Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 32:7

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, that thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:" — Exodus 32:7 (ASV)

GOD’S OFFER TO MOSES.

The Lord said to Moses, Go, get thee down. — Moses was, of course, wholly ignorant of all that had occurred in the camp. The thick cloud which covered the top of Sinai had prevented his seeing what occurred in the plain below (Exodus 24:18). The phrase “Go, get thee down” is emphatic, and implies urgency.

Thy people. — “Yours,” not any longer “mine,” since they have broken the covenant that united us; yet still “yours,” however much they sin. The tie of blood-relationship cannot be broken.

Have corrupted themselves. — The form of the verb used (shikhêth) is active. We must supply “their way,” or some similar phrase, after it. (Compare Genesis 6:12: All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.)