The Idolatry of the Israelites

Artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India.

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here .

For other images of Sister Marie Claire paintings in TIPs, see here.

The following artwork “The Golden Calf” is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission.

For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (Exodus 32:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 32:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Aaron told them that, ‘Remove (plur.) all your golden bangles/rings which your wives plus your sons and your girls have put in their ears and you give me.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The Aaron said to them, ‘take off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, sons and daughters and bring them to me.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Aaron answered them, ‘[You (plur.)] take-off the gold earings your wives and children are-wearing, and [you (plur.)] bring (them) to me.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Okay, Aron answered their talk like this, ‘Remove the gol rings which are in your spouses’ and children’s ears and then bring them to me.’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “So, Aaron answered for them it «Women your and children your, untie them gold ear their, bring it [this direction].»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Aaron replied to them, ‘All right, I will do that, but tell your wives and your sons and your daughters to take off all their gold earrings and bring them to me.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Exod 32:2

And Aaron said to them introduces Aaron’s response to the people’s request, so New International Version has “Aaron answered them,” and New American Bible has “Aaron replied.” Take off the rings of gold uses a very strong verb that literally means “pull away,” or “tear off.” Translator’s Old Testament has “Cut off the gold earrings,” and New American Bible has “Strip off the gold rings.” This may suggest Aaron’s impatience with the people for requesting an image of a god, but most translations soften the verb to “Take off the gold earrings” (see Good News Translation and others).

Which are in the ears indicates that these were indeed “earrings” rather than nose rings or finger rings. The word for rings has a general meaning, but it is different from the word used for the rings on the ark (25.12) and on Aaron’s breastpiece (28.23). Of your wives, your sons, and your daughters indicates that earrings were worn by men as well as women. New English Bible and Revised English Bible omit your sons on the basis of the Septuagint, but the Hebrew clearly specifies both sons and daughters. And bring them to me is literally “and you [plural] cause them to come unto me,” meaning the earrings, not the people wearing them.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .