meaning "evil," "bad," "wickedness," "calamity," or "harm." It encompasses moral corruption, sin, and troubles that result from such actions. Here it denotes deep-seated moral depravity.
- hū’ (הוּא) is the masculine singular pronoun "he," but can function generically or be translated as "it" or "they" (referring to the people in a collective sense).
- The phrase "set on mischief" (or "given to evil," "inclined to evil," "immersed in evil") powerfully describes a strong, inherent disposition towards wickedness, rather than a mere accidental or isolated act. It portrays them as habitually prone to wrongdoing, implying that their demand for an idol was an expression of their fundamental corrupted nature, a force too great for Aaron to withstand.
Exodus 32 22 Bonus Section
- Aaron's words unintentionally articulate a theological truth about the human condition often referred to as total depravity or original sin – the pervasive and corrupting influence of sin on every aspect of human nature. This truth is central to understanding why humanity needs divine redemption.
- This excuse by Aaron sets up his even weaker follow-up explanations in Exodus 32:24, where he claims the gold went into the fire and "there came out this calf." This further illustrates his evasion of responsibility.
- The fact that Moses, despite knowing the people's stubbornness (e.g., Deut 9:6), remained fiercely angry suggests that Aaron's excuse, though containing a grain of truth, did not absolve him. Leaders are held to a higher standard (Jam 3:1).
Exodus 32 22 Commentary
Exodus 32:22 offers a potent yet problematic statement on human nature and accountability. Aaron’s plea highlights a deep biblical truth: humanity is indeed "set on mischief," born with a strong inclination towards sin, a reality evidenced throughout scripture from Genesis's accounts of pervasive wickedness to New Testament doctrines of human depravity. Moses, having repeatedly witnessed the people's grumbling, faithlessness, and rebellion, certainly had grounds to acknowledge their predisposition. Aaron shrewdly attempts to leverage this shared observation, shifting the focus from his own culpable actions as a leader to the supposed overwhelming pressure exerted by the inherently wicked multitude.
However, Aaron's insightful theological observation serves as a thinly veiled and inadequate excuse for his abject failure in leadership. While the people were corrupt, Aaron, as God's chosen high priest and Moses's direct deputy, was expected to uphold God's law and guide the people away from idolatry, not to succumb to their sinful demands. His willingness to participate in fashioning the calf demonstrates a critical lack of moral fortitude and commitment to the covenant. This verse thus stands as a vivid example of a leader recognizing the source of sin in others but simultaneously attempting to absolve himself of responsibility for his complicity, failing to lead, confront, or resist the people's wickedness as he should have. It underscores the profound difference between merely understanding human depravity and faithfully upholding God's righteous standards in the face of it.