Nehemiah 9:18

18 Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

Nehemiah 9:18 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 9:18

Yea, when they had made them a molten calf
In imitation of the Apis, or ox of the Egyptians:

and said, this is thy god that brought thee out of Egypt;
or the image of thy god, as the Arabic version, see ( Exodus 32:4 ) ,

and had wrought great provocations;
of all which nothing was greater than idolatry.

Nehemiah 9:18 In-Context

16 But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.

17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

18 Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

19 You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.

20 You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.