19 Bible Verses about Calf worship

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.read more.
And he received them from their hand, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get you down; for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, who have brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their savior, who had done great things in Egypt;read more.
Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red sea.

And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

And it came to pass, as soon as he came near unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger grew hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

And I looked, and, behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes. And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which you sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.read more.
For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, with which the LORD was angry with you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. And the LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. And I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust of it into the brook that descended out of the mount.

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.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Therefore the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.read more.
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an idol pole and worshiped all the army of heaven, and served Baal.

For the Levites left their pastures lands and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from executing the priest's office unto the LORD: And he ordained himself priests for the high places, and for the goat idols, and for the calf idols which he had made.

And now do you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.read more.
For he tore Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities. And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he has sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off; my anger is kindled against them: how long will it be before they attain to innocence? For from Israel is even this: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.read more.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: the stalk has no bud: it shall yield no meal: if so be it does yield, the aliens shall swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel in which is no pleasure. For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey alone by itself: Ephraim has hired lovers.

The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for its people shall mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it, for its glory has departed from it. It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

The graven images of their gods shall you burn with fire: you shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto you, lest you be snared by it: for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

They that make a graven image are all of them nothing; and their precious things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who fashions a god, or molds a graven image, that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame: and the workmen, they are mere men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be put to shame together.read more.
The blacksmith with the tongs works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails: he drinks no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fashions it with planes, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He hews himself down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he secures for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants a pine, and the rain does nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take of it, and warm himself; yea, he kindles it, and bakes bread; yea, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down to it. He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts a roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his graven image: he falls down unto it, and worships it, and prays unto it, and says, Deliver me; for you are my god. They have not known nor understood: for he has shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon its coals; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? shall I fall down to a block of wood? He feeds on ashes: a deceived heart has turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he makes it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands; from its place shall it not move: yea, one shall cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

Because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.