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Psalm 106:19

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.

17The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
19They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
20Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
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← Psalm 106:18Psalm 106:20 →
Notice

A calf made by human hands becomes an object of worship at Horeb, exposing the stark exchange of God’s glory for a manufactured image.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What stands out to you about the move from making the calf to worshiping it?

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Where do you feel the pull to trust something you can make or control?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

9 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 32:35The LORD struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.Both passages recall the calf episode; Exodus names Aaron as its maker and records God’s judgment on the people.
Exodus 32:4–8He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought …Both describe a calf fashioned by human hands and treated as divine by the people of Israel.
Exodus 3:1Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s …Horeb is the shared place: Exodus identifies it as God’s mountain, while the psalm records the calf worship there.
Nehemiah 9:18Yes, when they had made themselves a molded calf, and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed awful blasphemies,Both recount the making of a calf and the people’s treatment of that manufactured object as God.
Deuteronomy 9:8Also in Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was angry with you to destroy you.Both recall wrongdoing at Horeb; the psalm names calf worship, while Deuteronomy describes the LORD’s anger there.
1 Corinthians 10:7Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”Idolatry is the shared concern: the psalm recounts it, and Paul warns his readers against repeating it.
Acts 7:41They made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.Both describe people making a calf and worshiping it; Acts adds their sacrifices and delight in their own handiwork.
Deuteronomy 9:12–16The LORD said to me, “Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned …Both name the molten image the people made; Deuteronomy identifies that act as turning away from God’s command.
Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust …Both identify the calf as something the people made; Deuteronomy recounts its destruction after the worship described in the psalm.
Where this verse fits

Temptation. praise and worship.

What the Bible says about temptation →What the Bible says about worship →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read Psalm 106:19–21 and write down what they exchanged

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Encouragement

The calf was their own creation; the God they forgot had saved them. Your worship belongs to the living God whose works no image can replace.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 106:19. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 106 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).